The Mob

I grew up in church. It was a small church, fairly friendly, and rather supportive of everyone in the community. At least that's how it was when I was growing up. I can't say for certain what happened after I left. When I was young though, we were taught not to judge people with harshness. In fact, not to judge them at all. That wasn't our job.

Did I listen? Nope. In fact, one of the reasons I left religion was because I'd become such a judgemental and harsh person. That isn't who I wanted to be. Over the years, on occasion, you'll notice I slip back into that. On this blog, I can be really judgy. Again, though, that isn't who I want to be. I know the damage that can do.

 One of the reasons I really try to NOT do this is because I'm aware that people are struggling with their own internal demons. That isn't to say I wouldn't defend someone if they were being treated poorly or call someone out if they were behaving badly. I would. I would hope I could do it with gentleness, though even as recently as a year ago, I didn't. The thing is, I felt SO justified in my behavior at the time. Now though, I realize it could have been handled in a more mature way.

Someone that I adore recently fell under the pressure of a lot of people condemning them. This person, who is brilliant and beat the odds to get where they are and so, so very charming, also struggles with massive self-doubt and depression. I'm worried they may not make it through this.

No one is born perfect. Not all of us reach the same level of perceived goodness as others. Some of us have a lot of darkness in us. Some of us have tough questions to ask. Some of us are always going to be on the outside of things.

Every day, people struggle with their inner demons. Inside, they are being told 'you're not good enough' and 'you're not deserving' and 'you should be taken away' and 'no one loves you.' When we pile onto people, for whatever their crimes, we're reinforcing those voices. We're a mob with pitchforks.

I know that we want to make the world a better place, but we have to keep in mind that every group of people in history who we look at in horror when they ripped other people to pieces? They also thought they were making the world a better place. While we are busy changing things, I think it's fair that we pause and reflect on how much we may be enjoying the taste of the blood we're letting.