Pause for Thought.

By Janet. Elaine Parks

I don’t think most people actually hate each other…

I think they hate what they think the other person represents.

Because let’s be honest…

Most of us aren’t sitting across from real people anymore.

We’re sitting across from:

 • headlines

 • clips

 • comment sections

 • and the worst examples of “the other side”

So instead of seeing a person…

we see a label.

And once someone becomes a label…

it’s easy to dismiss them.

It’s easy to assume the worst.

It’s easy to justify being disrespectful.

But if you actually sat down with most people…

face to face…

no cameras

no comments

no audience

You’d probably realize something uncomfortable:

You don’t actually hate them.

You disagree with them.

You see the world differently.

But hate?

That usually comes from distance… not proximity.

Social media removed the human part of conversation…

and replaced it with performance.

And now people aren’t just talking to each other…

they’re talking at  each other.

Trying to win.

Trying to prove something.

Trying to be right in front of an audience.

But real conversations don’t work like that.

And I think deep down…

a lot of people are starting to feel that.

Because this constant tension?

It’s not natural.

We weren’t meant to see each other as enemies over everything.

Maybe the problem isn’t that people are so different…

Maybe it’s that we’ve stopped seeing each other as people at all.

If you want to comment, please do!

( Agreed: Digital Anvil)