Pre-Dawn Chart, 4th Day of Childwinter, 526 M.E. (Deneb): As much as I detest New Year's resolutions, my vow for this year is to be kinder.

I spent a lot of time over the past several days on social media sharing comments and memes about the college football bowl games and playoffs. I enjoy trash talking as much as the next guy, maybe more than the next guy, but I saw comments on Facebook that went way beyond, "Your quarterback throws like a girl." The comments insulted not the teams playing or even the general fan base of the team, but the very person who posted something about a game ("You're fucking stupid if you think State will win!"). A woman who posted a simple, anodyne "Cheering for my Tigers" comment with a photo of herself in a team sweatshirt got several "likes," but was also subjected to several dozen insults about her appearance, her intelligence, and even her presumed sexual orientation.

I saw a great many posts not praising or wishing luck for a team, but putting down fans of the opposing team, or rubbing salt in the wound following an opponent's loss. "You're team has been EXPOSED as the no-talent losers they are," someone said after an unranked team lost by just a few points to a highly ranked contender. "You SUCK!!!," they continued.

I don't know if these kind of comments are a result of the corrosive affect of anonymous online posting or the crude braggadocio of the MAGA movement, but it seemed crueler, cruder, and angrier than I remember from years past. 

It also made me reconsider things I've posted or said to others before. Statements may not seem to be mean or cruel to the person saying them ("just joking, bro)," but can feel more hurtful to the ones receiving the words.  

Right Speech is a part of the Buddha's famous eight-fold path. Right Speech is speaking truthfully, kindly, and beneficially, while avoiding lying, divisive talk, harsh language, and idle chatter. Does it do anything to make the world a better place to tell a fan whose team just lost the big game, and is probably sad about that loss, "Your team sucks so go back home, you ugly dyke!"? No. Does it console the losing fan? No. Does it elevate the winning team or their fans?  No, it doesn't. It's just performative ugliness, cruelty for cruelty's sake. 

For the record, my trash-talk comments weren't those kind of personal attacks. But does posting "Atlanta 28, New England 3" (the score during a Super Bowl game before New England rallied and won the game) to a comment by a Falcons fan promote harmony? I don't think it does. Reading those comments by others, and then rereading some of my own comments while imagining myself in the recipients' shoes, made me reconsider my behavior. I should be kinder, not only online, but in real life, too.  

All cruelty comes from weakness, according to the Stoic philosopher Seneca. Harming others stems from internal insecurity. It takes true strength to be kind and patient. Cruelty is a display of inner fragility; the need to dominate stems from self doubt and weakness. It takes true strength to demonstrate confidence. 

So my vow is to be kinder. There's no need to be divisive or to sow discord. I can exercise self-control and restraint. 

This vow, however, doesn't extend to the Stable Genius. Fuck that guy.