Being an Advocate Doesn't Mean You Can Be a Bully

Okay, let me make something abundantly clear: standing up for what you believe in does NOT make you a douchenozzle.  Sometimes, though, the method in which you choose to do so does.  Let me tell you a little story....

I have a friend that we'll call "Mindy." Mindy is an animal lover. In fact, she's not just an animal lover; she's a vegan, dog foster parent, advocating animal lover.  I love that about her.  I love that she's so passionate about something so important.  I don't always agree with her but I love that she is dedicating her life to something so important.  However, Mindy has a major downfall.  Mindy chooses to bully people if they disagree on ANYTHING regarding her cause....and I mean ANYTHING.  She claims that it is in the interest of education but her method is absolutely, undeniably threatening.  It's not that her message is wrong, persay, but her method of conveying it is actually hindering her purpose.  In simpler terms, she's cutting off her nose to spite her face.

You see, Mindy standing up for what she believes in doesn't make her a jerk.  The methods she chooses to do it, sometimes, though, do.

I love when people are passionate about something.  Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't.  However, I love the fact that we live in a country that allows us to explore and educate on our passions.  All I'm saying is that we should be thinking of how we are educating others to support our cause.  We should be reading, reading, and reading some more.  We should be reading things that support our cause but also things that don't.  After all, you don't know what you're debating until you have fully educated yourself on the other side of the argument.

We have to learn to respect other's opinions.  Maybe they will agree with you after hearing your presentation.  Maybe they won't.  We have to learn to respect their opinion, even if we disagree.   We have to learn not to bully others in the name of education.  We have to learn to spread kindness, not ugliness.  If we are REALLY trying to make the world a better place, we are not going to achieve it with a million cookie cutter people who were educated by a dictator (so to speak.)  We will achieve it by understanding that our country is a melting pot and those differences is what makes us wonderful.