This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic)
By Clara Ghattas - A Blogger from Lebanon
Let’s start with mastering the art of minding your own business:
There is a new kind of phenomenon that has been taking over the globe lately. A severe and brutal hatred is being thrown in the faces of free thinkers, artists, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and activists—everyone aiming for radical change in society.
Most unfortunately, some consider these courageous voices to be a threat to humanity and claim they will be the ruin of mankind. And these so-called “normative” people have allowed themselves to dole out abuse to all those they deem nonnormative, ignoring their basic right to have their own opinions, and even brazenly taking matters into their own hands to turn these people’s lives into a living hell.
It's basically the oppressor oppressing the oppressed, again and again.
Bluntly put, is this all just a dangerous game of bullying? Bullying that is not limited to one place, but is spreading throughout all corners of the world, shamelessly shaping into a common element on all social platforms?
What counts as reality nowadays is the glimpses we catch on social media, and the comment section under each post is aggressively transforming into an atrocious abyss where harassment can become very real, very concrete. It is a space where the causes that activists, artists, and other individuals wholeheartedly fight for are viciously attacked. Causes that are barely given the time of day by senior legal figures—they are barely recognized as valid demands, let alone be accorded any rights. These justice seekers are also ridiculed by the public on a daily basis, with the same old rhetoric always thrown their way: Do they think they’re going to change the world?, They definitely belong to a political party, They’re just here for the attention, All these activists come from money… and the list of infuriating insults keeps eagerly growing by the day.
It's basically the oppressor oppressing the oppressed, again and again.
If you were to ask me about the real reason behind all this hatred spreading around the people trying to invite their society into discovering a new narrative to live by, I’d say it’s the easiest reaction to people who dare to “deviate” from the norm and live according to what they believe is true to them. We humans always tend to mock others to feel better about ourselves.
It’s an ironic reaction, how inevitable it feels to attack others who take a leap of courage and express their thoughts, when we know that when it’s our turn to step out of our shadow and into anything resembling a spotlight, we start praying for appreciation and admiration and, ultimately, success.
It’s always scary to step onto any kind of stage and speak to a public we know is eager to hurl tomatoes at us. This leads us to the notion of minding our own business.
We all want to be acknowledged and appreciated, no matter what domain we’re active in. So there is no need to bring each other down—and this includes taking out our anger on activists, journalists, free thinkers, and the LGBTQ+ community.
If each of us minded their own business and paused before doling out the harsh criticism, maybe silenced voices would get the chance to speak their minds in tranquility, without fearing the series of dramatic shenanigans of the audience typing behind their screens.
There is nothing wrong with being a free soul.
There is nothing wrong with demanding the right to be with the partner one loves, whatever their gender may be.
And it should definitely not be suspicious to point out all the deficiencies in our society.
It helps no one to ostracize these people and communities who against all odds speak their minds, especially if it’s just because sometimes it might feel hard to accept what is considered new or unfamiliar.