My mother raised me on the perhaps very cliché, yet absolutely true virtue: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

I can admit, firsthand, that this is no simple feat. People will say things you absolutely do not agree with, they may say something rude to you, do something you don’t like, act a certain way, the list goes on.

And it’s fucking hard to bite your tongue when you really really want to tell someone they’re wrong, stupid, rude, an asshole, etc, etc… I’ve been there. I’ve had my fair share of saying shitty things to people.

Regardless, sure, sometimes you want to be a dick, and maybe sometimes it’s deserved. I’m sorry to say though, 99% of the time, you have no fucking right to tell someone off. If someone is being harmful to you, that’s a whole different story. Telling someone off for their opinion? Or something they can’t control? Trashing them because of an affiliation, an identity? Maybe just because you hate them? Stop right there and check your ego.

The fact of the matter is, if you think you have the authority to tell someone they’re wrong without probable cause, you need to keep your opinion to yourself.

It’s like, why do people ALWAYS have to find something to shit on?? Like, I am so over it.

Last week I wrote an article about stereotypes knowing that a discussion of stereotypes is a sensitive topic. After, I kid you not, HOURS of pouring over every detail and having it read by countless people JUST to make sure the moral of this article—“ALL stereotypes are offensive, perhaps some more than others, but ultimately no stereotypes are good. So just stay away from any and all”—was clear, I finally submitted it.

I was harassed by girls just like me for failing to mention certain stereotypes, for speaking from experience, for stating an opinion in an article. A 500-word article. I received essays about how ignorant I am, comments making fun of me. It wasn’t even controversial—do we not all agree stereotypes are harmful? No stereotype is harmless, I’m stating a fact, not belittling your experience, I don’t know your struggle. Furthermore, I’m advocating on each and everyone’s behalf for the elimination of ALL stereotypes.

So who are you to act all “better-than-thou” and pollute my inbox, my notifications, with hate?

Who are you, with your incorrect grammar and distasteful use of language, to make me feel bad about myself?

Who are you to tell me I’m wrong when I’ve barely even made an argument?

Who are you to make me feel like a piece of shit when I’ve written something in favor of EVERYONE?

Fuck off.

In this day and age, it’s hard to escape the constant influx of negativity. My facebook feed is poisoned by fights in the form of comment wars, hurtful or pointed memes, and angry statuses. I mean FOR THE LOVE OF GOD people, can everyone take a breather? It’s exhausting.

Maybe I don’t agree with your post about this or that. Maybe I don’t agree with you posting this image or that image. Am I going to leave hateful, hurtful messages in your inbox? Am I going to comment on your post in a belittling tone? Am I going to confront you to bash you in person? Absolutely not. You wanna know why? My mother raised me better than that.

So stop your whining. You will never be in agreement with everyone. One of the hardest thing in life is to argue someone out of an opinion they hold. So rather than waste your time and energy on fighting with strangers, why don’t we just ignore it? You have every right to block someone. You are absolutely capable of not commenting on something. You are, in fact, able to de-friend someone so you don’t have to see or hear what they think. DISENGAGE.

And, if you

really must say something, I think we all are more than capable of having a mature, non-confrontational conversation about differing views. There is no need to be on the offensive and attack. The world has enough problems without people fighting over opinion on Facebook.