I will admit right now that I am on Facebook too much, and have been since I signed up for one in high school. I used to be eager to debate current issues with others, and I have recently made the observation that as my years on social media have gone by, I have become more hesitant to discuss these issues. I would sometimes call what I feel fear. I hail from a small town in Georgia. I am a New Orleans resident. I know and interact with people of different positions across the sociopolitical spectrum on a daily basis, in person and long distance. I observe arguments and posts on a daily basis that incorrectly and offensively label women, as well as religious and racial minorities. I see fear mongering, cyber bullying, and a blatant and frankly frightening refusal from these people I know to educate themselves about the historical and current struggles of the people they so painstakingly take the time to label.

I will now do something that may be scary and potentially bridge-burning to some of those who didn't know; I am now outing myself in writing as a liberal and a feminist. I choose to do so because I deserve to be heard. I know my opinions and observations are valid, and it is absolutely ridiculous to hide behind a computer or phone because someone may try to involve me in a childish argument. I am absolutely open to intelligent, adult conversations. I am a lifelong hater of conflict, and I have to not allow avoidance of discomfort to stand in the way of my voice.

In the past week, I have been told that I was "funny" for asking questions during a conversation with two men because I was a woman (God bless Hillary Clinton; I can only imagine).

My family values have been questioned for sharing a sassy video of an old Cher interview about being an independent woman on Facebook. It was brought to my knowledge today that it is legal in my home state for people to take pictures under women's skirts. There's a real discrepancy about what is acceptable protocol for those of us with vaginas. In my home county, the local group of the KKK is plastering people's driveways with invitational flyers. This scares the living crap out of me.

I realize now that those people I don't want to "stir the pot" with are the people who need to have conversations about their fears the most. They're not bad people; they're hard-working and truly believe they are looking out for everyone's best interest. Some mature discourse in a comfortable environment would be beneficial to both sides of the argument.