UNITED STATES—I am pretty sure I’m not the only person who has heard the phrase, “Never judge a book by its cover.” However, as a society so many of us cast judgement so quickly before we think or even know what we’re talking about. The news of actor Chadwick Boseman passing last week was devastating; it was a shock and seemed to come out of left field like a bullet being fired at you.

I recall seeing that image of the actor a few weeks back where he did not look the best, he looked quite skinny and you had so many people on social media giving their opinions, but little did they know this guy was battling a deadly disease, colon cancer, which ultimately claimed his life. You might be asking me why I am bringing this up.

Well because as a society we have this engrained notion to think we just always have to voice our opinions, we must always say what we’re thinking, but in reality it’s ok to just shut up sometimes. You do not have to comment on every single situation or give your two cents about a particular person or situation. Yes, we have freedom of speech, but you don’t have freedom to stupidity or insensitivity.

People ask me all the time why don’t you have any social media accounts? It’s simple; I don’t live my life thru social media. I’m not trying to post every 5 minutes where I am at, what I’m doing, whose with me and my two cents on a particular subject matter. So many people fail to realize the pitfalls of social media because once you post something it can follow you the rest of your life and I mean the rest of your life without any trepidation. Once it’s out there, you cannot take it back America, and so many people don’t seem to grasp that to say the least.

I cannot tell you how many people think they know what is going on in my personal life, but have absolutely no clue. I’m not an open book, I never have been and I never will be. I’m cautious about what I share and who I share that information with. Would one argue I perhaps have trust issues? Perhaps and it would be a valid claim, but unless you’ve walked in my shoes you have no idea and you shouldn’t be so quick to comment. This is the problem with our society, there is so much negativity. So many people hide behind the computer screen with the endless, hateful and just disgusting comments they post day in and day out.

Here’s a tip, how about you get up and get from in front of that computer screen and do something productive and positive for society? It is not that hard to do, focus on the positive not on the negative, and when I say that I’m not referring to just your life, but I’m referring to other people’s lives. You would be surprised at the feeling one gets from doing something good versus something negative.

With that said we need to stop the judgement we have as a society. We think we know what is best for all people or how someone feels or thinks. Unless you have the ability to read minds like Professor X from “X-Men,” you don’t know what it is like to walk in the shoes of someone of a different race, sex, gender, religion, disability, etc. We only know our truths, you might be able to empathize with others and if so that is good, but at the same time be aware you should never throw stones at a glass house. You know why? You can be seen!

Written By Zoe Mitchell