So you’ve crafted your insights into an engaging and persuasive op ed, and the comment editor of your local newspaper has published the piece. Your inbox is now receiving congratulatory notes from friends and colleagues, and maybe even a query or two from broadcast media wanting you to expand on your subject on air.
So far so good.
British author and public intellectual Rebecca West
But then you make the mistake of going online to check out the comment trail being generated by your op ed. And you discover that two dozen trolls have sneered at you for daring to disagree with a Rhodes scholar, for failing to raise a point that had nothing to do with your argument, or for having the temerity to distinguish yourself from a doormat (see Rebecca West*).
You are momentarily horrified. And then you get to the snide swipe by “Chazz” whose capacity for cogent analysis is limited to references to vomit bags and toilet paper.
That’s when it hits you: at least some of these unfortunate readers are actually would-be writers who have tried and failed to submit something worth publishing themselves. And lurking online under the cover of pseudonyms like “muscle280″ and “Bait Master”, trashing other people’s opinions, is the closest they can get to feeling a sense of agency or influence.
So then you just feel sorry for them.
For more on dealing with backlash, see earlier posting, Implanted breasts and concerned scholars. In a future post, I’ll offer some tips on how to outsmart the trolls.
In the meantime, here’s a reminder of that famous quote, penned by the inspirational and prolific British author, Rebecca West:
*I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute.
Great discussion!I think it’s fttiasanc that people can express negative opinions through Facebook, etc. I’m a big supporter of it when in context, professional and legit! I want to hear what people are saying!!The organization I volunteered for went into reactive mode whenever anyone posted a negative comment in any of their social media avenues. Click. Deleted without hesitation.I completely disagreed with their decision to delete. I think it should have been addressed and discussed. I think the opportunity to transform a negative in to a positive is great thing and I WANT THAT OPPORTUNITY.A former volunteer, of this unnamed organization, posted a negative comment on Facebook, everyone else unfriend them. Not me! Hello, I want to be able to read what they are saying and be able to comment, if appropriate, and put out the fire. Ultimately, I was able too.Trolls aka crazies aka spammers are a different story. Anti-deletion rules do not apply.
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