I have debated and debated with myself about sharing this comment from one of my blogs because, really, should something like this really see the light of day? But, after much contemplation, I have decided that exposure is better.
Simply put, people are ugly. Discrimination is ugly. Hate is ugly. Discrimination and hate goes both ways. It isn’t just an issue for certain backgrounds, heritages, or colors.
Behind the scenes, I have been trying to get Google/Gmail to do something with the email account this comment came from. So far, crickets. Haven’t gotten a response in user forums and can’t find a place to be able to report abuse from such an account. Interestingly, the tech giants are eager to silence some opinions, voices, points of view, but not others.
Anyway, it’s pretty clear to see from the user info that the intent of the email account is to harass a certain demographic of the population, but also to hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Oh, but there is an IP address, so not really all that “secret” if someone has the means track them via that method.
Oh, and the comment will probably shock you. Actually, it probably won’t. If you have an opinion on anything and have a blog, you’ve probably run into some of these ugly people in your comments section, provided you allow comments. I have noticed some blogs don’t allow for comments. I can only assume it is for the reasons seen below:
Kind of makes your stomach turn, doesn’t it? Even if it isn’t shocking. Do you take it as harassment? A threat? Both? Or do you pass it off as some ugly, unhappy person sitting in their elderly mom’s basement leaching off her social security and spending time trolling people all day?
At the end of the day, I know not all people are ugly. But, unfortunately, there are more ugly people than pleasant people. Well, maybe that isn’t even true. I guess what I am trying to say is that the small minority of ugly people make a lot more noise than pleasant people, thus we end up hearing more about ugly people than pleasant people.
So, pleasant people, go out there and make one person’s day by doing something for them that make a bright spot in their day. Heck, even smiling at someone can make their day better. Try it.
Have you had a comment like the one above? What do you do it if you have? Do you delete and ignore, engage and respond with kindness, or something else?
I haven’t received a comment quite so vile as this one, and if I had, I definitely would have removed it. Frankly, this comment was only a couple keywords away from getting the police involved. However, since lowlifes are often paid to post garbage like this, I suspect the author, most likely operating out of his mom’s basement, knew where the line was and didn’t cross it.
That said, I’ve gotten some comments that were particularly disrespectful, especially when I post something pro-Second Amendment. In those cases, I sometimes let the comment through in order to mock the commenter for his logical fallacies and grammatical failings, since there are usually many of both from this type of troll.
There’s a certain irony that your commenter paraphrased an oft-repeated line from a white character in a movie made by a white man in an attempt to mock you for your whiteness. I have a hunch your pet troll isn’t destined for greatness.
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These kind of comments are exactly the reason I have “approval” turned on. I don’t want this stuff out there. However, sometimes it just feels right to respond, or at least expose.
I agree that it borders on a threat. A very thin line was walked. I am a little astonished that Gmail doesn’t filter their email creation process for keywords. Seems a little strange.
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