Ending not-so-nice behaviour that permeates discourse surrounding issues like politics, religion, and even fandom stuff.
The Language Barrier and Neurodiversity
I just realized two more good reasons where someone might come off seeming rude without meaning to. For some people, English might not be their first language - so they might have difficulty wording things in the most tactful form. Likewise, certain neurodivergences might make it tough for people to parse words smoothly - and, in fact, I myself tend to struggle with that.
So those are yet more reasons why we shouldn't assume that someone is deliberately meaning to be rude. So, yes, people should try to be empathetic - but, at the same time, we also shouldn't be quick to jump to conclusions.



There are also people who just aren't able to write effectively, and others who aren't able to read effectively. Put the two together and you'll end up at Godwin's law quicker than you can say "neurodiversity"!
That's another good point. After what all went down last night, I realized that I need to be more empathetic myself. I think that's the problem with online discourse, in general. Sometimes, we're too quick to get our opinions out there and wanna be heard - we maybe word things a bit too clumsy, and possibly make unfortunate implications that we didn't intend.
On the inverse, we also sometimes tend to misread posts - and then we accident respond with something that doesn't even really make sense with what was posted. I've been guilty of that with even minor unimportant stuff - so, when it comes to more serious discussion, the problem gets magnified.
ETA: Case in point, I just typed "someone" when I meant to type "sometimes".
Yeah, I hear you. Totally. Sometimes I'll project and "mind-read" what I think the other person is saying, but that's not what they're saying.
<3