Please Have Empathy for the Family of Someone Who has Done Wrong.

(This article was originally named “Empathy vs. Judgement on Vocal.media)

Empathy is so important to human life. Judgement not so much. There is so much judgment in the world, especially on online articles. These articles can be from anywhere in the world, and because we are anonymous online, most of us become keyboard warriors. These keyboard warriors can fight for the right reasons, or they can fight for the wrong reasons. The ones that fight for the wrong reasons are usually trolls. Judgement on online articles attracts both type of warriors. They also attract one more: the everyday browser. These browsers have the option to think with empathy or judgement. They have the tendency to judge someone based on one article. This is wrong, in many instances. I know what its like to be on the receiving end of that misplaced judgement.

***Before we start: I have five biological uncles. They are numbered from eldest to youngest. They will be called Uncle 1, Uncle 2, Uncle 3, Uncle 4 and Uncle 5. I have four Aunts, three who are the wives of Uncle 1, Uncle 3, and Uncle 5. If they are referred to they are usually going to be connected to the uncle they are married to. My Aunt who is my Papa’s sister I’ll refer to her as “his sister.”***

Back in 2015 I had the unimaginable happen to me: I lost my Papa (father) in a horrible motorcycle accident. That isn’t the end of it though, this is just the beginning. He didn’t die immediately and spent a week in a coma in the ICU on life support. It had to be the worst day of my life. I was a brand-new Mom with a 5 month old, had just lost my apartment because my ex-husband (We weren’t married at the time.) had lost his job and was in the middle of adjusting to a new life schedule living with my Mother when I got the news.

My brother got the call at 1 A.M. July 20, 2015, from Uncle 4 who our Papa lived with. We were aghast. The next day very early in the morning Uncle 1 and my Aunt (his wife) picked us up, and we went up to the hospital he was in. I didn’t know what to expect what when we got there. When we arrived another Uncle 3 (Uncles 2 and 3 are twins.) told us that Papa was in the ICU, and not to expect him to look like he usually would. My siblings and I looked at each other. I was nervous, I don’t know…