Here’s the first comment I read Monday morning on an article I wrote for Care2 titled, 10 Ways To Help Kids Cope With Japan:
“my god how stupid is this article? coping with what the tv says? are parents really this stupid that they need an article on how to explain natural disasters to their mentally ill children?” ~ Jay
No caps, just hateful spewing.
Hopefully by the time you read this, the next few commenters will clean up Jay’s vomit. That’s how it often works on blogs. Maybe they’ll be all over him, and the conversation will go humming back to normal. Maybe. Websites have the ability to deem the comment inappropriate and delete it. They haven’t. If it’s cleaned up, the post might continue to get hundreds of constructive and adoring comments. Yet, this one guy feels entitled to bring us into his revoltingly unsafe world.
After three years of blogging, I rarely get nasty comments. I don’t let these types of comments get to me anymore. They used to. Now I just wonder where these people come from, and why they even bother to comment?
I checked Jay’s profile. Here’s a shortened version: Age: 37 Lives in: Canada Causes: women's rights, violence against women, violence against children, pro-choice, environment, endangered species, civil rights, children welfare... About me: sweet, loving, silly, strange, cat owner, loyal, average intellect... What Bugs Me: unfriendly people, the destruction of rural areas, people who won’t use their minds!, people who rape, ignorance, cruelty, bullying… Passions: writing, nature, making a difference…
What a crock. I’m going to take back an earlier statement I made. This does bug me. While I might be stuck in the mud with writer’s dismay, I have a few questions for you: Do you think all of our advancement towards becoming a more global community through the Internet has made us any more tolerable of each other? Should I moderate comments here? I don’t (except for spam). Is it only a matter of time until these slugs find Econesting and muddy it up?
I’m closing my computer.
Photo: Juliet Harrison