Why do you voice your thoughts/opinions?

[shootingstar]

Ugh. Yeah. Much (though not all) of my depressive episode this fall was triggered by having to cut off several relationships because the events of this summer really brought out people's bigotries. As a straight, cis, thin-ish, able-bodied, for all intents and purposes white person, I'd been able to form friendships - not close, but still what I'd consider friendships - with these people having no idea how much hate they harbored inside. The loss and the feeling of isolation were distressing, but also I felt disappointed in myself for choosing to move to such a segregated area, and for letting my privilege blind me to what these people were really about

It can be painful /slightly bewildering and the older we get, sometimes making new, long lasting friendships takes time.

To answer your original question - for myself, it really depends on the context. I might express an opinion for any of the reasons you posited, with the exception of belittling someone, which I really try not to do - e.g. on FB, I might "like" a funny post that someone else shares, but I rarely share them myself. But my sense of why strangers make unsolicited hateful comments is that THEY are feeling isolated these days. Hate is not as fashionable as it used to be, and public expressions of hate are frowned upon in most circles. So when they feel like they can get away with it, they say something just to "enjoy" their ability to say it.

I highlighted your comment in red: good point.

Much of my comments on local community does pertain to face-to-face in person relationships. However I appreciate some great dialogue on various topics over the years in this forum..some topics I wouldn't think of asking /discussing with other women face to face. Not because I'm don't want to,I didn't realize certain things happened or personally never experienced certain things.