Hello, everyone!
Seeing as discussion around the presidential election will probably carry on for some time, I wanted to post a second reminder to everyone who views this thread and continues to participate.
I realize this is a tense election, and people of all political affiliations are anxious about what's to come; however, it is not acceptable to let that anxiety lead to disrespectful, insulting, or aggressive behavior toward other members. One of our Staff members has already cited our
Code of Conduct, which outlines TeenHelp's "Golden Rule" (as I like to call it):
Quote:
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All users should be treated with respect at all times, regardless of any negative feelings you hold towards them or whether or not provocation occurred. Hateful descriptions or images will not be tolerated anywhere on TeenHelp, and neither will insulting or aggressive behaviour towards anyone. All users should help to maintain the positive environment of TeenHelp.
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Before posting, please reflect on your choice of words and ask yourself if what you are about to say is in line with what we promote as a community.
Our
Mission Statement aims to provide "a
safe place for
all young people to gather,
share, explore and grow both as individuals and together." When we do not discuss differences in a respectful manner, we do not create an environment that allows for individuals to explore those differences in a constructive manner, and we may inadvertently drive people away from this community when they desperately need it for support.
Our Mission Statement also aims "to raise awareness of issues faced by young people and to help and encourage them to address those issues locally, nationally and/or internationally." As many members have noted in this thread, this has not felt like a typical election. The United States has been grappling with significant systemic issues in the midst of this election, and these issues are absolutely impacting members of this community; however, there will be disagreement around how some of these issues are defined, how they should be addressed, etc. Again, I urge everyone to return to TeenHelp's "Golden Rule" before posting comments that are designed to raise awareness of these issues. Some of these issues may require their own separate thread, as we want to make sure this particular discussion (the presidential election) stays on topic.
Again from the Mission Statement, we want to "promote tolerance and understanding between all people." That can be a tough one to wrap our heads around, so one thing I would like to encourage everyone to do is
avoid overgeneralizations. Not all people of one political affiliation are the same. Not all people who voted for one candidate over the other are the same. Our "rational brain" tells us this is true, and yet our "emotional brain" can get the better of us, making it easy to overgeneralize and therefore strip individuals of their unique identities. When we no longer seek to understand who the individuals of this community are... when we dehumanize or demonize... we not only hurt those individuals, but hurt the TeenHelp community as a whole. We all have to do our part to maintain the safety of this community, and we can do that by choosing our words more carefully, or disengaging from debate for a period of time if we're unable to do so.
As of right now, over 75 million people have voted for Biden, and over 70 million people have voted for Trump. I realize the votes are still being counted, but this reminds us that when we talk to people within this community, there's a good chance we'll have disagreements about issues that are important to us. I know this is the Current Events and Debates forum, but keep in mind the description for this forum states we're here for FRIENDLY debates. Let's make sure we're always seeing beyond politics and remembering that we came to this community for the same reason: to receive support, and to give support in return. If we aren't doing that, then we're not maintaining the safe haven TeenHelp was designed to be over 20 years ago.