Let me go "Society-Joker" mode for a minute here, cuz' there's been something on my mind for a hot minute:
Everyone's been told that compassion is a sign of weakness. Every generation, boy and girl alike, at least in the West, has had this lingering ghost over their backs whispering "your kindness is a weakness. Squash it." Think about it. You see it in public, when dudes are laughed at for being compassionate and "unmanly" or something like that. You see it in the news and in arguments, when a woman being compassionate is a sign of them being a "traditional and submissive traitor" or something like that (I don't know if any woman in person has been told stuff like that offline; I'm a dude and can only really fully know one side of this situation, but my point is that it happens to everyone). Even when compassion is encouraged (whether sincere or not), like with children or environmental expectations, there's usually this sense of condescendence with it: "You're a kid; you're supposed to be stupid and nice to people. You're a young woman in a traditional environment; you're supposed to be submissive and loving. You're a man who's a bit scrawnier; you're supposed to be a pushover and weak."
I just want to quickly say that this is a lie from the deepest pit of Hell. Compassion is probably the only thing keeping anything together right now. It's the folks brave enough to be kind that give us the courage to go on living, isn't it? It's the ones who are willing to be called weak in the hopes of making others stronger that really prove they're the Atlases of our society and our sanity. Kindness is not weakness, but rather the greatest strength under the greatest humility.
Just wanted to thrust these thoughts somewhere real quick; it was on my mind, and if I got anything wrong about how it seems to feel right now for you guys, please do tell me. I'd love to hear some input on this (whatever this really is). Thanks for reading, friends.
this is really informative! as a girl who has really terrible extended family, my mom and dad have been taught to live up to impossible standards and gender stereotypes, and though they have tried to save me and my younger sister, some of their voices seep through. it still kind of haunts me in a way knowing how bad of a childhood my mom and dad had, even though i know i can't do anything about it and it's not my fault. standards by society are IMPOSSIBLE to live up to, if you to kind, you're a snowflake, if your too tough, your cold and heartless and you need to "open up more" and 'get yourself out there" this is not fair, and the world needs to just let people simply just be. just be and that's it, no altering your behavior because you're afraid they might judge you, no acting or putting on masks to please people, nothing like that. just let people be people and then you can see how great and diverse people really are.
You have a great point; I think I really am speaking of a loud minority when it comes to this. I just sorta wanted to talk about it for a minute because I’ve been noticing this minority of “compassion is a weakness” have sorta been given a pedestal when it comes to social media, with the algorithm fixating and spreading it when it does happen. I’ve noticed echo-chambers like that work both ways; I can lock myself in a room where the walls only disagree with me, and thus society is in decay from where I stand. I think I was more wanting to remind myself that this view isn’t anything new, and hopefully help other folks keep strong, because, man, that loud riot has a way making its ideas seep into your skull.
Possibly things are far worse in your neck of the woods, or you're ascribing too great a currency to an idea held only by a small (but sreeching) minority [all too common an occurance]
I've read the first bit "everyone's been taught... ... weakness" and I already can tell where it's heading. I was not taught this. I was raised in the states. Ive done my best to show compassion. I've never cared how people thought it made me look. Be kind. 👍
