HATE IS A STRONG WORD

"Ever heard of AT? Do you know him? Do you like him? What do you think of him?"

A Youtuber was interviewing random people about this man, and personally, I couldn't for the life of me fathom why everyone seemed to dislike him so much. It was a very curious situation indeed, particularly where it concerned the words they used to describe him. Strong adjectives like misogynist and egotistical bastard were tossed around ( the latter is exaggerated; the former is not ). That was the first time I ever consciously heard his name. Of course I'd seen him before, a consequence of Tiktok, but I hadn't known who he was back then, and I honestly can't say I do now either. My curiosity, I'm ashamed to say, got the best of me, so I did a very GenZ thing: I looked him up, and the internet was eager to provide. Videos, pictures, and comments tempted me, and I mean really tempted me, to dislike this man. I would get into why but I don't want to make the same mistake twice. What could that be you ask? Well, my first mistake, or fault if you will, was ever forming an opinion on him in the first place -currently though, I've got none.

Before we proceed with this conversation dear reader, I would like to notify you on something you are probably unaware of. This blog post is not about AT. Kindly correct your perspective if you formerly believed it to be so, however, you cannot be faulted for thinking that -seeing as how an entire paragraph mentions him in some way and how much I will continue to reference him. Therefore, I implore you, do not misunderstand; this is not about him. It isn't. I am merely in the process of attempting to brief you, kind sir or ma'am, on a lesson I learned while scrolling through Youtube.

The lesson is this: I stumbled upon a video where an unfamiliar person was spoken of negatively and repeatedly; I researched this person; I didn't appreciate some of his views on controversial topics, so I formed an opinion on him. What he said, the way this absolute stranger thought about certain things felt personal to me. And that is where the lesson is to be learned, because the fact is that it wasn't personal. What he says, what he feels, heck, even what he does has absolutely nothing to do with me. I don't know this man and he most certainly doesn't know me, but despite this, I wrongly felt affronted by someone I haven't even and will most likely never meet. This is it: my first mistake and the first lesson.

Our phones love to make us feel special, entitled even, and opinionated to the point we lose sight of our own flaws and believe it is right to criticize someone for something that, I repeat, does not concern us. Someone's actions or way of reasoning is really none of my business as is it none of yours, but, and there's a massive but here, as with most situations in life, there are exceptions. I do not wish for you to misunderstand me in any way. When someone's thinking is flawed, then by all means correct it -with love.

Read that sentence over. Certainly, I know of your outstanding intellect but I need you to be crystal clear on what I mean by that statement. Heavy emphasis on "correct" and "love"- meaning two things.

- Firstly, one can only correct another if one's reasoning is correct to begin with. Two blunt blades cannot sharpen each other, or was the term dull wood? Regardless, you cannot give that which you do not have. And don't forget to not be hasty in deciding what you lack and what you don't; you know, log in the eye removing a speck in another and all.

- Secondly, never forget the corner stone of all this: love. Try not to be harsh or brutal; please for your peace and mine, be gentle in your correction. Be a busy body only when the action in itself is positive and generates positive feelings like helping a friend out with schoolwork, comforting those in need or giving thoughtful advice.

But above all, try to mind your beeswax, even more so if your'e a complete stranger. You know when some famous person commits suicide and everyone wonders what in any known universe couldv'e possibly gone wrong for someone who supposedly had everything. You'd think getting hate comments on a daily and backlash for every minor thing is normal -deserved even. A price to pay for popularity; it's part of the job you say, but I'm here to tell you right now that it doesn't have to be. Hating like that is not normal; it is not okay, and when one gets fed up with the hate and loses one's life, I hope you won't be a part of the reason why. Believe me, random people you've never met telling you they hate you and wishing that you'd die for something you've quite possibly repented of or worse something they don't even understand is disconcerting to say the least. It is horrible but easy to fall prey to being a hater; notwithstanding, let us not associate with that ugliness. Let us normalize embracing silence when there isn't a kind word to be said. Let us be sensitive to the fact that the world becoming a global village does not give us the right to intentionally hurt people... To be continued.