I read this post yesterday. And this one. And seeing as how I got an ugly comment from an anonymous commenter on the same day, it really hit home. (And then my sweet friend Kelly posted something nice right behind the ugly one and made me feel better--thanks Kelly!)
The thing is, people don't realize when they leave ugly comments that they are speaking to a real, live person! A person with feelings and frailties, doubts and insecurities. Bloggers don't blog because we know all the answers and always think we are right. Primarily, I think most people blog for the same reason I do-- to throw our ideas out into the world and see what happens. To see if people care at all about what we have to say, and to know if those ideas actually help others. We certainly don't do it because we like to be held up to public scrutiny and attacks. Bloggers, to my knowledge, don't have any more thick a skin than the rest of the general public-- they are just people who are willing to expose themselves a bit more, share a bit more, be real and vulnerable and transparent as much as possible.
My ANONYMOUS (why do they hide behind anonymity?) commenter didn't like that I said what they considered something ugly about Hillary Clinton. Perhaps this person is a Democrat. Perhaps this person is a feminist. Perhaps this person just likes to sit around and take potshots at any unsuspecting blogger he or she can find. My pastor's wife once posted about driving around looking for her son some shark plates because he is two and going through a shark phase. So, she wanted to find him some shark plates for his birthday party. An innocent, devoted mom thing to do. Some person took offense to this and commented that she should not be wasting gas doing that and that she is not environmentally friendly because she did! Seriously people-- was that ever the point? And how did we get from there to here? It boggles the mind!
For about twenty minutes last night, I seriously debated shutting this blog down. I don't need it. I don't need strangers to remind me I am a sinner. I know this already, believe me. I don't need strangers to remind me that I mess up-- believe me, Satan slithers in on his ugly old belly and reminds me of that quite often. I was preaching myself a little sermonette as I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner while my kids went TRICK OR TREATING (ha-- there's something for you to go after!!). And I even fell asleep last night, thinking, maybe I will, maybe I won't.
So what did I do after I got up this morning?? I decided to post a bunch of thoughts today. To move forward. To continue blogging and not be daunted by ugly acting people. My mother always told me that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I wish all those ugly-acting folks would take my mom's advice.
But until then, I did enable comment moderation, just in case!
9 comments:
Thank you for not closing your blog. It's precious.
I'm so glad you didn't cloes your blog. You are an inspiration to many, including me! Keep posting your thoughts. This post makes me want to come back to my blog...hopefully sooner rather than later.
I agree with moobeema, thanks for not letting negativity keep you from blogging. There are too many of us would be REAL sad if you stopped! :-(
Besides, this is YOUR blog!
{{Hugs}}
Amy
Thank goodness for comment moderation. It just goes to show that a little censoring might actually be a good thing. Oh no, I've started another controvesial topic! Really, why should everyone suffer because of one nasty comment!
It's unfortunate that some people feel they have all the information on a subject and when you say something they don't like, they can just go to town and say whatever they like. I think it's a real sign of spiritual immaturity. I think you've showed great wisdom in considering the negative comment and moving on. There are going to be people out there who do this type of thing and we have to show our maturity and realize that we have no control over other people. It does give us a good opportunity to pray for these people and learn from our own growth in the matter. I'm glad you decided to hang in here. For every one negative response you'll get, you'll receive 100 positives.
I'm with the others. Don't close your blog because someone who has an angry heart picks you as a target that day. I have a blog a wordpress and get nasty things too. I consider the source (someone I DON'T know) and remember that through the blogs we can reach out to even these people. If they are leaving a comment it means they care about what you think (even if they are trying to persuade you into another way of thinking). I put out a quick prayer for that person and delete and I'm done, God handles the rest. Please don't give into those who disagree with you. Please stay here for those of us who agree or need support from you. May you have the most blessed weekend EVER! Debbie
I remember my first negative comment, I did the same thing - just about deleted the whole blog. I'm blessed by this blog and am thankful that you want to continue.
keep on keeping on ~~ you go girl!
i love what you have to say, don't let those negative people get to you.
Someone left a comment once where they were basically making fun of me. I felt like someone had walked into my house and slapped me (and of course, hiding behind the shield of anonymity).
Just keep on keeping on, girl!
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