It starts out as irony.

You would never ACTUALLY want someone to die because of their skin color, which is why making the joke is funny to you; it's ridiculous to think you would ever MEAN it.

But people who don't know you, believe you do.

The ones who genuinely believe it, think you're with them. They are sympathetic and warm towards you. They're civil. Polite. Friendly.

The ones who know, just like you, that it's wrong to wish death on someone, believe you, and are upset.

They tell you not to say that, often angrily. But, well, it's clearly a JOKE, you never MEANT it, couldn't they see that? Why can't they approach you in good faith that you would never mean that?

But they don't believe you are joking.

And it hurts!! It hurts to think someone might assume the worst of you for what was clearly a joke! They dogpile you and get their friends to call you out, and suddenly a JOKE gets you blasted by strangers who don't know you or what you're about.

And then people come to your defense. They understand; it was just a joke. Just words. It's not like you're out there waving a swastika and tying a noose, you're not a threat to anyone.

And these strangers tear apart the ones defending you.

It's isolating to feel so misunderstood. Like you now have an army of people who hate you for something you don't even believe in. And the people who get that it's a joke, suddenly THEY'RE under fire, and they were so nice to you when you needed support.

They have no problem with the joke; they make the same kind of jokes! No political correctness, no bullshit snowflake sensitivity, and an understanding that it's all about having fun without tiptoeing around someone's delicate feelings.

Those strangers who yell at you take one incident and make you into a monster that you're not, deserve to be riled up. After all, if they get that upset over a JOKE, isn't that funny? I mean, it's NOT because they're hurting people, but knowing how easily they're provoked?

You tell the joke again. And they get upset, and accuse you of "proving their point".

It's kinda funny how EASY it is.

So there's more jokes, and your new friends help with taunting The Beehive, and you realize that it doesn't hurt now that you're expecting it.

And honestly, they're sort of just making the people they're defending look bad. They're getting offended over NOTHING when there are REAL injustices, and it's EMBARRASSING.

They're just making their reputation worse.

But then you notice that those same people don't notice when the people they're defending do horrible things. They kill people and get away with it, defended by the Beehive. They steal things, ON CAMERA, and people stand up for them, insisting it's their right.

These people get away with awful things because this malicious crowd has swarmed in and protected them from consequences. The whole mess of them do tremendous damage, and they called YOU the monster.

You point out the crimes being committed, and get yelled down. Again.

And it doesn't feel funny anymore. People are getting hurt because of these self-righteous idiots. They freaked out over JOKES, so valid criticism gets washed over.

It's clear they're not interested in justice. They're just in it for attention.

"Virtue Signalling".

So when you say, "There should be consequences for the crimes being committed," they now tell you how racist that is.

There's no winning. EVERYTHING is racist. You didn't start out hating people of that ethnicity, but now you resent them.

They don't listen to reason. They let violence and damage be done, and calling you a racist is their excuse for letting it happen. It's like a CONSPIRACY.

And it hurts, because you don't want to be angry, but now you are. And you feel conflicted.

You're not racist, but some of the people who ARE kinda racist, also kinda have a point. And the more you listen to them, speaking calmly and rationally and pointing to studies, the more it kinda makes sense.

There really IS a threat to safety.

So now you're angry. And if people aren't going to stop these people from hurting and killing and stealing from others, SOMEONE has to. And you may as well do it yourself.

You grab someone stealing from someone's purse and they knock you back and call you a racist.

It happens time and again.

So yeah, it started out as a joke. But it's not funny anymore. If standing up for what's right makes you a racist, then let them call you whatever name they want, because you're not going to take this anymore.

So when one of these animals is slaughtered for rampaging and breaking what never belonged to them, you cheer. They deserved it. One less dangerous predator to worry about.

It's not an ironic joke. You mean it this time.

It's really, really easy to fall out of listening to people who are upset and hurt by your words. It sorta just rolls over you, and it's exhausting.

You know you're not a racist. And you know? I agree that it's exhausting to be overwhelmed by intense criticism.

I'm not going to say that the people who are hurt by "just jokes" are wrong for trying to call attention to why it's not always a joke, and how it only manages to normalize hate and encourage ACTUAL racists to be more hateful and violent.

Are there people who jump on the thinnest thread? Yes, absolutely.

But we all need to recognize when we're being pulled down a path where we hate one another so much that we stop seeing the humanity in the other.

Please. If this thread resonates with your experience...

...then consider the perspective of someone who is told their entire life that they're a monster, who never see anyone like them in media except for jokes, stereotypes, or antagonists.

That hurt you felt after telling a joke that fell flat, has been their entire life experience.

And hurt that lasts for a long time makes you sensitive to someone touching that same nerve. Someone doesn't have to genuinely MEAN the thing that hurts you for it to remind you of the people who DO mean it.

And it can make people angry. Just like in this thread.

We all need to work on taking a step back from our hurt and recognizing it in one another. Or else the divide between us is going to literally kill us- it already IS.

I'm tired of grief. I know you are, too. Let's heal together.