Nothing makes me want to be unkind more than that fucking "Be Kind" mantra!

[A580Hojas]

I am not an unkind person so I don't need it shoved down my throat.

I'm sick of seeing it on Mumsnet too. If you think someone has posted in a manner that breaks talk guidelines then just report them. Don't yap "be kind" all over the thread.

Ideally people should be kind, but we don’t live in that kind of world. Everyone is different. Some people naturally are outspoken, thoughtless etc

Yes. When I read “ Be Kind”, I hear “ Be Obedient “.

And it’s nearly always aimed at women and girls.

Be Kind has been a thing for ages... long before Covid and long before Caroline Flack. I think that was when it was actually a good thing... it was about being kind to others because you do not know what they are going through.
During Covid, it was about being kind to someone not wearing a mask because they may have a very traumatic reason for not wearing one.
But yeah, nowadays it is used to shut down any criticism of someone who is acting like an arsehole.

I hate it.

And the thing is, I actually believe that being kind, really kind not fake bs, is a good thing and something to aspire to. Many of the best people I have ever met were deeply kind and empathetic.

What they weren't is people who let their brains fall out, who would speak lies to make people feel better, who never thought of wider or long-term consequences, who never expected things from people or even sometimes demanded them.

Yes, it became more prominent here when there started to be controversies over things like masks.

But the subtext always seemed to be "Toe the line and don't question the rules."

It annoys me when someone online gives an opinion that is fine to do so and not controversial, and someone will shoot them straight down telling them to 'be kind' and 'we don't want another Caroline Flack'

For example, the kind of opinion mean is 'I don't like Holly willoughby as she queue jumped'

'Molly Mae talks about her pregnancy too much'

Of course it is.

I think you have massively missed the point there.

“If freedom means anything at all it means being able to tell people things that they do not wish to hear.”

George Orwell

Meh, it's just a phrase. Don't really give a shit what other people say

How kind you are, 70.

@chargeback nope. Just a lot more to concern myself with to be fair

I only ever see it in Facebook comments.

The arsey stroppy people who say unkind things are the last to respond favourably to ‘be kind’

There is enough unkindness and cuntness in the world.

best idea would be to get off Twitter

I remember once I was either selling or giving something away on FB. The woman let me down twice, the second time without even bothering to let me know. When I sent a strict but fair message over it, she sent back ' you don't know what someone is going through, so #bekind'.
Like it was so kind to keep me waiting at home without explanation!

A couple of years ago, a car pulled out at a junction, causing me to slam on my brakes.

I beeped (in annoyance) and the driver shouted "Be kind!".

Fuck that, learn to drive properly!

"Be Kind" absolutely IS on clothing/items just aimed at women and girls.

I never see it on stuff aimed at Men/boys.

And as people have said, it's usually a message used by arseholes.

I don't think there's anything wrong with asking people to treat employees with kindness and respect. If a company has a message asking you to be kind and respectful to their employees it is there for a reason. And the reason is employees being verbally abused and mistreated. A company that can't protect its employees from that won't have employees for very long. Anyone working in a customer facing role knows that this is getting worse.

It's perfectly possible to raise a complaint, escalate a genuine grievance or disagree without being unkind and disrespectful. On here, whenever 'be kind' is challenged on a thread it usually seems to be one of those posters who thrives on unwarranted aggression and insults. The sort of person who I imagine in rl thinks that they are 'straight talking' and 'don't take any shit' but are really just rude.

Well you used your horn wrong, lost your temper and 'told them off' for what could essentially have been a mistake. You may even have made mistakes yourself at some time. I don't think 'be kind' was necessarily used appropriately in this case but your angry beeping served no purpose and does in fact make the world a little bit worse.

Because staff were being verbally attacked for enforcing rules they had to enforce, and for stock shortages that were beyond their control. It wasn't 'shut up and tolerate us treating you badly' it was 'please remember that the woman on the checkout doesn't control how many toilet rolls you can buy and doesn't deserve to go home crying after being called personal insults.'

I don't think there's anything wrong with asking people to treat employees with kindness and respect. If a company has a message asking you to be kind and respectful to their employees it is there for a reason. And the reason is employees being verbally abused and mistreated. A company that can't protect its employees from that won't have employees for very long. Anyone working in a customer facing role knows that this is getting worse.

Absolutely. Well said.

For me, asking folk to treat people with kindness and respect is a million miles away from ‘be kind’.

Be kind for me will always have an undertone to it and has in my experience been almost a threat and a warning to back off.

I dislike the term passionately.

Treating folk with kindness and respect is totally different and I actually welcome that an employer would want their staff to be treated well.

I detest it! Especially when it’s scrawled across children’s clothing (thats aimed at girls of course). I am a kind person. I think empathy and compassion are some of the most important characteristics that we should aim to possess. But be kind makes me feel ill. It reeks of not listening to yourself and ignoring your boundaries, so as not to offend others. I will NEVER teach my children to be kind. I want them to be sensitive to others and of course be compassionate, but to always know they can be true to themselves and not agree to things they feel uncomfortable with, just to appease others. Be kind is usually said by people who mean “shut up and accept what I’m saying” as a way to shut people down

Totally agree

I absolutely hate all the 'be kind' bullshit.

It makes me want to display the opposite behaviour. Especially when it is on clothing.

It is always aimed at women too. You don't see any T shirts/hoodies in the Menswear section with 'be kind' emblazoned on them.