It Isn’t Given, It Is Taken
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Every so often something pops up on Twitter that makes me shake my head. Something I can’t wrap my brain around. These things tend to snowball and gain more steam as more people pile on. This recently happened and I wanted to call attention to it.
The Tweet in question
There is so much in our lives to be thankful for. Let's take our eyes for example. The very eyes you're reading this message with.
There are over 40 million blind people in the world. Imagine waking up each morning & not being able to see?Say Alhamdulillah to show gratitude
— Hadith of the Day (@Hadithoftheday) November 28, 2018
Lets get a few things out of the way before the inevitable happens. I know nothing about the person who sent this message out. They may of said they like kicking puppies three months ago, I don’t know and I simply don’t care. This blog post is only about the above tweet and nothing more. If they are a terrible evil person it doesn’t matter in the context of this blog post.
Outrage Fell From The Sky
If you are on Twitter and you follow blind folks then you probably already saw some responses to this tweet. People got all sorts of upset over this post. It was received by the blind community as an attack on blind people. I saw a few snarky quotes that didn’t even apply to the tweet.
The responses weren’t even justified to the actual text of the tweet. There is nothing bad being said, if you thing there is, sorry but you are wrong. If I say I’m thankful I have two legs, or that I can hear is this offensive to those without legs or to the deaf? Of course it is not, I am saying I’m just glad that I have something and that I understand how certain things could make life more difficult. This says nothing bad about any person or group of people, so why in the hell did it cause so much backlash?
I honestly don’t have a solid answer to this question, but I have some theories and some advice for everyone.
Not Everything Is An Attack
It is too easy to look for stuff to be offended by in today’s culture. This is happening more and more and it is not a path worth going down. Every single day I see stuff people send out on the twitter sphere that pisses me off. Stuff that really annoys the hell out of me, but I just let it go. Nearly every time I just read past it and continue on with my life. Sometimes I’ll start to write a reply then delete it and realize I’m just wasting time and energy on something that is so small and silly in the grand scheme of things.
Not everything you read or hear is an attack on you or a group you belong to. Sometimes a tweet is just a tweet. In this specific case it was really just a tweet. No one is saying being blind is bad, just that for those who can see, be thankful.
I have news for everyone reading this. No one with working eye balls wants to switch them for ones that don’t work. This should not come as a surprise for anyone, but it seems to be for some. Nothing was even said about blind people. No one said they can’t do something, that they shouldn’t do something, just that they should be thankful for what they have. People send these messages out all the time, but suddenly when it is about a group we belong to everyone gets bent out of shape. Read and listen to what is being written or spoken, don’t look for a absent meaning which allows for your personal justification to act outraged.
Why Not Just Be Thankful?
I’m sorry if you are someone who got upset over this person’s tweet. This blog post is not a direct message to you, but more a generalized message to everyone. Just let it go, if you see something like this don’t let yourself get upset. Step back and realize what is actually being said. This is a good message to everyone, be thankful for what you have. If you are against this message then there is no hope for you.
If you take anything away from this blog post. Just let it go, don’t let yourself jump to outrage. 100% of the time offense is taken not given. If you don’t let yourself get upset then you won’t. Life really is as simple as that.
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