This is not right, goddamnit!
Having an opinion is one thing, but it should never lead to harassment or bullying.
ENTER LINDSAY BOTTOS :
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| source: Lindsay's tumblr |
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about
21 year old senior at the maryland institute college of art // photography major, book arts concentrator, gender studies minor, with a focus in fiber arts
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Lindsay constantly receives anonymous hate on Tumblr, mostly after posting selfies.
self·ie
[sel-fee]
noun Informal.
a photograph that one takes of oneself with a digital camera or afront-facing smartphone, tablet, or webcam, especially for posting ona social-networking or photo-sharing website: selfies posted by teens on Twitter.
via dictionary.com
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| Image from Lindsay's tumblr sourced from kitchen-goth |
anonymous consists of selfies that Lindsay posted on her Tumblr with the anonymous abusive comments embedded onto the images. The striking pictures of Lindsay paired with such contrast contained in the disgusting comments allow for a memorable image that directly showcases the problem that many people, especially women, have to deal with when others feel they have the authority to comment on their appearance; and not only the authority to comment, but that their opinions should directly effect the person they are commenting about.
images from anonymous
And while I hope people of the internet realize that just because you can say something, it does not necessarily mean you should [be an a$$h0L3], I admire Lindsay for turning it into something positive and thought provoking.
So, dear readers, do not think methodologically (one truth, and all that crap) because reality is constantly changing (ontological! ontological!) and your one truth does not give you a right to belittle someone into feeling badly about themselves. Accept that reality is influenced by every experience and thought that each individual person has, and yours are no better than anyone else's.
p.s.-- although, I am certain that my readers are all lovely people and would never be as cruel as these people bullying Lindsay online. But spread the message everyone! The golden rule and all.
So, dear readers, do not think methodologically (one truth, and all that crap) because reality is constantly changing (ontological! ontological!) and your one truth does not give you a right to belittle someone into feeling badly about themselves. Accept that reality is influenced by every experience and thought that each individual person has, and yours are no better than anyone else's.
p.s.-- although, I am certain that my readers are all lovely people and would never be as cruel as these people bullying Lindsay online. But spread the message everyone! The golden rule and all.
It's really hard not to hate people that hate. I read an article this weekend about twitter users that responded negatively (in the most extreme way) to Coke Cola's "America Is Beautiful" Super Bowl advertisement. This article, in fact: http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/75447787843/speak-english-racist-revolt-as-coca-cola-airs
ReplyDeleteThe worst (or maybe best) part of this is that these people, in general, are NOT anonymous. Their names are attached to the sort of horrific things they're saying. I wonder if it's because the screen makes us feel anonymous, or something like that. Like, not being face-to-face grants us some weird illusion of power. I feel like, in a lot of cases, the people that say things like what was said to Lindsay, they're projecting a negative image onto someone else to make up for their own insecurities or their own poor mood. This same phenomenon is to blame for a lot of the "raging" that goes down in online gaming.
I wish people would love themselves so that they will love other people. And vice versa.
Right? And then that only creates MORE hate. It is a vicious cycle. I do think that people feel a certain power in hiding behind a screen -- less confrontation. I've found that overall people don't like confrontation, so if they can say nasty things without having to look someone in the eye they are more likely to do it. It's like then they don't have to reeeeally take credit for what they've said. I also agree with your point about people saying negative things about others as a way to cope with their own insecurities. It's too bad. Even if you can't love yourself, you should know enough to be polite to others. The whole "if you don't have anything nice to say; don't say anything at all" that we learn in pre-k.
ReplyDeletePS- Thank you for commenting again! I always look forward to hearing your input.