1. The Good

Call-out culture can definitely be a way that citizens are able to create positive social and/or political change. For example, numerous public officials and politicians have been called out for racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Muslim, xenophobic, and/or flat-out misogynistic comments that they have made.

I am definitely a huge believer in First Amendment rights, but I strongly believe that any type of hate speech or any kind of derogatory "-ism" (racism, sexism, etc.) should not be protected under the First Amendment.

*It technically is, however, but call-out culture helps citizens remind elected officials that by and large, hate of any kind is not tolerated.*

Most sensible Americans tend to feel this same way, with regards to this positive aspect of call-out culture, but there are some bigoted people with racist/sexist/homophobic/anti-Muslim views that seem to be stuck in the 1950s, but there is another article that could be written on that subject.

This point leads me to the second aspect of call-out culture that I wanted to talk about. (i.e. the bad.)

2. The Bad

It's definitely safe to say that since we have so many elected officials who feel that it's okay to use hate speech as a political platform, regular bigoted and hateful citizens feel brazen enough to call out those who do not share the same views that they do. If you've read this far into the article, then you can most likely guess which side of the political spectrum I fall under, but politics should be put aside for a quick second to talk about this issue.

On a personal level, I usually do not condone nasty Internet behavior. I personally try to be as respectful as I can to strangers online, even when strangers display their immature behavior to the entire world. It's a sad sight, too, because most of this incredibly rude and hateful behavior has been displayed by men and women who are easily twice, if not three times my age. (I'm 23, so that should be an indicator as to how sad this point actually is.)

I have absolutely no problem with someone else expressing their opinion(s) online; it's a free country and that's one of the reasons why America is so great. However, as I've stated before, I do not believe that any kind of hate speech should be protected under the law. Yes, we all have a constitutional right to free speech, but we should not have the right to spout hate.

Now, it's time to talk about the ugly aspect of call-out culture. (Because yes, this cultural norm can get worse.)

3. The Ugly

Call-out culture can be rude and irritating, but it can also be career- and monetarily-damaging as well. If you keep up with certain makeup/lifestyle bloggers/YouTubers, then you're probably familiar with the scenario I'm talking about. (But, I'm not going to name names, because bringing up this specific scenario is one can of worms that I'd personally rather not get myself involved in.)

However, it's definitely worth mentioning that sometimes when people call out things they feel aren't right or socially acceptable, the facts just don't match up with their own personal opinions. Sometimes people's livelihoods and sources of income are completely destroyed based on false information and/or people that do not know the full story and are figuratively "burning someone at the [social media] stake."

This part of call-out culture focuses on people's opinions rather than getting the facts right before making any statements. While expressing your personal opinion is well and fine, not having all of the facts and potentially financially and socially ruining someone's life is not.