There’s a phrase often heard, usually spoken by a person just recently insulted. “You have no right to call me that!”, or any other phrase claiming there has been some kind of rights violation which occurred when person A describes person B in some manner they personally deem inappropriate. It is important to note that it is thought of as inappropriate, because I have yet to witness an interaction where a stranger compliments or otherwise judges someone in a positive light and the person receiving this judgment plays the lack-of-rights-to-do-that card.
Is it some sort of socially-synthesized safeguard against insults and hurtful words, meant to make the accuser feel just as bad as the accused? Is it just a natural reaction, or something people actually think is granted them by some outside source? Whatever it may be, it seems to be used quite often, especially from hecklers at stand-up shows.
Why am I even addressing this? Judgment is good! When made vocal or written, it allows everyone to understand what is thought of, felt, and perceived by other people, which is a perspective which would otherwise be near impossible to acquire. Even the most poorly thrown together judgments based on little to no facts or evidence serve a role in the exchange of ideas, because when the misinformed remain silent, you can’t really tell who needs what information.
If you are insulted by someone, consider how they would arrive to their conclusion! Is their statement true? Perhaps you should change your behavior? Maybe they haven’t seen the whole picture? It’s okay to be mad at them, but letting them and everyone around know that you feel that you deserve to only hear nice things about yourself is unrealistic, full of undeserved ego, and sometimes the source of more insults.
Lastly, I know someone is going to think bigotry is going to be some sort of exception, so I’ll cover that, too. Although an awful thing, it’s important that these ideas are heard as well. The only way a sexist, racist, homophobe, or other bigoted person gets through life easily is if they keep it to themselves. If that happens, their ideas will never be challenged, and they’ll stubbornly remain misguided for life.
