Looking Through Roses
Anima Series 6
Lismore NSW Australia 2024
TRUE GRIT
Marcus Aurelius once wrote – ‘The best revenge is not to become like your enemy’ – which in current social media terms might be reinterpreted as:
‘The best response is to not behave like everyone else’.
Without a physical, face-to-face consequence, the net has cultivated infantilism and made insult into a sport that awards the best putdown.
Terms like ‘brutal takedown’ and ‘destroyed’ are common across the web – as if humiliating other people is a skill to be admired.
This cultural norm (if norms still exist) can best be resisted at a personal level by cultivating the opposite attitude.
Rather than following the lowest common denominator, we can lead by our own example and be guided instead by a more principled approach.
Rather than responding in kind, we can demonstrate the courage to remain ‘on topic’ and not engage in ad hominem.
We can refuse to partake in personal insults of any description, knowing that we’re bigger, smarter than to bite at the bait.
Genuine substance speaks for itself and has no need to follow.
Looking Through Roses
Anima Series 6
Lismore NSW Australia 2024
TRUE GRIT
Marcus Aurelius once wrote – ‘The best revenge is not to become like your enemy’ – which in current social media terms might be reinterpreted as:
‘The best response is to not behave like everyone else’.
Without a physical, face-to-face consequence, the net has cultivated infantilism and made insult into a sport that awards the best putdown.
Terms like ‘brutal takedown’ and ‘destroyed’ are common across the web – as if humiliating other people is a skill to be admired.
This cultural norm (if norms still exist) can best be resisted at a personal level by cultivating the opposite attitude.
Rather than following the lowest common denominator, we can lead by our own example and be guided instead by a more principled approach.
Rather than responding in kind, we can demonstrate the courage to remain ‘on topic’ and not engage in ad hominem.
We can refuse to partake in personal insults of any description, knowing that we’re bigger, smarter than to bite at the bait.
Genuine substance speaks for itself and has no need to follow.