Trolling (From my drafts folder)

This post was written a long time ago. In blog land anyways. About speaking your mind vs being rude. I thought I would dig it out and post it, because there has been a lot in the news about King Kyle from TodayFM, and his views on 'freedom of speech'.

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Yesterday, Steve Jobs passed away. I heard the news from someone I was working with, who'd seen it online. A quick Google search confirmed the statement to be true and correct.

Since the 80s, Steve Jobs became a significant person in personal technology. He, along with his company managed to completely revolutionize how we connect with people and how we connect with ourselves. He was without a doubt, one of the main driving forces behind in how the world functions today.

Of course, whenever someone well known dies there are mass memorials held all over the globe. I think a lot of people connected with Steve, and I do not doubt that some would very well be grieving, even if they did not know him personally. Right behind those people however, seem to be the trolls. Ready and waiting.

I have a lot of friends who claim they are honest and speak their mind. This is a somewhat admirable quality and I believe it does good things, but I have discovered a couple who I would probably re-label as rude. 

What is the difference between speaking your mind and rudeness? Imagine a girl is trying on dresses and asks the age old question does this make me look fat? For arguments sake, the answer would be yes.

Someone who is not honest, would of course answer no. They would insist the dress looks fine. 

Someone who speaks their mind and is honest, would reply with something alone the lines of, I don't think it's as flattering as dress X, or you thought outfit B looked better. They've stated their opinion, truthfully without attacking the person or their feelings about the particular subject. 

Someone who's rude would probably reply with something along the lines of Yes, you look fat/ass looks huge/that looks awful on you. Whether it was said with intended malice, it was thoughtless and has left the person without help. 

I believe there is a time and place for speaking your mind, and to what degree you do. Although I don't think you should tip toe around everyone and keep everyone happy (which is impossible) I think a little compassion and being tactful goes a long way.

A friend of mine, who I tend to get on quite well with has made it no secret that he does not like Steve Jobs, or the company Apple. Yesterday he posted on one of his social media accounts something a lot of people found extremely distasteful which was in response to the death of Steve. This was done under the umbrella 'speaking his mind'.