I have officially made it as a blogger. Not because it is almost my 4-year anniversary of blogging, not because I hit a certain number of page views, number of followers or amount of money. But, because for the first time I was targeted by a group of woman who had a difference of opinion and instead of writing me about their personal experiences they personally attacked me. It has taken me a couple of days to process the situation. Now that I have I wanted to share An Open Letter to Internet Trolls. I feel like the world needs more kindness so here we go.
Some of the words used that really stuck with me are "Sold your soul", "Sad you value money over actual real safety for children", "It's people like you that screw up the younger generation. Wake up!." One woman went so far as to post my post on her stories with a call to action for her followers to attack me. This milestone in my blogging career is not want I ever wanted. And joking that it means I have officially made it as a blogger sort of feels like telling the bride on her wedding day that the rain is a good sign. I hope that sharing my story will help others who have also been attacked online. And to help remind others that it is ok to disagree, but we need to choose our words carefully because they carry weight.
An Open Letter to Internet Trolls
This experience takes me back to 4th grade and my mom telling me that words hurt even when we cannot see the damage. It is amazing how no matter how old you are, words hurt. I used to a be total people pleaser. The old me may have questioned even continuing to blog. Instead this situation left me sad about our world. When did we lose the ability to have a difference of opinions and have an open conversation about it? If these moms knew me personally or had ever been one of my followers they would know that I value difference of opinions and I am always open to a dialogue. I am a life longer learner and I LOVE learning new things. The only way to keep learning is to be open to new things.
Somehow we have gotten to a place where if people do not agree with you they feel entitled to attack the other person. This feels especially true with the protection of the internet. One of the woman sent me a nasty DM on a separate subject. I wrote her back and shared with her that her words hurt and reminded her that I am a real person. I had hoped it might spark a conversation. But, my response was met with silence.
I did not take my decision to put my views and my family on the internet lightly. In fact, it is the reason I almost never started blogging. And while last week was one of the most difficult weeks of my career I would do it all over again. I have gone back and read my post over and over again to see if I should have positioned it differently, but even knowing the hatred it would be met with I would not change a thing. It is a subject I believe in and feel strongly about.
And no matter the downside of blogging including being personally attacked by woman I have never and will probably never meet the upside of blogging has been so much better. Over the last 4 years I have built a community. A community of readers who want to join me in celebrating everyday life. A community of other business owners who I met online and have now become some of my closest friends. And I have shown my daughter that with just your own talent and creativity you can build a business for yourself. A business that can support your family, give you purpose and inspire others.
So, to my haters I say thank you for the reminder that 99% of my readers are kind. And that motherhood is hard. As parents, we are all making difficult decisions for our kids. Most of these decisions have consequences. We are all doing the best we can. So, if you read something you don't agree with please share your experience and your opinion, but do it with respect and without name calling.
Thank you for reading and for all your support through this process. Now back to our regular content focused on celebrating life and those we love the most.
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