On how we treat each other (a musing).

Over the past few days I've been going through some pretty shitty personal stuff. I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how we treat each other. Not just those we love but people around us in general.

I've been wondering a lot about why we exclude, lack compassion or feel the need to put people down. I wonder why we are cruel and deceitful to those we claim to love the most. Is there something inherent in us that makes us manipulate or abuse? And for those of us with a lot of privilege (myself of course included) why we feel the need to keep certain people from being equal to us? I won't deign to imagine that I have anything other than patronising solutions, in many instances it is for me to just stand beside in solidarity but know that I have nothing else to offer. You may have from me whatever you want. I'm learning.

On a personal level, when someone tells you what they need from you know this is genuinely what they need from you. When you continue to cause pain they will slowly retreat. 

I've also been thinking about how we treat those we work with or receive a service from. As soon as we see someone as below us we think we can pretty much speak to them any way we want. If we don't get what we want we stomp our feet and treat them with distain. We are thoughtless.

People are people and people get hurt, be nicer dickheads.