@Strandjunker@mstdn.social I disagree. First of all, as others in this thread have said, sometimes people are mean by accident and it isn't always easy to tell. Second of all, of course people are mean on purpose. That's what having your walls up looks like. Until and unless someone is nice enough to them that they feel they can take them down they'll go right on believing the whole world is cruel. And they'll arguably be right. Before someone makes a worst faith interpretation of this post, I'm not saying that everyone deserves infinite empathy including edgy fascists. I am saying that if someone seems like an asshole -- like women do to incels -- it's usually worth at least temporarily giving them the benefit of the doubt.