“Spiritual materialism is rampant & a life filled with spirit is a rarity. I don’t care how many crystals you have, how vegan your food is, or whether your Venus is in Jupiter since the last time you blamed your problems on the moon. If the way we carry and express ourselves condemns others while lifting ourselves, then we’re as off-target as the people we’re condemning. I drink with the thinkers and smoke with the preachers & I’ve never met a good man that believed he has the answers. Let your personality be your greatest work of art, and let your actions weave a thread of unity. Laugh at the voice(s) in your head, befriend your ego before you listen to that bullshit that tells you to destroy it. That’s cheap spirituality — even attempting to get rid of ego means you want to avoid this and move towards that — creating more of the same inner conflict you’re trying to avoid. Inner silence and enviable peace doesn’t come from the avoidance of life as it is, It comes from moving as deeply into life as you can. The only way out is in & the only way beyond is through.” -unknown
In the past, when male white supremacy reigned over all else and it was normal to have it be so, we all existed in an environment fit for one kind of person while all others were made to feel uncomfortable. In the past few decades, and even most, in just the last few years, people off all different races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientation began to become “normalized,” as in more accepted by mainstream society. This makes control obsessed the cis gender white people, especially many white men, feel like their “perfect” America is slipping away.
While coming up to an individual in person to express your hatred of them may be daunting for some, expressing one’s bigoted ignorant self online has given such chauvinists the “safety” needed for them to rear their ugly heads. The result of this is hate being spread online. This is found on social media, online gaming platforms, online forums, and anything else that a message can be shared on. “Five out of six adults (83%) ages 18-45 experienced harassment in online multiplayer games—representing over 80 million adult gamers,” (Anti-Defamation League).
The hate most often comes from men but is not limited to them. Women are not innocent of spreading hate on other people, especially to other women. When there is an entire world separating two people, things get said that may have otherwise remained in the shadows. The benefit to this is that you get to really see people’s true colors, like the men who “fantasize about me getting raped,” (Nhi Le, TEDx Talks). The downside to this is that people feel safe to be horrible to another human being just because the world of the internet separates them from their victim.
I frequently hear from my fiancé about people on the online games telling others to go kill themselves and calling people the F word and the N word with the hard R. These are games that bring him relaxation and enjoyment but when such language and behavior is brought into the equation, it understandably ruins this comforting activity for him. These people are most often children. If they are already speaking so far beyond what is out of line, it puts fear in me to think of how those behaviors will progress into adulthood. People have so much repressed emotions that when it finally comes how it can be vile.
The research done on this abhorrent behavior backs up these upsetting facts with numbers. Women, LGTBQ+, other races besides white, and other religions besides Christianity are most often targeted. “53% of LGBTQ+ respondents attributed the harassment to their sexual orientation,” “[W]omen were more than twice as likely to report ever experiencing sexual harassment online as men were,” (Anti-Defamation League). The repeated mistreatment of others from the male species, most often white, is so prevalent that it shapes the entire foundation of western culture.
People who are a different race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion have to fight to be normalized and accepted so that we can just exist in a world comfortably that was not made for us. Social media and other online platforms are such a big part of peoples lives and allow us to become more connected to the people around us and people across the world. It can help with finding community and a sense of self. When it goes from being a place of exploration and comfort to a place of fear, anxiety and hatred, we are failing as a species to evolve into something more compassionate and aware. Hate most often comes from somewhere, people are not born with it. If hate is in you, regardless of why it’s there, it is your responsibility to unlearn such poisonous and destructive traits so that you can act out of love and awareness.
Ruby Cayenne 