Not my cup of tea really to write something like this, but I gather that I need to start practicing somewhere. So this is it. Not going to use that much real sources yet, maybe another time. I have just read about this online, or more the lack of this. There are few people who have answered a question, when someone has asked. So this is my take on this matter, and hopefully I will be more academical with my words than usually. Basically this is just an writing exercise and referencing exercise as to my knowledge there is no scientific writings about this.
Constructive criticism is something that many people say they are doing, while in reality they are insulting. The main difference between the two is, that the constructive criticism does not contain malice. To be more precise, the constructive criticism contains a suggestion to improve and not simply the notion of something. The trick is that insult can be truthful, and there lies the reason why so many people do not necessarily know that they are actually being hurtful and insulting. One reason why insults are more common nowadays than they were before is the media. The celebrities and wanna-be's are daily insulted and slandered on tabloid media. People reading these magazines then go online to forums, twitter and facebook and continue the slander. They probably think that this is okey and allowed as the paper wrote it, so it is not really me who will get into trouble. The side affect of this is, that people who are so used to insulting celebrities, continue to do so to other people.
On wikipedia I read that for celebrities and public figures it is much more difficult to fight back against insults and slander in media. This unfortunately creates a barrier that means that celebrities will not fight back every time and people start to think it is all'right to say insults as truths. This can be a dangerous thing, as for a normal person i.e. non-public person the process to fight back insults in print and online is not as difficult. This means that one day people will get in trouble when other people start to sue them for slander. Fighting back this phenomena is not easy, as the change needs to happen in the media. Media is not likely to change anything that brings them money, and insulting celebrities brings money at the moment. There are some who refuse to buy certain papers, because of their behavior but there needs to be more movement.
Being truthful is always good. Just be truthful to yourself as well on the reasons why you are saying certain things. Are you saying things to make yourself feel better or to help the other. The problem with recognizing constructive criticism from insults is harder and harder the more used to we get on hearing negative feedback. The truth is we do not need to accept the insults that are given as truth. You might not be good at something, but it does not mean that you suck at it or that you should stop trying. What hurts your feelings will also hurt someone else's feelings. Things actually might not be that black and white, but for this post it is good enough. If I would go after excellent posts, I would write these before hand and not as I go. You might not agree with what I have just written. As an example, implying that this post sucks, is an insult. Saying you do not agree with it, is your opinion. Giving examples on what you would have done differently, is constructive criticism. Also if you write something nasty about my persona as a comment to this post, it is also insult and as a non-public person I can sue you. Would I be a public person, I could only delete the comment, as I would have to prove that you intended to harm me (and something else as well, but if you want to read more just go to wikipedia and search defamation).
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