November 18, 2009
Blogging Enemy Number 1 Sending Out the Good Karma
I'm not quite sure what it is about me, but my entire life, I have attracted crazies and "haters." Some weird girl tried to get me to join her religious cult on a Pittsburgh PAT bus one day, and for whatever reason, strange people tend to think I'm up for their crazy-talk.
Over the years, I've also been the target of online "haters," "trolls" and just plain jerks. One time a whole group of adolescent losers started insulting me and my blog. That drama went on for weeks. Every once in a while some crazy commenter crawls out of the woodwork and tells me off for no apparent reason too. It's usually something stupid and obscure like I say I dislike wearing the color orange or something. All of a sudden, someone who happens to love the color orange, who thinks they invented the color orange takes my post as a throw-down invitation and it's on. Weird.
I also seem to be targeted on these stupid ranking top list things. One time, someone hijacked my user name profile and put a not so nice nickname in there instead of my user name. Think of what a female porn star might say. I'll allow you to use your imagination. I think people purposely went in and gave me super low rankings too. Whenever there's a public ranking system that doesn't require someone to log in, everyone else soars (usually because I believe in good karma and rank other people high), and then my rating drops like a cement block in an ocean. There can't be that many people who think I suck that badly. I refuse to believe that. When the hijacking became too much, I gave up. I removed myself from the MA top list and told myself I didn't need the traffic or the drama.
I wouldn't take it so personally if I didn't invest so much time and effort into this blog. I love this blog. I am a self-taught blogger with no graphic design skills. I didn't even know what html was when I started. I was just a girl who wanted to write and thought that if I had an audience, I'd be more likely to stick to it and not put it on the back burner like the twenty or more manuscripts that live on my computer and get neglected on a daily basis. I can be serious, humorous, downright disgusting (ACL posts and pictures), but if there's one thing you can definitely say about my writing, it's that I'm honest. I write what I think and for that, I think I often get the backlash.
I find this difficult to understand, why people want to pick on a blogger they don't know who happens to have her black belt. Maybe it's internet muscles or something. Maybe it's because I'm a girl in a mostly boy-dominated niche, but whatever. I know my blog doesn't suck, and so I largely ignore it. And despite being stomped on by people who steal my content and then get mad at me when I call them on it, I continue to put good karma out there.
When bad things happen throughout the blog world, I pray for people, offer good thoughts and help however I can help. I didn't know little Maddie at all, but when another blogger I read mentioned the Spohr's and how they had lost their daughter, I read almost the entire blog, sobbing the entire time, before adding a comment in a sea of comments to say I would pray for them. And I did pray, a lot, because I couldn't imagine being in that situation. . .
Which is also why I want to draw your attention to another blogger tonight, Anissa. I don't know her and I've never met her, but the blog world apparently loves her and she's suffered a massive stroke just days before she was supposed to depart for the happiest place on Earth with some friends. I happened to end up on her blog the other day due to a Disney related search (we're going soon too), and then I started hearing horrible things. What she is going through right now is something I can't even imagine. What her family is going through is beyond comprehension. She has three kids; the youngest just beat leukemia. I mean, like she needed one more thing.
Then I started watching all these posts go up about her, buttons to donate to her family and I realized that the blog world really does rally around its own in times of trouble. And despite not knowing her, despite all the crap the blog world likes to throw at me sometimes, I'm going to continue to send out good karma. Please say a prayer for Anissa and her family tonight. Send the good thoughts and karma in her direction.
I strongly believe in the power of positive thinking which is why I've continued to write all these years, despite the porn nickname, the hijacked stuff, and the mean people. I believe in the good in people and I definitely believe that those of you who continue to read here, will send good thoughts to Anissa and her family tonight. Please do.
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I’ll be sending prayers Anissa’s way. I can’t read the blog, I tend to feel too strongly and with a little guy sitting next to me, I don’t want to explain why mommy is crying, but the prayers will be going to her and her family.
As for you, as you have told many students, people put you down when they feel bad about themselves. They can’t measure up, so instead they try to knock you down. Although if you did say you don’t like the color orange, I may have to jump on you for that one. I bleed orange – go ‘Cuse!
Sorry to hear about the the bad luck – I’ll add a prayer for them.
As for the trolls – have a sense of humor and remember you are only in control of so much in life… protect your good name… the rest will fall into place – karma.
Well I love your blog, your writing style and your sense of seeing what is really going on in a situation. Ignore the haters, they are just little people with nothing to do with their lives. Keep on blogging and sending out that good karma and I will do that same.
K.
I think trolls are the lowest form of Internet dweller.
Hey now, not on a Pitt blog!
I didnt use to have a sense of humor about it, but the other day when I saw the most recent thing, I actually laughed out loud. Blogging makes you bullet-proof.
Sounds like a plan. Thanks.
Agreed.
Well, I love your blog, BBM! Keep sending out that good karma and writing. Those of us with sense will continue to read 🙂
Remember that people will treat you as badly as you let them. Glad you’re still putting fingertips to keyboard and not letting a troll or two get you down.
Prayers going up for Anissa
I pop in from time to time, skimming through some of your posts and reading others in full. Kind of like everything else, if I enjoy it, I read it and if I don’t… well, I don’t. I often wonder why other people don’t do the same. If I absolutely hate something you’ve written (which I haven’t yet) I can’t imagine why I would tell you so. What good could come of that?
I’ve been involved in training and distance learning for a long time. I do a lot of teaching to a live audience whom I can’t see. They can call in and ask questions, but the only non-verbal feedback I get is from the technician behind the camera. I love my job and have always received very positive feedback. But, like you, the false sense of anonymity seems to liberate some people of any need to parse their words with any care. While the negative feedback usually amounts to less than 5% of the viewing audience, that feedback tends to be some of the harshest, meanest, most personal things anyone’s ever said to me. From inappropriate comments about how I look to you name it. I don’t get it. And these are new employees in a professional position.
Ah well, anyway. You do fine. Ignoring them is the best thing to do. It used to bother me, but I don’t worry about it anymore.
That was a very nice comment Steve. Thank you. And I completely agree about the weird, personal nature of some of the meanest comments. It is just plain messed up.
I just wanted to assure you of how great your blog really is. It stinks that there are negative people out there that enjoy bringing people’s spirits down. Keep your head up and keep blogging!
BBM-
Indeed. Trolls suck. Just don’t ever let them get the best of you…heh, as if.
As for Anissa. Man. I cannot believe what happened to her. I read her Peyton blog, probably somehow connected with Lisa’s cancer fight or something and for this to happen makes me sad. Each day I hope a little harder.
But, you’re right. The blogging world comes together when it needs to. I like to say it’s because we have super blog hero powers and it’s much easier to “pay it forward” under the seeming guise of anonymity. Where else can you draw the goodness out of people with just reading and passing it on? It rocks!!