I'd go further and say...the people who are awful to others are often speaking from a place of pain. It's easy to be happy if you're successful, don't have medical bills piling up, don't have to worry about your job, have a loving family or support around you... (Although there are people with all of those things who are far from happy.)
But if you are in chronic pain, lonely and scared all the time?
And the internet doesn't always help with that.
What struck me about both Silverman and Oswalt's responses is they took the time to look deeper -- and felt empathy for the person on the other end or rather saw that this was a human being, in pain, who needed help and had the ability or means to help them.
I look back at some of the interactions I've had online over the years -- and I just wasn't able to do what Silverman and Oswalt did...but I was also in too pain myself at the time. Scared and stressed out as well.
I think most online fights/disagreements/kerfuffles are the result of pain/fear. People are lashing out over the internet at one another. It's hard, I think, to be able to step back and see that -- and look deeper. Ask why the person is lashing out, why they are so angry.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2019-03-01 02:22 am (UTC)But if you are in chronic pain, lonely and scared all the time?
And the internet doesn't always help with that.
What struck me about both Silverman and Oswalt's responses is they took the time to look deeper -- and felt empathy for the person on the other end or rather saw that this was a human being, in pain, who needed help and had the ability or means to help them.
I look back at some of the interactions I've had online over the years -- and I just wasn't able to do what Silverman and Oswalt did...but I was also in too pain myself at the time. Scared and stressed out as well.
I think most online fights/disagreements/kerfuffles are the result of pain/fear. People are lashing out over the internet at one another. It's hard, I think, to be able to step back and see that -- and look deeper. Ask why the person is lashing out, why they are so angry.