Sharing Onions for Free Speech? Watch Out

You can't share onions freely, not really.

I mean opinions, not onions.

Sharing onions because you feel entitled to free speech will most certainly get you into trouble especially if you're already famous. So many famous people have gotten themselves in hot water by sharing opinions because of "free speech".

It's their own doing. Their own downfall. They should've known better but apparently, they didn't. And now some of them are oh so sorry they are being "cancelled" and criticized. They're not sorry to the people they have hurt. Well, maybe some of them are, but some of them aren't.

Free speech doesn't mean you get to be mean and disrespectful to people. Free speech isn't a "pass GO and collect 200" card. You are allowed to voice your concerns and harsh criticism RESPECTFULLY. You are allowed to advocate for a cause you believe in like calling out a company for racism or harsh working environments. You are allowed to, also, respectfully state your opinions which might be controversial but in that case, you should, I believe, hear the other side as well.

Free speech doesn't mean you get to say whatever you want and close your ear holes and not listen to what anyone else has to say.

Even if it might hurt your ego, you need to shove Mr. Ego aside and say, "okay, let's hear what the other side has to say". The other side is also free to speak. They also have to be respectful of you.

It's called civil communication. That's what I call it anyway. Peaceful. Respectful. Willing to listen. Good vibes.

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What kind of onions are we not allowed to share?

Good question.

There's always going to be someone who has their ear holes closed and is so closed-minded and angry that no communication is had between them and other parties.

That means we can't share whatever we want contrary to what we believe in. Probably not even to the people who are closest to us.

It's not possible. There are some touchy subjects we cannot touch for certain individuals.

Religion with Mom? Not much.

My mom isn't highly religious, but she does have a stronger Christianity belief than I do. Sometimes I want to have discussion about my faith (or indecisiveness about what I believe in or not) with my mom because we do talk about a lot of things.

But religion has been a bit difficult. I do respect her beliefs and everything, and she has also said she understands me...but then again, she does go into a bit of "shoving" her beliefs. Maybe the shove is not her intent, but it feels that way to me personally, and then I get defensive as a natural response of an imperfect human. Then it gets a bit uncomfortable for me to continue the conversation.

I love her. Of course, I do. But I usually try to keep our religion discussions at a minimum to avoid these uncomfortable situations.

I consider religion to be one of our few touchy subjects.

Politics with Friends? A No-No.

Especially so with online friends. I don't mention anything about anything going on in the world because it's always a touchy subject.

I say I'm a liberal ace with opinions, but only on Facebook. People can find my Facebook no problem and if they see that tiny bio on my profile and decide to never associate again, well, it's sad, but it's fine.

Sad because they could not put our political differences aside and just talk about writing.

There was an incident where a writer friend and I somehow got to talking about politics. I tried so darn hard to steer clear of it, but the other person kept bringing it up. 

In the end, when they found out I was not going to not be liberal, they ghosted me. I lost a writer friend because they could not put aside our different political stances.

I was fine talking with a republican as long as we stayed away from politics. Enjoying writing stories doesn't have to get political. It's totally outside of politics. There are some writer friends on Instagram that I know I won't agree with politically. But we're fine and friendly talking about publishing and writing. We put politics aside. Don't touch that touchy subject.

I only voice some political things about my own country of residence (Japan) on Facebook. You can find my Facebook through IG. I'm not hiding. I don't use IG as a platform to talk about U.S. politics or anything going on in the world because that's not what that platform is for me.

You are free to disagree that I should say something or whatever but be kind about it.

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What onions can we share?

Oh, well, anything. You do you respectfully.

But what if we don't know if this is a bad onion to share? That becomes tricky. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what is touchy and what is not.

Some people might not.

Or, since we are imperfect human beings, we might make stupid mistakes, say something that hurts a million people and flip our careers upside down and shove us into the gutters of cancellation. 

Dramatic? Nope, not drama, it's dangerous (as Swoop would say).

We might not even see it as a mistake. Maybe we feel like we did someone a favor.

Entitled humans. We are just so full of ourselves sometimes. Ugh.

I'm not exempt from that part of being human, of course not. I'm not riding a high horse. I'm riding a...what's low to the ground? Sloths? 

You can't and shouldn't ride sloths. Don't do that.

The onions we can share freely is everything but with other people in mind. Remember that there's a receiver. Always. Ultimately, every age, gender, sexuality, religion, political stance person is on the internet these days. You have to be aware that people from different walks of life are receiving. 

Remember that there's a receiver. Always.

I also think you should respect the other side even in your own circle. You can be critical of people but not disregard their onions. If you can do that you're ultimately showing those in your circle how to behave towards the opposite side, and if you're an influencer, your words are actually going to change people's apples and onions...I mean, ATTITUDES and opinions.

But there's a sad reality. Sorry to be negative, but some people are going to disrespect you no matter what you do. You can be giving your controversial opinions in such a wonderfully respectful, kind, and understanding manner, but some people are so close-minded, so angry at the world, they're going to shut you down, call you an entitled snowflake, and not even hear what you have to say.

Don't try to match their anger by also YELLING IN TEXT or in person. It's not healthy for you. Don't give them your time.

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What have we learned?

Free speech doesn't mean we get to talk about everything and say whatever we want. It doesn't allow us to voice hatred towards others without repercussions. You can make mistakes but don't make excuses.

I tend to avoid touchy subjects with people to keep good relations and you can do that, too, if you think you need to. 

Speak freely while being respectful of the other side. Try to think before you write or speak on something that could be touchy. Know that someone is always on the receiving end.