remember to be patient and compassionate with traumatized people, especially when theyre being vulnerable.

even if someone makes a "bad take," if it's clearly coming from a place of trauma, making fun of them or dogpiling them wont help the root problem

disclaimer: this doesnt mean traumatized people have a blanket right to traumatize others, or are immune from criticism

just......idk, consider what ur goal is when jumping down someone's throat, esp a stranger's. are you being helpful or kind? or mean for the sake of mean?

(this is about that animal crossing gaslighting take) (it's obviously not actual gaslighting but an abuse survivor saying "this reminds me of my abuse and that makes me feel unsafe" isnt them necessarily condemning the thing, or saying it should be banned) (be constructive.)

"haha youre weird XD" isnt constructive. they probably know. i know that sometimes /my/ gut reactions to things that remind me of my trauma are irrational, self-destructive, or over the top. working through that is constant, hard work and mockery doesnt make it any easier

things like:

"just dont let it bother you"

"you know its not real, right"

"stop feeling this way"

dont do anything to help someone work through a trauma reaction. all youre doing is punching down at someone whos already hurting, without knowing what theyve been through

"but if someone can be triggered by a video game they need help"

yeah, probably. too bad healthcare is so expensive and inaccessible. too bad our society doesnt take survivors seriously. for all u know, theyre getting help, but therapy isnt a magic spell that instantly "fixes" u

and if your thought after "this person needs psychological help" is "therefore its open season for me to use them as a verbal scratching post" then idk how to convince you that traumatized humans are still humans

when swsh was new, someone said that hatterene's pokedex entry reminded them of an abuser, so they couldnt bring themselves to have one. people dogpiled them for trying to "cancel a pokemon"

but it wasnt a call-out! it was a survivor talking about their subjective experience!

im rambling more than i intended to, ig

please just be kind to people. it doesnt cost anything. before you dogpile someone, take a second to stop, breathe, and consider what their intentions are and if youre reading into it