The Cruelty is the Point: Hateful Speech on Social Media
What happened to us?
There was a time when social interaction—even with strangers—came with some degree of decorum. A time when we bit our tongues, respected differences, and practiced the art of “agreeing to disagree.” Sadly, that era feels long gone. Today, social media has become a battleground, and hateful speech is its most potent weapon.
We see it every day: a simple post about a personal experience or a gentle opinion is met with vitriol. People who don’t know one another feel emboldened to unleash their worst selves, to mock, belittle, or even threaten. Basic civility seems like a relic of the past. Where once we might have paused before saying something cruel, now it’s just one angry click away.
What happened to us?
Of course, not everyone on social media is hateful. There are kind hearts, thoughtful conversations, and genuine connections happening every day. But too often, those moments are drowned out by the sheer volume of nastiness, by the cruelty that masquerades as “honesty” or “free speech.”
It’s clear that the anonymity and distance make people forget they’re speaking to another human being with feelings, a life, a family, a heart. Or maybe these keyboard warriors haven’t forgotten—they just don’t care.
I grieve for the state of discourse. For how hard it’s become to have a civil conversation, especially about sensitive or nuanced topics. I grieve that young people growing up in this digital world might think that meanness is normal. That it’s just “how people are.”
We are better than this. We must be.
We can choose kindness. We can pause before we post. We can scroll past instead of lashing out. And we can call for platforms to do more than unleash bots that just read key words to protect against online abuse. Speech may be free, but that doesn’t mean it has to be hateful.
Let’s not forget that on the other side of that screen is a human soul. And what we put out into the world always, always comes back around.
Celebrities have it just as bad. The vitriol unleashed about Meghan Markle is beyond the pale. People don’t know her. They have no idea what actually happened in her world or what she actually did–or didn’t do. But they feel free to insult her, say they hate her and ascribe all sorts of motivations to her every action, real or imagined. This kind of hateful speech is out of control. And unnecessary.
Be gentle. Be kind. The world desperately needs it. Especially today.
Your thoughts?
Our president is the poster child for immature, reckless hate speech. Maybe he gives some permission. All the rest of us can do is spread kindness in this world.
It’s nuts how many people follow his line of speech. By all means we must spread kindness but we must do more than that if we are to change things.
I totally agree!
I have had hateful, truly hateful words spoken against me. It still hurts, and for what? An opinion? A religion? Hateful rhetoric is simple prejudice. It fills a need to hate
When our “leaders” behave like this, consent is given to others. It’s pretty horrific.
I have been receiving these messages long before president trump. When it was about religion I investigated their concerns and used the critical thinking I have been blessed with to have it settle on me. The division in our country began in 2009, it was fueled by the recession which left everyone with low energy. When that occurs we are all susceptible to anger. Only when we understand that nothing is our control can we begin to mentally fight back by not ever taking the bait so to say. We can return kindness when none is offered, we can avoid light mindedness, and negative thoughts. For instance you love racing, I would love to know more about it. What drew you to it? What do you love about it? I would love to know more. If we can flood social media with positive, nothing is left that will offend anyone .
I’m sorry you are the target for such messages. However, i do not see the history of our national ugliness as going back past the first trump administration. He is a terrible example. The division in our country was always there, from the beginning of the country….over time it was just hidden because it wasn’t societally acceptable to show it. Once he made it standard operating procedure, thus turning over the rock, there we have it. It’s him, it’s Faux, and it’s the bully pulpit of social media. It’s hard for those who support him to preach kindness without seeming disingenuous and illogical, plus anyone with critical thinking skills couldn’t possibly support him. It’s just that it serves their purposes to support him. What’s crazy is he’s hurting the very people who support him. People like my husband and I benefit financially but others are harmed in a big way.
Racing. Racing is fun! I love cars and these are the highest tech cars. I think my favorite driver is one of the best humans in the world outside of racing, so that adds so much to it. I love to watch the competition and I love to watch new young drivers become champions.
Carol, you are right on target!