I've seen it in my facebook feed a couple of times.

"If you're neutral you're siding with the oppressors."

"If you're neutral then you're the reason why the world is the way it is."

Pick any phrase that targets neutrals being the problem, and I can tell you that I've seen it. And what I have to say to that is basically "a shrug" because I get it… sort of. To some people, politics and social issues are basically the reason why they get up in the morning. They wake up democrat, eat democrat, work like a democrat, and so on and so forth. People who believe in these policies believe that the rules and morals are the way to life; life has to be like this and it's their job to make sure their lives and everyone else's life fit into this democratic mold; so to hear someone give two sides of the story, believe in some policies, rather than just pick a side, can probably frustrate some people. We're not siding with their ideals and helping them with this "big picture", in lack of better words. But, even so, as a "neutral",I just can't pick one side and I'm okay with this.

First off, I hate the word "neutral" because it paints an image of a person who couldn't care less about the world and what's happening to it. I can only speak for myself in this situation, but I always find it difficult to pick a side because I'm worried about both parties. Now I’m not saying that there's a "lack of empathy" from someone that chooses to pick a side. People who choose a side, chose it because they understand what that side is stands for. Liberals are liberals because they believe they understand the “underdogs” of society,such as the LGBTQ and minorities, republicans are republicans because they understand the dilemmas of businesses and being conservative in the modern day world.Empathy isn’t the problem,the disregard of someone’s feelings because people find it to be irrelevant is. I believe to disregard someone's attachment to a political issue and say "it's because mine is more important" or "because mine will help more people" does nothing but fuel the opposition.

Everything in politics is personal. We believe in certain sides because they hold up to our morals, our religious beliefs, and the ideas/facts we believe in. So to just tell someone that "your attachment to this idea, this thing you see yourself in, doesn't matter" doesn't help you and doesn't help the person see your side. It's as if you're basically disregarding everything this person is. Now you can say “this person needs to get over their feelings and basically see my side”, and yes there are people who simply do just that, but we have to understand that there's some that can't just let go of these ideas. These morals came from an upbringing. I can't stress it enough, but this is basically someone's life. Now before I continue, let me just say, there are a plethora of ideas and morals that people believe in that are just DOWN-RIGHT wrong. Like putting pineapples on pizza; only savages and the uncivilized believe in such a thing and if you ever meet anyone who believes in that, tell them otherwise. But other than that, I believe there has to be understanding if we want peace. There are so many people in the world who believe and grew up with these ideas that to just say deny them will only stir more issues. And yes, I do know that some people’s ideas/morals tend to invalidate other people’s ideas/morals and I believe situations like those are quite delicate and need to be tended to as such. But if you do fail to persuade a person who simply just believe your way of living is immoral, please feel free to block them on all social media.

Speaking of stirring more issues; picking a side seems pretty unproductive. Another line the anti-sjws, or whatever they want to call themselves, love to shout from the heavens is "Have a conversation with people and try to get them on your side." At first I believed in this. I believed in the idea of ending the childish insults and pettiness and just trying to have a discussion with facts and calm nerves, you know? Just getting down to the bottom line on who's right and who's wrong or who's a little right or where are we all right in this situation...you get the picture. But after getting into actual conversations I came to realize that it's not as easy as it sounds. Conversations have become less about debates and more about domination, or at least it's always been that way and I've just found out. People care less and less about being right and more about making a mockery of someone who thinks differently than them. Nothing comes from belittling the opposition, at least nothing truly productive or positive. When someone belittles someone because the person doesn’t understand their opposition you lose the chance of making an ally, but instead make a stronger enemy. An enemy whose now determined to prove you wrong and even find more people who think the opposite as you. Basically, it becomes less about peace and more about a competition of wit and intellect.

I'm derailing a bit, but the point I'm trying to get at is that if I stand for myself I speak for myself and no one else or I'm given the opportunity to explain a side to someone who has a different opinion. By picking a stance, someone can speak for me and someone can cause issues with the opposition when in reality I wanted peace; I wanted to talk and explain or have it explained to me.

In the end, being neutral is just being honest. It’s almost like being critical, which I have slowly become towards a lot of things in life. Some small things like movies and other forms of entertainment and some bigger things like myself and my writing. This honesty helps me understand things and makes me remain true to myself, which is hard for some people. Whether you're pro-black, an #alllivesmatter believer, feminist, or anti-sjw, there's always someone who believes in something that they know nothing about. They believe it for numerous things such as "they feel like they're doing the right thing" or "having a sense of superiority when it comes to intellect." Hell, some people decide to adopt some political beliefs because they think it'll help them fit into a group of people, filling a void in their lives that they're missing like friends, maybe even a family. A lot of them simply just toss around links, speeches and phrases that they hope are true and try to combat whatever comes their way, not letting down their guard or being open about the conversation.You of course can use things off the internet to back your argument up or to support something you truly believe in, but once again just believe in it and stay open. It isn't everyone who thinks this way or acts this way about their political beliefs. but I feel like it's enough to be a problem. I even believe someone can be part of any of these political groups and still be an open minded individual. Being someone who just believes in saying whatever they feel, not being scared on how "problematic" it sounds, makes it easier for someone to just talk without dealing with pressure of letting down your peers.

We're not siding with oppressors, we're not trying to stir up drama or say that we don't care for whatever you believe in. People who say they’re neutral remain neutral because that's just how they are. Befriend them, ask them for their opinions on things, and maybe even ask if they can explain a side you don't believe in. Either way, we're here to stay and give small inputs on your beliefs. No matter where you stand.