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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” the iconic words from a moving letter from Birmingham jail were written by MLK Jr. in 1963. The powerful sentence followed: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” While MLK Jr. was specifically talking about racism in America and the necessity of all people to stand up for injustice wherever they see it, it showed how we are all connected in many more ways than we think. So a simple gesture of standing up against injustice, whether online or in real life is incredibly important.
Even though many people realize the importance of calling out the injustice, whether it’s racism or homophobia, there has been a disturbing increase in hate speech in the U.S. in recent years. A recent report by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Dr Fernand de Varennes, showed that the “efforts in the fight against ‘the tsunami of hate and xenophobia in social media’ appear to be largely failing because hate is increasing, not diminishing.”
"In many countries, three-quarters or more of the victims of online hate speech are members of minority groups. Women belonging to these groups are disproportionately targeted,” he reported in a speech during the 13th Forum on Minority Issues at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
"Too often, hate speech is followed by hate crimes and violence," says de Varennes. "It can too easily prepare the ground for dehumanization and scapegoating of minorities, and for normalizing hate. We need to learn from history and place all our efforts in erasing hate speech from the online space."
Hate speech and bigotry aside, it’s impossible not to notice how judgemental social media can be. Too many people online and especially minorities have experienced poor treatment and harsh criticism. What makes it particularly hard is the fact that we as a society have a lot to improve when it comes to calling out injustice and standing up for those who are vulnerable.
At the same time, it’s important to dig deeper into the reasons behind a judgemental attitude. We reached out to Dr. Lise Deguire, clinical psychologist and author of a multiple award-winning book “Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience From a Burn Survivor” who shared some eye-opening insights.
In most cases, Dr. Deguire argues, those who judge others tend to be just as harshly judgemental about themselves. “In my clinical experience, the people who are most judgmental towards others are secretly the most harshly judgemental towards themselves. Inside, these people are highly self-critical. It is no wonder then that they treat others the same way they treat themselves, critically and harshly. Frequently, when these people learn to be more loving and accepting towards themselves, they also become more tolerant and sympathetic towards others,” Dr. Deguire explained.
At the same time, judgment hurts people from the inside out. Dr. Deguire explained that people's judgment and criticism of us feel absolutely terrible, sometimes even devastating. “When this happens, the first thing to do is to notice your own pain and distress and to treat yourself kindly. It hurts, plain and simple. Having compassion for your pain will help you bear it.”
“Once you have recovered from the hurt of being judged, it is good to remember that anyone judging you that harshly is probably in a lot of pain themselves,” Lise said and added that awareness may help you to move beyond the hurt of the moment.
