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(Tone: Grateful) Thank you for writing & sharing this very important piece. (Tone: Honest) As one who avoided & did not partake (save for 3 posts in ‘08? ‘09?) in the (Tone: Facetious) twisted rewiring of how one communicates a la Twitter/X other social media era (I’m probably 1 of the rare mid-millennials who was & is still shocked by the lack of communication skills it entail(s)/(ed)) I deeply & sincerely hope others will heed the call to foster open-mindedness (my m.o.). (Tone: Reflective/Sincere) Genuine dialogue has been reduced to one-on-one/in person conversations it seems and the mark of the (almost) last 2 decades of the social media realm is clear as day…assumptions/inferences (the death of civil discourse) run wild and fear of ‘cancel culture/mindsets’ are the new ‘Tiger’ that threatens our ‘survival.’ But I digress…

I will end with- I would rather undergo ‘social suicide’ then give up my Love for open mindedness and curiosity about different perspectives. Thank you again for writing & sharing 🙏🏼 and also for indulging my words! 💜🖤✌🏼

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Thank you Scarlett for sharing your thoughts—I couldn’t agree more, and I absolutely love the emotional tone descriptions in your response! They perfectly encapsulate the complexity of feelings surrounding this topic, and they brought a smile to my face because I did the same thing to someone a few months ago—someone who kept interpreting my words as imaginary attacks 'hurtful' for their feelings... An impossible person to communicate with—the kind who, when you try to engage and hold them accountable, suddenly claims you’ve hurt their feelings or that you’re attacking them...

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(Tone: Grateful) 🙏🏼 Thank you for your kind reply (& once again for sharing your important words)! Re: Tone Markers- (Tone: Friendly/Happy) I’m touched & glad that my use of TMs brought a smile to your face! In my ~ 1 1/2 years of using them full time for all ‘public’ communication I’ve received mostly positive feedback for them, which encourages me to keep using them. (Tone: Sincere) At times it can be a tedious task since most platforms only allow a finite # of characters.🙃 On the bright side, it encourages me to continue to be conscientious of my word choice & make sure I say what I intend. Additionally, it really makes me more inquisitive with others and is a reminder that I have 0 knowledge about where random commentators are coming from (without a foundation we’re basically driving blind…(Tone: Cheeky) so no wonder there are so many communication wrecks all over the place…(Tone: Sincere) but I digress…

In short, like yourself I found myself in unintended misunderstandings that I would equate with an adrenaline surge of ‘road rage,’ from which no one walks happily away from and found TMs are the best solution at my disposal.

I appreciate you and thank you once more! A pleasant week ahead to you & yours! 🙏🏼💜🖤✌🏼

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