I am an Egalitarian

Things have changed quite rapidly around the internet. You may have heard about a certain fiasco on Goodreads, where an author-who-shall-not-be-named attacked a reviewer for doing her job: reciting her honest opinions.

I was part of that discussion, and I have to say this: We have our rights and freedoms that we hold dear, and you have your rights and freedoms that you hold dear. Let us not interfere with each other's rights, and let us not interfere with each other's freedoms. If you must do so, you must take responsibility, and not ask for commiseration from your friends by means of further violation.

I won't be giving out a direct link to the discussion, as things are already simmering down (thank goodness, and let's hope everyone learned something from this!), but it's about feminism and misandry--and the confusion often involving these two completely different practices. It's also about netiquette. Here is a link that sums up what happened pretty well, in case you are curious.*Edited to add: And of course, don't miss out on this understanding and hopeful post by Hannah Moskowitz!*

Another thing I wanted to bring your attention to is this fantastic post by the wonderful Rae Carson, whose book The Girl of Fire and Thorns I really enjoyed (you can see my review of it here. This was one of my earliest reviews, though, so it's neither perfect nor up-to-date on the formatting). Basically, Rae talks about the misogynist POV our society revolves around, and her own personal experience with it that affected and influenced her debut novel as well. I encourage you to read that post. It will open your eyes to an insider's perspective on the stereotype-centric world we occupy today.

Both of these links, however, have one common thread. Stereotypes. They both address ideas many members of our generation possess and seemingly believe to be ultimately accurate, and those ideas irk me. I understand if you judge someone based on first sight--it's hard not to. But to keep judging someone based on that first sight even after getting to know them and/or seeing them is not only a detrimental move on your part, but also insulting to the person judged as well. Who are they to be defined by their beliefs and physique? Who are we to define them by their beliefs and physique? Let us all just operate and carry on as fairly and egalitarian-like as possible. Not everyone will act this way, but for every person that does, the world lights up a bit more everyday. Let's make this Earth a better place, for both you and me and everyone to come.

Let's show everyone what true wisdom and understanding is all about.