Is there ever a right or a wrong time to talk about a topic? Have you ever found yourself deleting a message because you felt it was coming on too strong? And not even in a sexual manner, maybe you were afraid to offend someone? Where does this feeling come from, it’s almost as if praise can be unconditional and never ending, but the moment you speak truth from your heart, you have all the haters of the world glaring at you. Is there ever a right time to voice an opinion that may not be commonly accepted? Is there a right place to do so? How does one keep true to their own thoughts and beliefs, without bending to form to the society we are all a part of.
A few years back, a woman was killed in a grocery store. The woman who killed her had several mental health issues and a history of getting into trouble. Everyone in the community seemed to have a consensus that this woman was a cold hearted murder and some even believed the death penalty should be given to her. What everyone was ignoring, was the same issues that every other situation like this one had ignored, the serious lack of help for the mentally ill that my state will not accept. One day, I came across an article written in the Bangor Daily News about how the author felt bad for the women who had committed the crime, because it seemed to be another ill-fated story of an individual with severe mental health challenges, that once again got lost under the radar, and nobody took seriously. The woman who had died in that grocery store had no connection to the other woman, it was a random act of violence, for whatever reason the woman felt just. So, if this author who took the chance to take a different stance on the matter at hand, was right, why did it seem the community felt the opposite? Even though this author spoke the truth on a subject that, for whatever reason, seems to be taboo, nobody noticed or cared.
It seems to me, that during conflicting times where there is not a right answer, people tend to find a quick answer and move on. Hopefully, it will be an answer that will not affect them in anyway. There’s no serious, intelligent conversation that comes out of these situations, only harsh, quick judgement. So why is it that when an individual decides to take it upon themselves to open up a door to a controversial subject, they get barred? I see it all the time, people put their truest and honest of opinions out on the line, only for it to be chewed up, spit out, and that person who took the chance to speak from their heart? Ends up with two endings, they strengthen up and keep going, or they feel so low that they will never open up another conversation for a long time.
Some of my favorite people on this planet are the ones who speak up, put themselves out there to be ridiculed, and receive so much angry negativity, but keep going. I’ve fought with myself over and over again about the social rules of what to say and when to say, or how to say it to make others feel better about them. I constantly dread and worry things that I do or say for fear that it will be taken the wrong way. You know what I’ve learned? You can’t please everyone, and if you’re a mover and a shaker, you will lose friends, make people angry and cause upheaval. But without that, how can you truly instill change?
