Kristen is hopping on the blog today to share why we need to criticize ideas not people.
This tweet makes me grumpy.
I saw it during my daily Instagram scroll as I was talking myself into getting out of bed. I’ve followed Jon for years and he always flirts too much with toxic positivity to me – and this tweet is a prime example of why.
📌 Criticism is not inherently cynical.
Mockery is. Memes usually are. But honestly, most of the criticism I see online isn’t cynical. It’s usually shallow or uniformed, and usually coming from a place of fury rather than analysis, but it’s not actually cynical. Cynicism is an apathetic entity – criticism shows a deep sense of caring.
Additionally – I’m grumpy because criticism is NECESSARY in this world. We need good faith critics to keep institutions and individuals on track. I emphasize good faith here for a reason.
📌 What we desperately need is criticisms of ideas and not people.
For example, I am exceptionally critical of the way male professional sports talk about women. Exceptionally. If I didn’t care deeply, if I didn’t believe we could do better, I would stick to the sarcastic mockery I slip into sometimes. But my actual, well reasoned criticism comes from a place of “I KNOW WE CAN BE BETTER!”
Honestly, I don’t enjoy being mocked (ask me about the takedown video someone made of my first TEDx), and I have thin skin when someone online criticizes my body because they don’t actually care if I’m healthy or not, they just want to feel superior.
But I need people to critique my ideas. You can (and should) criticize ideas not people. I need someone to make sure the arguments I’m making are firm and kind. Also, I need people who don’t see the world the way I do to make sure I’m including them in my thought process.
What about you? How did this all make you feel? Do you agree with me or am I missing something?
(Also, the idea that creation is the best makes me feel that Jon hasn’t been on TikTok.)
