Show Them Grace

I think we have learned to assume the worst in people. Grace, the mot precious of virtues, is a rarity now.

I think, somehow, we’ve been conditioned to give people the least charitable approach. The benefit of the doubt it dead. And I understand why. We’ve been let down so frequently by people in power that we’re weary of everyone else now. We look at each other and we wait for the other shoe to drop, the mask to slip. We’re waiting for that A-ha! moment, when our suspicions are confirmed. And, while that isn’t out fault I think it’s working against us.

All weekend I watched as people posted videos stating where they stood regarding the Fuel Protests. And no matter what was said, there was always people in the comments aghast, annoyed, angry. I can’t believe you think THIS. And if you didn’t post directly about it, you got comments, DMs, sub-videos calling people who didn’t make videos on the matter cowards. And all of a sudden, people who are often on the same side of the aisle are at each other’s throats. Rather than being unbothered by who is and who isn’t posting, and directing all our anger at the government, we’re siphoning some of this reasonable rage off to give to our peers.

I don’t know what the answer is. I just know we don’t give each other grace anymore. We don’t allow each other any room to get things wrong, to be without all the information. And the thing is, nobody has the time or the resources to gather all the information. We’re all doing our best in the midst of global catastrophe. There is so much varying information these days that there may as well be none. Because it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees.

All weekend I saw people accuse each other of being far right for supporting the plight of our farmers. I saw people put more effort in to tearing each other down than punching up at the government. Not everyone, of course, but it was a lot. It was so much that, despite backing the protest myself, I didn’t come out and say it, not because of any fear of losing work, but because, no matter what I said, or how I said it, it wouldn’t have been good enough.

And this, this is a scary thing. People self-silencing because they’re afraid of their own peers. Afraid to potentially get things wrong that there is no expression at all. Because these days, online at least, there is no margin for error. And that scares me, because if there’s no margin for error, then there’s no room to be human.