It is, if you like, an injunction to give others the benefit of the doubt. If what someone says could be plain wrong or just badly phrased, assume the latter, until proven otherwise.

It seems as though people on tumblr have been becoming a really annoying group of moral police. I really valued tumblr has a highly educational platform when I first started using it; its beauty was that some users held progressive ideas and opinions on social and moral issues and they shared them with the rest of the internet through meaningful and thought provoking blogging. Now everyone has been using these ideas and attacking each other with them.

Personally, most of my ideals behind feminism, I have learn through tumblr. For example, I never noticed the concept of “sexist tropes” until I read about them and understood why they are wrong. In no way was I without moral. I was simply… un-enlightened. This concept goes for many of my currently held ideals, from abortion to religion. I can safely say that the same can go for almost everyone on tumblr. I know that many of my followers have learned from me when I’ve blogged about particular philosophical thinking and I’ve seen them learning from each other.

Nowadays, if someone makes a moral slip, his or her post will get reblogged hundreds of times, each with attacking commentary. I don’t know if people just wait for these opportunities because they like to show that they are knowledgeable of moral issues or if just aggressively mean. We all make mistakes and just because someone reblogs a picture of a woman with an indian headdress or gives their opinion on why he or she doesn’t like women in skimpy clothing, does not deem them morally bad with a black heart and a non existent brain.

Next time you see someone write or share something that questions your moral belief, please do not attack. Instead, politely explain your opinion and give reasons why. In return, you will not get a rude defense and an argument will not entail. The best that can happen is that you will have taught someone a valuable idea and the worst that can happen is that they are actually morons. However, I still see no reason to attack.

Finally, you want to sound like a leader, not a follower. Remember folks, there is a difference between someone like mohandasgandhi giving her opinion and you making derogatory comments in her notes as an effort to support her opinion.