What now?
Well, it appears I (thankfully) missed another blow-up on here. I have no clue what happened, but I assume someone made an insensitive or offensive comment and people took offense to it. If that's the case, (s)he probably deserved it... But that's not the biggest problem I see here.
The community is split in half. One half has one view, one half the other. Most people are respectful, but a few on both sides can't stand everyone on the other. That is a major problem. A split of opinion is not a bad things - much good has come from people who have different views, but respect each other and try and get around those differences. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams are a good example, and in more recent times it would be George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. No good can come from people - regardless of which side they stand on, which beliefs they endorse, which religion they are - disrespecting huge chunks of society. People who think everyone that disagrees with them is a disgusting bigot who deserves to be belittled, ridiculed, and robbed of the respect that we all as human beings are entitled to are the problem in our society. Being a 'tolerant' person does not give you the excuse to treat others poorly, and being a 'righteous' person does not give you a right to treat others poorly... As a matter of fact, nothing gives you the right to treat others poorly.
I can't speak for everyone who believes what I do, but I believe that everyone is equal and that, regardless of how you see someone else's beliefs or lifestyle, they are human and you are just as messed up as they are. I believe we share more in common than not, and I believe we would truly understand our neighbor more if we laid down the pitchforks and started talking about things. Does that mean that you can't disagree with someone, or view something they do as wrong? Of course it doesn't - we are given a moral compass for a reason, and calling out true evil deserves to be done. But it does mean you should treat them as you would treat yourself, your family, your friends, your beliefs, and your country. I'm not perfect, and I mess up on this a lot... But I want to strive to view things that way. And you know what? Nothing can excuse not reaching out to someone. If you disagree with them, guess what? That's life. Nobody is going to think exactly the way you do, and you are going to disagree with people. To me, I think if we could just sit down and talk, we'd find more in common than you might think. We are all human, and most all of us strive to do what is right by our beliefs and our country... Even if it is just that little, that's still a great thing we share. You might have to agree to disagree, but who knows - maybe that could help you, and your opposite, out a little bit. People are different - we're all different - but we are all people.
But, it's a shame that such an event could likely never happen here. It pains me to see this community I've been a part of for a third of my life be torn apart by intolerance from people, and that's really all I'm getting at. Can't we just agree to disagree, get on with our lives, and get back to being the best LEGO community on the internet? I miss the days when I could truly say that about our community. I miss the days when, instead of yelling at each other and taking sides and names, we could just talk about our shared interest.
-TN05
9 Comments
Recommended Comments