What is it?
What settles into your soul, into your being, your heart that allows you to freely call someone a disparaging, dehumanizing name? Or be okay with unconstitutional actions against others, targeted because of how they look, talk or where they might work? Are you white enough to be safe? Maybe not.
What do you allow others to call you? What do you or have you allowed your children to call others, stupid, idiot, low IQ, ugly, fat, horrible, slime ball? Are those words not in someway a reflection of self? What one sees in themselves as projection for protection to have those words leave your body to land on another.
What purpose does this serve you the name caller? How does this feel inside? What is it that you hoped to accomplish? Is it to somehow with empty language attempt to level yourself above another?
What is your argument that has actual meaning, purpose or impact in a positive way for not just yourself, but your family, your friends, your neighbors?
Where does this anger live in you? What is its origin?
I don’t know any idiots. I don’t know that I know low IQ people. I may see or know some who have done stupid things, but they are not stupid. And body shaming in any form is just wrong.
Pain, abuse, bullying, haven’t we all seen and had enough? Is it elevating any of us to greatness? No.
It buries us deeper into a waste land created in nuance by lies, a narrative to feed the very pain and abuse you hope to dismiss or to cover up.
My truth. Remarkably this is from one person. An alternate space, a waste land that takes from us the full ability to live our lives free and safely. As a member of a humanity that cares for others. It limits those actions within that honor and embrace our individual beauty and the beauty of our diversity. It opens for some an avenue to use language as weapon instead of a balm or salve for healing.
I don’t know, if you read something and your first thought or reaction is mean spirited or it brings heat into your being and the need to strike with demeaning names or empty accusations, say it to yourself first. Say it to the person or people in your life who mean the most to you. Do you still want to or feel the need to say it? Then I will have to surmise that the person in site of your anger has literally physically or mentally harmed you directly.
Most days I’m not sure what it is that I internalize as pain, the dehumanizing, name-calling comment or what they are commenting on.
Someone posted something on Threads the other day. They deleted it. I don’t know or remember what it said. Wish I did. It was something about Christianity and hate.
My comment:
My Christian upbringing taught me not to hate. I don’t use the word in description or conversation. Now as a Buddhist, that conviction is stronger than ever and the presence of it daily in deed, accusation and action toward other humans is devastating, emotionally exhausting and heartbreaking.
I hope for one full day soon without tears.