Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Speaking of Gross Generalizations

I do try not to be provoked by people's political remarks on social media. I usually just shake my head and scroll on. I actually don’t even affiliate myself with a particular political party, but I just saw the picture below on my newsfeed, and it really struck me how mean it was and how sadly common these type of posts have become. While the first couple of lines may be true, the remaining part is pigeon holing and hateful disparagement of a group of people because of the name of their religion, “not because of the content of their character”. How can someone presume to know how "most white Christians" feel? Maybe there is a poll I'm not aware of? Keep in mind, the vocal extremists in any given group rarely speak for the entire group, just as hopefully the post below is not a true representation of the feelings of all who lean to the left just because it was posted by someone who calls him[her]self Go Left.
His/her remarks amount to hate mongering, plain and simple. It serves no other purpose. It’s doubtful it's going to bring about an epiphany or convince people to “come over to your side.” There is more than enough judgmental, one-sided hate speak and name calling going around, and certainly not limited to a particular side of any issue. Its end result is the perpetuation of contention and hatred rather than promoting unity or provoking thoughtful dialogue. So think before you speak or post: will these words or pictures result in anything positive? If the answer is no, it would be best to just leave it alone. Please understand, I'm not just speaking out on behalf of white Christians, but for anyone who is unjustly misrepresented. It's simply wrong to engage in gross generalizations about any group of people.
I was polite enough not to express my disagreement or comment on the poster's status, so please extend the same courtesy here. Contentious remarks will be removed.