Cowardice is the Operating Principle of Bullies

Sneaky, snarky and abusive behaviour of trolls and bullies online should be called out.

Me, I am always up for dialogue and debate.

I don’t write to just to find people who agree with me, but rather to connect with and learn something from people with a wide range of life experiences and perspectives. The downside of being open and curious is that you do occasionally, get contacted by some people who lack all sense of courtesy. Lack of courtesy can morph into something much worse: verbal abuse.

At that point, we have several options whatever platform we are on. The first and easiest is simply to ignore the comment.

We can also mute or block people or report them, if their words are particularily nasty — being say, misogynistic or racist.

I generally ignore as it takes the least energy.

Though recently, on a group signal chat, I did spend some two hours objecting to the admin who’d removed someone summarily, without any chance of them having a recourse to explain or defend themselves. I didn’t know the person, but it just felt like dropping a guillotine on their presence online without any warning! So I strongly objected.

Anyway, today, I am moved to simply celebrate the kindness of strangers. (I define strangers as everyone I have yet to meet in person.)

Of course, encounters with others online, do indeed involve a kind of engaging via leaving comments, but for me, ‘comments’ function emotionally more like a visiting card, an introduction to the person behind the words.

Well, this morning I found a comment from one someone who was basically, telling off another writer. This person, ‘fatchecker’, had left a strange comment for me, (on another platfrom from Vocal) referencing gollywogs, and a link to a story. I didn’t actually bother to think more than a couple seconds about their comment, and as it made no sense, I also did not bother to click on the link that they provided.

But here is what the writer I'll call, 'Frederick the Defender', said, in response to that ‘gollywog’ comment left for me a week or so earlier:

“Is it fair, to write an offensive story, to which you’ve very cowardly banned all responses, and then post inflammatory links to that offensive story, in response to any other story, which the authors very graciously allow you to respond to? Pretty scummy behavior on your part, if you ask me”.

So while I had not bothered to engage with this person, 'Defender' came upon the comment that they left, and felt strongly enough, to respond.

Well, I had barely sent a comment, thanking Frederick the Defender, when, lo and behold, I found that the bullyboy had deleted their offensive comment along with the link they’d provided.

Which just goes to show, that words matter.

To paraphrase Jane Austin, It is a truth rarely acknowledged, that the truth, universally upsets those profiting from deceit.

When people get upset and abusive, I’m actually kind of glad, as they have exposed who they really are!

Regardless of whether they live in council housing or Buckingham Palace, they are the chavs who’ve sorted themselves out from the wheat! And saved me and those who read their offensive words, the trouble of doing so.

Like chaff, that is empty of nutrition, let the chavs and other bullies disappear into the distance, with the slightest touch of a breeze, infused by the scent of truth.

Meanwhile the truth tellers are like bread that is the staff of life.

Which do you think you’d rather be, if you had the courage?

And let’s not forget, courage is like a muscle; it takes practice to grow.

So go forth and practice, fellow readers and writers. Be warriors for truth and righteousness!

We can’t all be a Mandela or a Malcolm X, Julian Assange or the Queen of Jansi, but we all can respond with comments that are kind, encouraging, engaging with courtesy, and also, we can choose to tackle the nasties who pollute online discourse with untruths and abuse.

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