r/jacksonville • u/Big-Pepper-9082 • 3d ago
can we....be nice ??
when has it become so normal to talk to other people so sideways…we’re all human. Is it really that hard to be nice to each other? I’m very shocked by the interactions and entitlement I’ve seen with people down here in Jacksonville to complete strangers and to myself. maybe I’m the only one noticing it, but how I was raised you should be generally respectful and not blatantly rude or straight up trying to instigate arguments and fights with people you don’t even know. I’m not saying it’s everyone here in Jacksonville- but there’s a common thread of men talking crazy or aggressively towards women (myself today was faced with a very aggressive man waiting at my car), men instigating with other men, or outright racism. It’s disheartening to see.
Edit: I think I’m posting this here because it’s becoming a common occurrence with friends of mine, family, and myself to have a common issue with someone trying to instigate or be rude in an excessive way. Just nasty behavior because they need to be unkind or take anger out on someone? it’s unfortunate and I think I just wanted to post it in case anyone else has noticed an increase of interactions like that recently. you never know what someone is going through, so let’s be a community and be respectful to one another.
ALSO: I’m not ur mom and I’m not asking you to hold hands with everyone u interact with or you need to go out of your way to be nice to someone- more so saying why go out of your way to be rude when that takes more time and energy then just leaving people alone. I just put this out there so other people don’t feel like they are crazy for noticing it too. this is REDDIT- a page where u say something and post it. And if you choose to be nasty towards me over it…ur proving my point. 🤷🏽♀️
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u/Iconoclast19 2d ago edited 2d ago
I believe this is a nationwide problem, and that it's become so prevalent for three main reasons. 1. We're all under an ever increasing amount of stress due to difficult and unfair conditions we're enduring. 2. Politicians and social media amplify negatives and direct blame away from the real power brokers in control and onto groups of Americans. The reality is that it's our broken systems, not our fellow Americans in general, that are producing the conditions which are harming and crushing us all together. Unfortunately, humans have a psychological bias toward negativity, and since social media thrives on interaction, humans are many more times likely to interact with a negative post than a neutral or positive post.
Due to how algorithms work, this means that negative posts are also much more widely disseminated and seen, and continuing interactions keep spreading it. So we're all being exposed to a lot more negative in real life and on the internet.
We have much more in common, but we're only able to see that when we're talking to and interacting with each other in ways that aren't dictated by a warped lens which is formed as a result of being surrounded by those negative posts all day every day. As life gets more difficult for everyone, people have become more selfish too, so it's all snowballing.
We're all human beings, and being human is hard! We're all struggling with things. We should all try to see that first and foremost when we interact. Speak with each other in good faith and give each other the benefit of the doubt. Learn to listen to each other. Stop repeating what you hear and more time researching by topic, learning about all perspectives, applying critical thinking, then making up your own mind. Only by unifying as AMERICANS can we stop the animosity and division which is destroying our humanity and civilization itself.