While this morning was pretty eye opening and in parts gut-wrenching, I’ve taken some positives away.

And actually, I’m evermore proud of being a serving soldier in the British Army.

A short thread. https://twitter.com/themavericksgt/status/1264465207797133312

Seeing people react in that way was unexpectedly disheartening. @LowEndLeader & @SkyGod23 hit the nail on the head in their chat; at least we don’t see this shit in our workplaces. Nor do I see this in my social circle and family, or among my online followers/friends/colleagues

. @Lewis17J and @DudeRidesBikes also inadvertently highlighted something to me; while today’s society (the very society we are sworn to protect!) can look ugly in the tolerance domain — on a personal level at least these despicable people are outnumbered by decent human beings.

It was so good to see a wave of good people pile in to many of the ridiculous comments.
Retweets, mentions, direct challenges. It was great.

@well_done_you gets a massive high five for their machine-gun smash too.

Really good to see good people fighting the good fight.

These issues spread out and mix with other poisons too, namely anti-feminist, anti-BAME, anti-pride and so on (as pointed out by @AetF6492).

Sometimes these negative BS comments pile on, and it sometimes makes you think ‘wtf can we even do about this’?!

So. Much. Hate.

Where does the hatred come from?

Standby for people throwing ‘we go to war because, ya know, religion!’

No.

I grossly reduce it down to one thing: because people don’t understand each other. This is why we kill each other, this is why we don’t accept the way of life of others.

To those who served & dislike ‘the way things are now”;

I’m sorry you were a shockingly poor leader
I’m sorry you didn’t experience good leadership
I’m sorry your life is empty enough for you to be vile to strangers

Coming out as an online troll AFTER service makes you a fraud.

How did I lessen the negativity that gripped me this morning?

@Yozz38887229 helped me steer my thoughts here. Above all else, be the example. Keep being a beacon for others, maybe you’ll sway others away from hate some day through persistence and thru just being a decent human.

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and #KindnessMatters was this week! It really does matter. For all the reasons above, it shines through all the horrendous, vile, undeserving hatred out there.

We must always remember, the bad ‘uns are vastly outnumbered.

Be kind

Sound soft?