"Hypocrite" is a word that annoys me. I think it's dehumanizing. I'm talking about its definition of "a person whose behavior contradicts their stated beliefs or feelings", specifically)
A person who preaches about how to do something right even though they don't do that thing themselves is genuinely just a person taking the first step towards being open-minded. Of course actions speak louder than words, but there isn't a single action that doesn't begin with a thought.
I think we've normalized shaming people for not always living up to their words, to the point where we shun ourselves out with the shame we bring upon ourselves by saying stuff like "Erm actually you can't say x is the right way to do things...! because you don't do things in the x way either...!"
I just hate it when I'm genuinely trying to improve something about the people around me and about even myself by admitting what they/me/we do is wrong, then getting slapped with "But you do that too so you're a hypocrite." Okay! Would you prefer the alternative — for me to never try to think of our mistakes again, to become ignorant to it instead of trying to accept it and to learn from it?
Sometimes that someone has to say the thing, even if they can't promise to make a change about it directly after the confession. Sometimes we know we suck, and we recognize we can't change right then, but that doesn't mean we won't change eventually. For that eventually, it's worth the process of admitting your mistakes, and it's important to have a space in which you don't get insulted for it.
