During a recent appearance on the WallrideX podcast, Chris Cole talked about the amount of negativity that can come from within the skateboarding community.
There is a pretty simple way to deal with it, according to Cole.
If you do not have something nice to say, there is no need to say anything at all.
The 44-year-old said being kind does not cost anything, yet people can still be quick to criticize others online.
He believes there are too many skaters spending their time tearing other people down when they could simply keep their opinions to themselves.
“If you don’t have something nice to say, just don’t say anything,” Cole explained. He also pointed out that kindness is free, making it hard to understand why people choose to be negative when there is no real benefit to doing so.
The conversation also touched on how successful people deal with comments and criticism online.
Cole brought up Joe Rogan as an example, noting that someone with a huge audience and an established career does not need to spend their time reading every comment posted about them.
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According to the GOAT, people who constantly leave hateful comments may be looking for attention themselves.
His view is that talking about your own life may not attract much attention, so some people choose to talk about somebody else instead so everyone can pay attention to them.
That can create a cycle where skaters spend more time discussing other people than focusing on their own work, goals and lives.
Cole’s point was not that everyone has to agree with each other.
People are going to have different opinions, and criticism is always going to exist. His argument is that there is a difference between having an opinion and going out of your way to be negative toward another person.
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Sometimes the best response is simply saying nothing.
In a community where opinions can spread quickly online, his advice is pretty straightforward.
You do not have to like everything someone does, and you do not have to agree with every decision they make.
If your only contribution is going to be something negative, you can always choose to leave the comment unsaid.
This can be even easier when you know the skater in real life and know that they are a good person. You may be less likely to say something negative about them because you know who they are beyond what people see online.