Pissing People Off Is A Rite of Passage

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The more that I speak my truth, the more opposition I seem to face.

For years I sugar-coated most of my words, in an attempt to feed my thoughts and feelings gently to the world.

Then I went into a phase of a few years where I stopped talking almost all-together and learned to listen.

In that time of observing interactions, I learned that all of the tip-toeing, mincing, and feigning apologies for sharing heart-felt ideas and emotions with respect for others is often to no avail.

Naturally, it seems, the way that I experience and express myself in the world pisses people off.  Does this happen to you, too??

It seems that when I decide that I want to express what is most true to me; like how I believe in a dream of living an entirely cruelty-free lifestyle, I usually face a tidal wave of defence from the meat-eaters and fur bearers.

Even if I was simply stating my own opinion in a personal forum, those whose skin the message gets under, they feel the need to defend their choices, or worse, attack mine.

I once attempted to tell someone, who was close as kin to me, of my longing and love ~ and I received a double-decker sucker punch when those words were ridiculed, shamed and shoved back in my face.

Surprisingly, this wrath didn’t hurt as much as it awakened me to see that people are responding to their own stance on the subject they are defending.

The person who cannot hear words of love and longing, I understand now, are not able to speak or act upon these sentiments in their own life.

Those who are sure that eating meat is essential to human life, are not open to really looking at the cruelty that is being perpetuated world-wide.

So what is a girl to do about expressing her deeply felt words, when the world seems adamant about stifling such acts?

I finally realized that no matter how softly I try to share my ideas or feelings, I’ll receive backlashes at full strength from those who do not agree with me; so I might as well swing hard, hit the target, say what I mean ~ no fucking around!

I live for a good challenge, and I agree with Einstein that a night where no one disagrees is a boring night.  So it makes no sense to guard my ideas for fear of ridicule or criticism, for it is inevitable.  And…

Why fear the inevitable?

I might as well go down swinging.

Say what you mean, for you’ll be criticized anyway.

Be Well,

Sarah Bee