What are You Standing Up For?
Standing up for what is right is not always the easiest choice. But it is still a good choice.
In the medieval reenactment game I have been playing for almost 27 years now, there is currently a leader, a “King”, who has been openly racist, and continually taking inappropriate actions regularly. In a society where most of the people I know are open, welcoming, and otherwise decent to one another, this is a terrible disappointment.
A friend of mine took a bold action in standing up to this bully, and it has caused a lot of people to offer their support. I, too, agree with his idea, so let it be known that #IStandWithDavius
Why is this important? Because when we work together to take a stand against evil, we have far better chance of doing something about it. We can build change, and develop more positivity in a world that has far too little right now.
I do this medieval reenactment thing for fun. I have met some pretty amazing people from around the world playing this game. While there are many who are socially awkward, and others who have various and sundry social issues, overall these are the most interesting, friendliest, best people I know. That’s why I continue to play this game, because it is something I love.
This current situation is not the only problem we face, but it is an immediate one. When we work on standing up together against hate speech, bigotry, racism and the like, we empower not only ourselves, but those standing up with us. Together, we have the power to change this ugly situation, and show that this kind of intolerance will not be accepted.
Standing up For is better than Against
It is important when you are standing up to something that you be standing up FOR rather than AGAINST a thing. For is a proactive stand, and imminently more powerful. Against is a reactive stand, and flimsy because it lacks conviction.
Standing up for a thing empowers that thing, be it justice, tolerance, acceptance or what-have-you. Being against a thing is disempowering, and because it is a reaction to a situation it does not create an alternative nor a solution.
My friend is not alone in his stand against this unfortunate and ugly situation. I stand with him, and all those who also disagree with hate speech and its ilk. We are showing this awful “King” that we will not accept his hatred, his bigotry, or his intolerance in our game, and hopefully the Board of Directors will take note and take action.
By standing up together, we can show the haters that this is no place for them.
Finding positivity is not hard, but it does require action.
Knowing that standing up with our friends can reinforce one another to create change, taking a stand can be empowering. When we stand for change and work together to make this world a better place, we empower ourselves. When we feel empowered, we often spread that feeling to others around us, and as such can build more positive feelings. We can use the positive feelings this generates to dissolve negative feelings. When we take away negative feelings, we open up space to let in positive feelings, and that is something we can be grateful for. Gratitude leads to happiness. Happiness is the ultimate positive attitude. Positive attitude begets positive energy, and that is always a good thing.
This is the two-hundred and thirty-sixth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog and spread the positivity.
After more than 6 years of weekly blogging, I have launched a Patreon to garner support for these works, and more.
