“If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.”

Lately I’ve been noticing more and more unkindness online and online trolls wreaking havoc.

This blog post stems from a friend of mine receiving some really aggressive and unnecessary messages, that were just gobsmacking.

My theory has always been that the best response is no response. However, a line has to be drawn when there is disrespect and abuse being thrown around. I cannot stand by, simply out of principle.

It’s not about living for comments or measuring worth based on how many likes you get, but when a really nasty comment comes up, it’s hard to shrug off and be nonchalant.

I always wonder how it happens…

Negative person finds the negative in everything.  Said person then decides, not just to think it, but makes the conscious choice to then voice said opinion, knowing it’s not going to be kind or nice for the person reading it. This person then comes up with something ugly to say, proceeds to type it out and still decides to press publish/send.

There have been several conscious thought processes and not once has a filter come through with a suggestion that perhaps it’s not kind, could be hurtful or even think about how they might feel if the roles were reversed.

Perhaps it is safe to hide behind a keyboard. Although, the pseudonym screen name is no longer. 80% of the time, it’s your own name and surname on social media – especially Facebook. I couldn’t think of anything worse, seeing my name in black and white attached to a whole bunch of abusive words hurled at someone. I’d be embarrassed. For those who have no problem with it, well, I am shocked.

There are 2 things I know for absolute certainty:

1. You never regret being kind.
2. In life, you can choose to either be an encourager or a discourager.

I personally don’t receive a lot of ugliness, but I do get a few awful comments or messages every now and then. I usually never respond, because 9/10 this person is looking for a reaction. Don’t give them the satisfaction.

If you really have to respond, it’s how you respond that is the most important. This is where it becomes hard not to let off your own steam. It’s easy to fling mud back, but that accomplishes nothing and quite frankly, it makes you just as bad as them. It’s at times like this that your true character gets to shine through. Sure, being gracious and taking the high road might not be as satisfying at the time, but it is always the best! ALWAYS.

There is a quote I recently saw and I love it: Realistically, I’m pretty sure the online trolls aren’t going anywhere, which is sad, but hopefully we won’t allow them to win.

I’ll leave you with some more quotes, I found from my good ol’ faithful Pinterest