Memo: I'm tired of "hot takes" being "hot takes".

Memos - I'm trying something new here by writing shorter posts with less editing. These are quick posts that come from those thoughts you can't get out of your head until you talk about it and hear feedback on. Those thoughts you need to share but aren't exactly relevant at the moment. Consider them, now noted.

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I wish "hot takes" were just "takes". By considering anything against what's popular on media a "hot take", we discourage people from holding their own opinions. Sometimes, we need those takes to broaden our perspectives or see a new angle. Given, some "hot takes" are worth never sharing because they come from a place of prejudice or hatred.

People hold opinions based on what they've encountered throughout their life, but they feel now guilty or incorrect for having that perspective based on what the majority opinion seems to be on media. This is why liberals often get blasted as "sheep" by critics (my opinion is that the biggest "sheep" are those that support the orange man in office wholeheartedly, but that's besides the point).

But liberals/closeted moderates or conservatives who went to liberal colleges, we view some moral issues as black and white because it unites us to support minorities/notoriously marginalized groups. There's issues at the national and even international scale where it's critical we show support and take a stance. But then, there's those weird spats that lead to "Cancel Culture".

Someone presents a new angle to the issue, they stand up for something they created - and they usually do it respectfully too - they're immediately FLAMED by social media. It doesn't matter if they are a celebrity, random twitter user, staunch conservative, or an open-minded activist with an honorable track record. It's all the same. One statement turns into a boatload of criticism and humiliation.

It's naive to assume anyone who "leans" a certain way (politically, sexually, socially) holds the same views on every issue as others who lean that way too. We're quick to point out this judgement error when it's about the color of our skin. Why are we not as quick to point it out when it's about things more than skin-deep?

As much as it's important to put your beliefs aside to do what's right for justice (spreading awareness of hate crimes, donating to relief funds, etc), it's important to form your own decisions based on the facts presented. We should seek more viewpoints to grow our understanding of something. We have natural biases due to what we grow up hearing on repeat. For example, I still don't understand how "Pro-Life" is supposedly a "non-religious stance" (???) - but if someone's willing to explain that without acting like I'm a murderer for being Pro-Choice, I'm willing to listen.

Cheers,
Niki
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Frankly, there's no action I'm expecting out of this. Just wanted to voice a thought. And hopefully make someone think about why they hold certain opinions. Was it just the media? Was it a personal connection? Or is it something that truly sits on your personal moral compass?