One or more times, you and I both have been hypocrites on the internet. One or more times, you and I have tried to convince ourselves that we actually are not hypocrites, just that maybe the situation needed us to be. No honey, we did practice hypocrisy, just too scared to acknowledge and accept it.
Recently, I have closely observed the level of hypocrisy we share on social media. Often advocating for one thing, then doing a 180 and totally pissing on it. Forgive my French. However, it calls for concern on how comfortable we are with lying to ourselves and others on who we are when we are not. It no longer is shocking, but I will not lie and say that I do not find it bizarre.
We have become so accustomed to making sure that our words do not match our actions. There is no fault we see in that, once someone calls us out, we move on like nothing happened.
Recently, I watched with total awe as Malawians on Twitter advocated for privacy when a series of voice notes were leaked. Voice notes that showed the pain of a man and woman who had been heartbroken in a relationship. I swear, I was in total awe seeing many accounts advocate for privacy. Then I did a swift check on some of them, and found some not too old tweets asking their friends to share them leaked nudes. And just like that, a deep rumble erupted at the back of my throat, because this is not new anymore.
Likewise, the many people who have become internet advocates of mental health. Often preaching about mental health when news of suicide are reported. They write;
Please check on your friends. Be there for your friends, You never know what they are going through
For a full day, they have a field day on how to combat depression and anxiety. Who to call when you feel like talking. Sometimes, they even offer themselves as the shoulder you can cry on. Once the day is gone, most go back to usual business. Bullying, demeaning and laughing at others for their own circumstances.
We really never know what we truly want, and who we truly want to be and mirror. Often stuck in the façade of wanting to look good, when we truly are not. We lie about the people we are on social media when we are the complete opposite in real life.
The lack of liability is what gets me. When people find ways to justify why they decided to be hypocrites. So many words come out, empty of meaning but wanting to be reasoned with. This is because, when we decide to be hypocrites, we often do not think that there will be anyone to call us out. We often think we will get out with it. But any harm one causes should be accounted for.
Maybe, it would be better to just accept what we are. To remove the veils we put on and truly show ourselves to the world. Be it that you are a bully or whatever. Than constantly be in a frenzy of changing masks to fit the situation and be apart of the group. If we truly just accepted that we are all not good, than the activism we do for an hour, just to later turn a blind eye becomes a bit sickening to witness.
But again, these are just my views for the last day of advocacy week.
Reposted from www.thelouisamsiska.com
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