How to Know if You're Being A Terrible Person

Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash

There are no terrible people here.

We're all good, decent, loving human beings who neither hate nor discriminate—just ask us.

None of us are irrationally fearful, excessively violent, or dangerously narcissistic, and we certainly don't actively harm anyone else (at least, not in our opinion).

The numbers are astounding. I was a minister in the local church for twenty-eight years living alongside thousands of families, and I've crossed paths with millions of people during my decade of work online and my travels throughout this country.

And in all that time, in literally hundreds of thousands of interactions with human beings of every possible demographic; across all lines of religion, race, and life stage, I have met exactly zero self-identified hateful human beings.

No one has ever openly confessed to real-time homophobia or racism or misogyny or bigotry. In fact, most have gone to great lengths to vehemently (and ironically, sometimes violently) defend themselves from such allegations and suggestions. Very few of them has ever been one of "those bad people" they claim are out there screwing up the world.

And this is the rub: we all have a story in our heads where we’re the hero.