Reminder that the gold standard of #humanity is not "everyone thinks the exact same way about absolutely everything, all of the time, or else." That's a #cult.
Just because someone has an opinion, doesn't mean they are "gatekeeping", a word that is heavily over used.
To clarify, #gatekeeping is a real thing, and it is a shitty behaviour: stop it; but, you can't label everyone as gate-keepers simply for having a differing opinion.
Gate-keeping means you are trying to prevent inclusion or limit access to a group or community. Gate-keeping is about control. A person can have a differing opinion, state that opinion freely, and not be participating in gate-keeping, all at the same time.
I particularly become frustrated when people ask an honest question, they get an honest answer from someone, only to have people screaming "GATEKEEPER" about the answer.
Why did you ask a question if you didn't want to hear an honest answer that could differ wildly between people? It's heavily a bait-and-switch situation, and it's #abusive.
I personally have many opinions that people disagree with, but I don't also use those opinions to control the access of other people to groups, communities, or resources. My opinion is mine and affects no one but myself. Typically, I try to make that clear as glass when stating an opinion, but there are so many people that want to read between the lines, it becomes frustrating.
There is a fine line between wanting to protect people and actively trying to #misunderstand people to find a purposeful reason to feel justified about being #offended by something.
None of us live in a vacuum, but sometimes, we sure act like it.