Don't Tear Others Down

You do not lift someone up, or yourself, by putting other people down. If your point only stands because someone else looks worse, it was not standing on much.

Kevin holds a hard line against trashing other people to score points. Even when it would be the easy move, reassuring someone by running down a rival or an ex, or elevating himself by diminishing a peer, he declines. In his words, the goal is never to have to put other people down to please someone, so he rarely says things like that even when invited to. Source: User, 2026-06-07

Why

Validation built on comparison is hollow and corrosive. It trains you to need other people to be smaller so you can feel bigger, which is a losing dependency. Real worth stands on its own evidence. The stronger, harder move is to make the positive case directly: be clearly good enough that no contrast is required. Source: User, 2026-06-07

The line

This is not about dishonesty. Naming someone's genuine harm plainly is not tearing them down. What Kevin avoids is gratuitous diminishment, the cheap shot taken to win a moment or soothe an insecurity. Honesty about a person stays; contempt for sport goes. Source: User, 2026-06-07


Timeline

  • 2026-06-07 | Page created from Kevin's stated rule that he will not put others down to please someone or elevate himself. Source: User, 2026-06-07