GoKawiilDon't be nice.
Not many people know that the word 'nice' comes from the Latin 'nescius,' meaning 'unaware.' Words don't necessarily mean the same thing they did originally, but somehow, I think that is a little bit of what it is to be nice. You pull your own opinion back – to make space for other people.
But sometimes you shouldn't be nice.
Yesterday, I kicked someone from the Nuxt Discord who had chosen an avatar (for the second time!) of a man in a Nazi uniform.
I was not nice.
They accused me of being 'political' – the very thing an open source project shouldn't be, I'm told. It only divides people. Let's just focus on the technology. Surely we can all get behind building amazing, fast, cool websites!
No.
To be perfectly candid, I picked the Nazi example because I think we'll all agree on that – whatever your political persuasion.1
Sometimes a political party or a person decides to oppose shared human values like the importance of care, kindness, inclusion, or the simple value of welcoming people who are different from you. Maybe they oppose the equality of all people. Maybe they think some people do not deserve human rights.
When that happens, please, don't be nice. There's no 'both sides have a point.'
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