With today's climate of protesting, writing about choices was one of the hardest things that I have ever decided to do. How do I approach this topic? How do I show all the facts without making it seem like I'm preaching? Which is what I do not want to do. I love giving information, based on facts, so saying, that's where I will start.
A friend of mine was accused of something, in a public forum. The accuser stated his name in the same breath as "I don't want him attacked". That immediately had a bell going off in my head. I listened to what the accuser had to say. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the talk, I am first and foremost a person that needs the facts. Speculation and half-imaginings don't work for me, personally, I am the type of person that needs to dig. Well with this I didn't need to dig very far. This post won't go into the width and breadth of that.
This discussion is about choices. How and why they are made. What is the reasoning behind them? If a person makes a choice, can that person live with the consequences of their actions?
There is also one choice that has to be made in this life and it's made on a daily basis. We agree with people without listening to the facts, or without getting the facts. When someone makes an accusation how quick some make the choice to jump on a bandwagon with others without getting those facts.
Over the past week I have had people that I had thought of as friends use racism as a soapbox for something that had already been attended to. How that person feels that they were treated and went and posted on social media how she was speaking up to stop racism, which by the way had already been handled weeks prior, and how she was ashamed of the community that we were all chatting in. Which had handled the multi-cultural exchange within, without having to post in social media to come to an understanding. Some, and by some I mean one, didn't like the outcome, this person was apologized to but felt the person apologizing wasn't sincere.
Choices!
That was their choice whether to accept the apology or not. I don't know about a lot of other people, I just know that I was raised not to beg for forgiveness. A person will either forgive or not, that is their choice. Me, personally, will only apologize once if I feel that I may, and I say may, have been in the wrong, my choice.
Choices!
I read in stunned disbelief the diatribe that was written in our chat, my choice. I didn't speak out, also my choice, and one that I wish I could go back and change because another took it upon themselves to and was roasted for it, though they didn't feel attacked, others in the community felt attacked and spoke up to those they felt could help them. When she posted on a public forum how she was "innocently attacked" I was doubly floored. She couldn't even say that the community that she attacked had defended themselves. When you bash someone over and over again, and their only response is that you need to speak to the owner of the forum and you still want to bash the person, don't get upset when they begin to defend themselves or their actions.
Choices!
If a person is going to speak on behalf of another, get facts straight. Because things didn't go as planned, a witch hunt has now ensued.
Choices!
In 1923 a massacre happened in Rosewood, Florida a black man was accused of raping a white woman. The woman said she wasn't raped. Because of racial tensions it didn't take much to get people up in arms to destroy a town and kill many.
Choices!
Why does mob mentality exist? People are making the choice not to seek the truth or to believe anything that someone may say. Or jump on the bandwagon of hate because they don't like the person either.
As a society do we learn nothing from the past?
There was an article called "Believe Women" that was sent to me that sums up all of the things I think are problems when it comes to any type of accusation. I have been accused of victim shaming for asking a question. First and foremost I'm a seeker of knowledge and facts. I didn't want the person to feel bad but sometimes the story doesn't make sense to me. So I keep my questions to myself, doing that has me less believing their story. My choice!
Until next time, be safe!
