Berry has brought up a good topic for the Monday Meme - hurtful comments made by people who are probably doing it intentionally. It was a long time ago but, yes, it happened to me too.
1. Have you ever been subjected to mean comments online by strangers? When I first came into this world, I belonged to a dance club where I believed I made lots of friends. One night, a group was talking about a band they liked. One of the girls turned to me and said, "You have no idea who we're talking about, do you?" I said no, I didn't know that band. Then another person said, "Well, what do you expect! She's from Canada. They don't know anything there. They're really back woods". Then the comments flew around concerning "speaking only French", "living in igloos", "very uncivilized" and of course the everlasting "Eh".
2. How did you respond to them? At first I kind of laughed because I'm used to being teased like that and normally it doesn't bother me but the comments were starting to get nasty and rude. I wasn't willing to sit back and let them run me down...and my country but I felt totally inadequate of how to answer. So...absolutely nerdy me said, "Oh yeah! Well who won the War of 1812?" HONESTLY!!! What a dumb remark was that!! Of course I got a lot of "LOLs", "ROFLs" and other not so respectful comments so the ignorant remarks kept coming. I chose to keep silent and just pretend I didn't hear but I'm not sure that was the right solution either.
3. How did they make you feel? I felt powerless. These were people I thought were my friends but obviously they didn't think the same way. Things don't stay with me for long, so after a day or so, I realized I didn't want them as friends; I left the group and never looked back. Those were people I didn't need.
4. Can you share some of the mean comments you’ve received and your thoughts on them? In all my years in SL, that was the only time I have ever received negative comments. Perhaps it's because now I have a better choice of friends and I'm not so naïve to believe everyone in SL is there for fun.
5. Have you ever ridiculed or negatively commented on someone else’s work, actions or personality with the intention to hurt them? Yes I have but never as an adult, and never in SL. I was bullied in elementary school over things I had no control over. I was tall for my age and thin; and I was smart. It lasted a whole year until I went to the next grade level with other kids. It hurt. So the next year, I turned it on others until I realized I was losing friends and I was feeling miserable at what I was doing. I told my Mom and she explained how I was hurting kids like I had been hurt. I stopped.
Adding my own comments to this, I believe all mean comments stem from jealousy. If comments are directed towards bloggers, it's because they have talent in what they do. If people are the targets of nasty remarks, it's probably due to the fact they're friendly and kind. So...what's the difference between SL and RL? You wouldn't want these people in your life in RL so why give them power in SL?
This says it all:
Good Night for now.
I'm wearing:
Hair: W&Y # 147 (no longer available)
Shirt: Ronsem check shirt (sou by creationjp)
Jeans: BoHo HoBo Skinny jeans (black) (SL Marketplace)
Sneakers: McChucks (black) (SL Marketplace)
Location: The Junkyard
