Virtual Bashing
Tue., March 25, 11:10 AM
A lot of reading since I came back, and almost no writing. I’m just trying to catch up with everything, including Diaryland news. That’s where I found the entry about on-line harassment.
What the heck is going on here? It seems to me that, on line, harassment consists of not only a basher, but also a bashee. You can’t be hurt unless you accept it. It’s like offensive television; you have the control and you turn it off. No one is forcing you to read it. Grow up and stop whining!
A long time ago I wrote that it didn’t matter whether anyone reads my diaries or not. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the give and take among fellow D’landers. Having the good fortune to live in a country where we can speak our minds means we may occasionally disagree. But it doesn’t mean that I will curl up and die if you decide you don’t want to read.
Then there’s the one that writes “So-and-so made me close down my diary.” Excuse me? That one reminds me of an old story about a reporter who erroneously reported a man’s death. The man called the reporter and said, “you reported that I died.” “Oh, yes,” said the reporter, “where are you calling from?” If you closed down your diary, where are you writing from?
What is the big deal? I have occasionally deleted comments about my page in order to spare the writer the embarrassment of looking so stupid. (Leave it to me to feel sorry for someone who doesn’t deserve my sympathy.) If they continued, I stopped reading them.
Another bunch seem to be playing a different game: “my pain hurts more than yours does.” We all know people in pain – a little or a lot – but only a “select few” dwell on it. All we really know is what they decide to tell us… I don’t appreciate being manipulated.
I might mention one point, however. If you really think it hurts less to see your child suffer, just because s/he is over twenty-one, I won’t even say you’re wrong. I just tell you to wait.
Sorry, my friends. I’m just not feeling charitable this week.
