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Belle Moon's avatar

I do think there's a balance between "getting offended by everything" and "nothing is offensive" because some people will actually be nasty and then say "oh! You're so sensitive! Why can't I tell you that you look horrible and you're a worthless piece of shit? It was a joke! 🙄" . In my country we have something called "chalequeo" which is friendly bullying. I love it! However, some people use it as an excuse to be assholes. I learned that we can have empathy and at the same time have emotional intelligence and resilience to avoid taking EVERYTHING as an offense.

Loved reading this!

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Zephareth Ledbetter's avatar

That's certainly true, and I didn't mean to imply that nothing is offensive. As you said, some people are indeed assholes, and do say offensive things. I just feel that anyone with an actual life has better things to do than allow themselves to be lured into the fray, especially for things which don't concern them personally, prioritizing perceived slights while giving a pass to significant issues which affect us all.

I've never heard the term "chalequeo", but I think I can relate! Thanks for responding, Belle. ZL

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Belle Moon's avatar

YES! Exactly! And it's a strictly Venezuelan term so that makes sense! Thanks to YOU for writing about this.

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Zephareth Ledbetter's avatar

I appreciate you signing on. There are about 40 articles on the Substack page, love to hear your comments (good or bad, by the way). Thanks again!

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Belle Moon's avatar

I write about social topics and about my perspective that tries to bring nuance, empathy, and critical thinking back into the conversation! I'm going to write about this same topic and mention you since you inspired me!

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Zephareth Ledbetter's avatar

I'd put a smiley face here, but I honestly don't know how!

If you (or anyone else) are interested in reading more, my articles are published individually athttps://zephareth.substack.com/

Or, if you're interested in them collaborated together in book form, or in either of my other books ("Corpus Christi" and "A White Man's Perspectives on Race and Racism"), please reach out by email to ZepharethLedbetter@gmail.com and I'll be happy to share a Drive access or link.

Best of luck in your writing!

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Belle Moon's avatar

I wish I could share this as a note directly, but I'll copy paste it!

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BeadleBlog's avatar

What you said.

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Zephareth Ledbetter's avatar

Thanks, BB

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Sep 30
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Zephareth Ledbetter's avatar

Preach!

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