Today Ryan Lochte was accused of lying about the robbery in Rio, Louisiana remains in devastation from the recent flooding and Naked Trump takes over the Internet with over 38,000 tweets. It’s days like these that make me wonder where our priorities as a country are. From the photo above, I have a pretty good guess.
Social media has become a medium where everyone feels entitled to share their own opinion. Sometimes that’s a beautiful freedom we have but today it feels more like a platform for hate. Now before you close this article and walk away, let me state that I am not defending Donald J. Trump. He’s shown us time and time again that he can take care of himself, spouting off unnecessary criticisms on Twitter. This commentary isn’t focused on either Democrats or Republicans. Instead, I want to shift our focus towards the current state of social media culture.
I’m not naive to the fact that a large amount of Americans would do just about anything to take Trump off of the ballot. He’s said some appalling things over the course of the election period. However, what was done today bothers me. There are many people out there who strongly feel he deserves what happened and maybe he does but does that make any of it okay? The fact that a naked statue emphasizing the inadequacies of any human being was created for the main goal of completely humiliating them floors me. No one should have to go through that level of embarrassment. However cliche’ it might sound, how would you feel if someone had made that of you? I know I’d be crawling into a deep dark cave at some remote, unknown location never return to the surface again.
I completely understand that a statement was being made. I’m not here to argue that. It was the way things were executed that ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth. We’ve seen so many commentaries circulating about how destructive cyber bullying can be. Articles that plead for us not to engage in such activity. In fact, the hashtag #Love4GabbyUSA was created for the sole purpose of encouraging the Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas after controversy erupted online of her not placing her hand over her heart during the National Anthem. So why is it all of a sudden okay for us to chastise a man (no matter how unlikable he may be) to the point where the berating goes viral? It feels a bit hypocritical doesn’t it? All I’m asking is that we take a moment to think through our thoughts before we go posting harsh opinions online. Because behind those criticisms are recipients that happen to be real human beings with real feelings.
Jillian Pedersen is a plus-sized mom from Austin, Texas. She is the creator of Thighs and Lows Blog and Thighs and Lows Blog Facebook group, an online community that encourages and empowers women of every size to appreciate who they are right now. Jillian is an advocate for the body positive movement.