Validate another’s experiences
On Dec. 7, Ms. Stephens asked why I did not address “…white and Hispanics being bullied.” Ms. Stephens wrote about her, her daughter and granddaughter getting bullied by Black girls.
Mr. Gardner criticized George Jung’s letter “as an example of someone obsessed with bashing Trump,” in which the likely result will be “to further galvanize the Trump supporters.” Gardner states that when Trump was in office, “Things were better for all of us. Gas was cheaper, the southern border was not totally open and inflation was not out of control.”
The term bullying means “repeated and targeted aggression and does not need to be physical in order to be hurtful.” Different types of bullying: physical, verbal, social, cyberbullying, racial, religious, sexual, and disability. Racial bullying means, “calling someone racist names or telling racist jokes.” (“Types Of Bullying”, https://www. prevnet.ca/bullying/types)
Not all bullying is racial. Ms. Stephens provides no examples as to what is being said to her, her daughter or granddaughter.
Ms. Stephens, like Mr. Thacker, failed to address my experiences with racism. Stephens states that she addressed racism in her recent letter when she never validated what I wrote.
Validation “shows that you are truly listening to understand the other person’s feelings and point of view, even if you disagree. Your relationships will benefit when you communicate that you are validating the other person’s viewpoint.” (https://www. hprc-online.org/social-fitness/relationship, September 2022)
Instead of addressing my experience, Ms. Stephens inserts her experience and then asks why I do not address racism against other races.
Gardner states that any Democrat fails to tackle political subjects with reason. Gardner calls it “hate speech.” Mr. Gardner failed to elicit facts other than his opinion about things being better with Trump. Mr. Jung’s letter contained factual content. Gardner failed to validate Jung’s letter. “Validation is a response that shows you accept and respect another person’s feelings and point of view, even when you don’t agree with them.
Gardner failed to validate Jung’s letter by writing: “[Jung’s] recent letter devoted almost every one of his 300 words to bashing [Trump].” When factual content is mentioned, conservatives consistently downplay or ignore it. For example, I have issued my opinion using factual content as an accountant regarding Trump’s taxes. How did Trump make it better when he increased the deficit all four years he was in office?
True Christianity takes the time to validate another person’s experiences.
Vincent White
Lancaster