Shame-free zones

Melanie Joy’s article on shaming was shared widely and several people have expressed interest in making their Facebook group (or organisation) a shame-free zone. To that aim, here’s a short text with some commitments , which people could paste in their group or on their wall. You also find the text itself below

shamefree3

This area is a shame-free zone. We:

do not presume knowing other people’s thoughts, feelings, or identity better than they do. Therefore, we do not argue about whether another is or is not a vegan, feminist, democrat, etc.

do not use degrading language or state judgments about others.

do not use hostile humor, including sarcasm.

aim to understand and be understood,
rather than “win” an argument.

are curious and open-minded.

try to stay connected to our empathy, considering
how the other feels hearing or reading our statements.

speak out with compassion when we see shaming behavior.

do not allow shaming comments on our pages, and do not “like”
or share them: we do not give a platform to those who shame.