If you say and do things you are proud to say and do, then it is easy to brush off criticism. If a community goes into a purity spiral and deems something I'm p

If you say and do things you are proud to say and do, then it is easy to brush off criticism. If a community goes into a purity spiral and deems something I'm proud of to be wrong, they're doing me a favor expelling me as I want no part in it. Again, consider the flat earthers - their criticism means nothing to me because I am proud of supporting science, and I will continue to support science regardless of any consequences. Criticism only stings when it is valid. If you say or do things you're not proud of, and someone calls you out on it, you can't simply ignore it, you have to address it, and that may be uncomfortable if not downright painful. However it is not the fault of the party laying valid criticism that you feel uncomfortable. You did something you are not proud of, and this is merely the consequence of it. If you have a problem with my position, I strongly encourage you to tell my that it's hurt you, tell me why, and suggest how I should behave differently. This goes for both the person I'm replying to and anyone else who might read this. Assuming you're a reasonable person, I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable, and if I have I would like to change my ways so I won't do it in the future. If you simply assume I'm an asshole and say nothing, then I will have no opportunity to rectify the situation, and I will go on just being, at least in your eyes, an asshole. Now if your objections are dumb, I may very well ignore them and continue being what you view as an asshole, but in that case I will be doing so with pride, and you too can continue to hold your position with pride. A system where everyone expresses their minds and we all bear the consequences of our actions is much better than one where we bite our tongues and hope that everyone else does as well.