What happened to kindness?

As I sift through news posts on social media, I read the comments just to get a feel for what the rest of the world is thinking or going through.  It helps me to feel connected, and not alone in what I am thinking and feeling.  The problem is that there are so many people who are so quick to attack another person because they dislike what they are saying or don't agree with them. 

I read a comment on a local news story about restaurants opening back up to 50% capacity this past Monday.  One women posted a comment about how happy she was to be able to dine out with her husband for their anniversary.  The follow-up comments from others were telling her that she was going to die, and wishing for her to become sick with the virus.  Really?  Even if you didn't agree with what she was doing or saying, couldn't you just say nothing?  It seems that this type of behavior is only getting worse.  I continue to see hateful and mean comments on every story that I come across.  People attacking people for no apparent reason.  

Are we forgetting that there are real people on the other end?

As a child, I was taught that if I could not say anything nice, then I should not say anything at all.  Were others not taught this principle? 

The mental health of this world is in a fragile state right now.  I'm not suggesting that we stop giving our opinions and having conversations.  I am suggesting that we be more respectful of others, and not spew hateful remarks.  There is a way to get your opinion across without telling someone they are an idiot or that you hope they die.  You never know what the person on the other end is going through.  You don't know their story, or the reasons why they have the opinions that they do. What if they have lost their job, have sick family members, their home is being foreclosed, they have an incurable disease or depression.  What if your remark is the final thing that causes them to feel like they just can't take anymore from this world?  What if instead, you wrote something kind and reassuring for this person to read?  Do you know how quickly kind comments can change someone's state of mind?

Please be kind with your words and your actions.  We are all human.