Lets Discuss – Opinions and Hate

Hey Guys!

Today I am coming at you with another Discussion post, I love doing these because not only do I get to rant for a little while but I also get to hear your opinions and at the end I feel closer to you after reading your insights. Today I want to discuss Opinions and Hate and firstly I want to recommend that you check out Fadwa’s blog @Word Wonders as she posted a discussion like this as well called Where’s All The Love . Whilst your over at her blog also be sure to check out her other posts especially To some, access to books is a luxury.

Now I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a while because I have been seeing a lot of hate across social media but also during the American Presidential Election I was seeing hate towards celebrities expressing their opinions most notably for me I saw this towards Sophia Bush. Sophia has been in shows such as One Tree Hill and is currently in Chicago PD, I recommend following her on Twitter and her other social media platforms because not only is she just a kind and funny person but she spreads news that frankly I wouldn’t see here in the UK otherwise. She is also an Activist and linked to The Girl Project.

During the Presidential Election Sophia was spreading her opinions and using her platform to spread honesty and share those opinions with her followers which is amazing, she has a large following and she’s using her voice for good. Yet she was told she should stick to acting and she shouldn’t spread her political opinions because she’s just an ‘actress’. I didn’t know that when you signed up to be an actor that you signed away your rights as a human?
Sophia wasn’t silenced and she responded saying she had every right to share her opinion and I love that. But why do some people think others have no right to speak? Why do only some members of society have the right to share an opinion and who says what opinion is worthy?

The truth is they don’t, nobody can silence you. Nobody can say your opinion isn’t worthy and just because you’re an actor or you’re a little blogger like me doesn’t mean you can’t share your opinions on the important events in our society. During the American Presidential Election I was told I should Shut up because I don’t even live in America so it doesn’t affect me, but it does. Every countries decision affects us, whether you live there or not.

In terms of blogging, frankly sometimes I’ve felt scared to share my opinion because sometimes you don’t know if people will hate on you and that’s not a put down for this community. This is by far the best decision I ever made joining this community but there’s some people out there (every community has them) that say we shouldn’t share our opinions or we should keep quiet about issues such as lack of diversity in books and I want to tell you that you don’t have to stay quiet. If you have an opinion and as long as it’s not harmful then share it, don’t let others silence you. You could change someones life with your honesty, you could bring news to someone in the world that doesn’t know about it because of a media block.

Further in terms of blogging, I know I felt anxious to post regarding books that others may hate, which I’m sure is a feeling a-lot of us have when we don’t share an opinion with people say for example A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J.MAAS. When this book won a Goodreads award some people really hated that fact but it is one of my favourite reads this year so I was anxious about the response I might get tweeting congratulations and my love for it but I bit the bullet and luckily i’m friends in this community with some wonderful women and men. My advice if you are scared to share an opinion different to those around you or if someone shares an opinion with you that goes against your own, discuss it. You could learn things you didn’t think about, personally I love hearing opposite views because you get an insight into how that other person interpreted the story or a character and your experience from that book grows bigger.

In terms of spreading the message about society issues, inequality or news DO IT. No matter your following, you could change a life. If your post, tweet or comment reaches one person that’s one person you’ve introduced the topic to. Also don’t let your blog dictate what you post, if you have a book blog like me it doesn’t mean all you have to post about is books, you can venture out of that mold and add more.

I hope you like this post, I wanted to get out some of my frustration regarding this and I felt the inspiration to do a post that may inspire others to write about other things too. If you do or this post makes you want to discuss anything then share that with me, don’t be scared to share your opinions and don’t let yourself be silenced.

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on this, have you ever had a bad experience with hate or from sharing your opinion?

Sophia Bush: Twitter | The Girl Project| Instagram