If a certain song did not come to mind when reading the title, then just stop reading this now.
Just kidding. This is a serious one.
The reason for this blog post is my stumbling upon a new hashtag on twitter, “#ShoutYourAbortion.” If you haven’t heard about this, I suggest you look into it first, because it is honestly interesting regardless if you are pro-choice or pro-life. I’m choosing to not say my opinion because, frankly, I will offend a number of people no matter what, and this blog is not about offending people at all.
If you would like to be offended, read my tweets. Just kidding. I’m kind of a sarcastic jerk today. I apologize. Hello sidetracked, sorry, now back to my point…
If you look at the tag on twitter, you will notice that there are tweets for and against this issue. Hundreds and hundreds of tweets. The most amazing part of this trend on twitter was the amount of utter disrespect that I saw. Left and right there were tweets of people criticizing harassing each other.
There is a HUGE difference between disagreeing with someone and disrespecting someone (duh). So why do people act like those two words are synonymous? Believe it or not, there is a completely civil and respectful way to disagree with someone. This means that you do not use the following words in the argument: stupid, idiot, dumb, a**hole, b**ch, etc.
I know what you’re thinking: “You can argue with someone without calling him or her nasty names???” Yes, you can. It’s shocking. I know.
If you’re completely lost on how to have a disagreement with someone without insulting them, then here are some tips and tricks from yours truly:
- Start out your counterargument by saying, “I respect what you’re saying, but what I believe is…”
- Do NOT try to change his or her beliefs. It will not work and you will just become angry.
- Assure the person that you’re disagreeing with that they will not sway your beliefs.
- If he or she starts swearing and you and/or insulting you, walk away. Let me repeat that for emphasis. WALK. AWAY. (or get off the internet, which will be the case more often than not)
- At the end of the argument, assure your arguer (Yes, I made that word up) that he or she is respected for being nice to you. Maybe even throw in a nice little hug.
I believe that it is extremely important to stand up for what you believe in. Even if many people disagree with you. However, in doing so you should be a respectful individual. Do not put down others for disagreeing with you. Do not think that your opinion is “better” or “right” because that will just make you very angry whenever someone disagrees with you. (That advice is coming from experience.)
Someone will always disagree with you, but that’s what makes the world exciting. I’m just asking (insisting, actually) that you be respectful when stating your opinion. It honestly makes a disagreement a lot less stressful and a lot less annoying. Give it a try next time.
P.S. I am aware of the sassiness of this post, but it was greatly needed. Now, enjoy your day my lovely readers.
