Are We Too Nice?
By Nicole Nutting
Yep, itâs in our bloodâwe âbleeding heart liberalsâ are famous for our caring attitude. We want life to be better for everyone and weâre not ashamed of that, although it earned us the nick-name âlibtardsâ from conservatives who think weâre just dumb and weak!
Of course we arenât dumb, but our stance might be considered wimpy by some. In 2016 we got our hats handed to us by opponents who had no qualms about lying, cheating, and fighting dirty. We played by the rules and lostâweakness, by their immoral standards.
The âResistanceâ takes many forms, and we generally rely on the peaceable onesâ we are doves, not hawks. Our gentle weapons are marching, boycotting, petitioning, maybe addres-sing our legislators at town hall meetings. There is another venue at our disposal though, and that is our personal interactions. Sometimes we can open other peopleâs minds in a one-on-one setting.
Two weeks ago I killed a car purchase transaction right in the middle, because the chauvinistic salesman could not stop being patronizing and demeaning. Women are not OBLIGATED to tolerate that. He learned a lesson, but it cost him his commission.
I was telling that story to a nice older Black gentleman at my local store, and had to explain that the car salesmanâs remarks were NOT complimentsâthey were phrased to belittle females and bolster male âsuperiorityâ. He didnât get it, so I asked if heâd never been insulted. Maybe for the color of his skin?? Well, of course he had, but on those occasions he had just let it go.
Well, why would we allow this?! The concept of âturning the other cheekâ is a lofty principle but, in practice, the offenders donât learn anythingâit just gives them permission to continue their bad behavior. Unless weâre about to get beat up or shot, we wonât make progress by simply letting it go. Rewarding hatefulness by not calling it out is the very reason it persists.
Are we afraid weâll be considered bad-mannered by someone who actually IS bad-mannered? That really is TOO nice!
