Yer an Asshole Harry

I came to a point in my past where I decided I wanted to be a better person today than I was yesterday. Sounds trite, sure, but I was serious. I wasn't a serial killer or anything, but let's say that I had a lot of room for improvement.

So what does that mean, exactly? Where to start? I figured that a good place to start was to try to be nicer to people. (I am autistic and this doesn't come naturally to me.)

Well, what does nice mean? Just a little thought and I concluded that "nice" meant different things to different people, and if I truly wanted to be nicer to those around me I had no choice but to try to see the world through their eyes.

Some observations: people want to be treated with respect. Some things can seem disrespectful to some but not others.

I could easily accommodate with just a little initial effort on my part.

I have a friend named Michael. He does not like to be called "Mike." He likes his full name used. Not a problem.

I know someone else that likes to go by her nickname because she's not fond of her given name. Done.

I have a friend who has had some tragedy in his life and doesn't like to be reminded of it, so I avoid certain subjects around him. Does not bother me in the least.

I have a trans friend who now wants to be called by a different name and set of pronouns. Can do.

And now we have a "problem."

Somehow, starting from a position of wanting to be a better person leads directly to "wokeness." Suddenly I'm "infected with the woke mind virus." (Which one must assume leads directly to Saturday night fever.)

When simply doing the right thing becomes a political bomb then something is horribly broken.

We are horribly broken.

How do we fix this? How do we make "being nice" not be divisive? What is wrong with us?