Wednesday, September 7, 2016

How About We Don't Bully Authors (Or Anyone Else, For That Matter)

Disclaimer: As I mentioned in Monday’s post, there have been some bookish-community-related issues that have been bothering me lately, so my posts for September are going to be more ranty. (If you haven’t read Monday’s post yet, you might want to, since it ties in to this post a little. And if you haven’t entered my giveaway yet, there’s still time!) 


As much as it is probably more fun than it should be to write rants, I wish I didn’t feel the need to write this post. I wish the writing/reading community could be a safer, more positive place for everyone. And I wish I owned a Lamborghini. (Sorry, I got distracted.)

Since I plan to be published eventually, sometimes I wonder if I’m looking at my future—if the hate I see aimed at authors today will one day be aimed at me, and it’s not a pleasant thought (not that I expect to be super famous). I hate that one of the activities that is most therapeutic and natural for me could suddenly become a whole new war zone in my life. I have already witnessed the start of too many wars, both real and metaphorical. I swear it’s been easier to process the idea of needing to leave my home because people would kill me for my skin color if I stayed than it is to think that people might twist my words and my art to make a monster of me simply for their own amusement. 

Of course, I don’t expect this post to change anything, because I am intelligent enough to grasp that most trolls and haters won’t simply listen to reason and reform. Anger is their trade, just as words are mine. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am still perfectly capable of whining about it. 

Two or three weeks ago, Twitter exploded with tons of angry readers discussing Sarah J. Maas, and there I was, sitting on the sidelines, wondering what had happened this time. Because if it isn’t one thing, then it’s another. Always, always. After trying unsuccessfully to figure out what was going on (I was being extra careful to avoid EMPIRE OF STORMS spoilers), I decided to just back off and wait it out, since I figured it would end eventually. Except it hasn’t, not yet at least. And while I realize the world doesn’t revolve around my feelings, I just have to say it: I’m getting so tired of this rampant immaturity. 

I expect you all to listen to your queen and shape up, or I'll take away your coffee privileges. Got it? 

But in all seriousness, do you want to know what happened, why this particular hurricane of hate has been sweeping through, why the Twitter piranhas have been trying to eat Maas alive? From what I’ve been told, Maas didn’t make a pair of her characters gay. She didn’t make a pair of FICTIONAL. NOT REAL. MADE-UP. CHARACTERS. date each other. And apparently that’s enough to warrant death threats. Apparently that’s enough reason for people to tell her to kill herself or choke on certain parts of the male anatomy. 

We have officially reached the point where we are capable of getting so angry over people who aren’t real that we are willing to tar and feather those who are. I feel like this accomplishment warrants some kind of reward, like an all-expense-paid trip to a country that doesn’t have internet. 

I want to be nice here, I do. I want to be kind and gentle, and I want this to be a safe place for you people. I don’t want to lead by an example of anger, but I also don’t want to lie and pretend that I’m not angry when I am. I am angry. And I’m still trying to figure out how to channel this anger so it doesn’t hurt anyone, including myself. 

Because when it wasn’t Maas getting slammed, it was V.E. Schwab. Before that, it was Sasha and Lindsay getting hounded by dozens of trolls on Goodreads. Back when ALLEGIANT came out, it was Veronica Roth getting death threats. Right now it’s also A.C. Thomas, author of THE HATE U GIVE (out next year). It just doesn’t stop. I don’t even know these writers personally, but I care about them because they are writers too, because they are people too, because they care about things I care about, and because they share their thoughts and put themselves out there with so much bravery. I hate watching them get torn apart. 

When did it become okay to bully writers? For that matter, when did it become okay to bully anyone? I’m no stranger to bullying. I’ve been bullied myself. And the older I get, the less tolerance I have for bullies, the less I have the energy to stop and feel sympathetic for the deep hurt inside these trolls that makes them act the way they do. I even dislike that wording. Nothing is making them act that way. They are choosing to hurt people. I’m tired of having sympathy for the devil. I’m tired of overlooking your bad actions because of your tragic backstory. I have my own tragic backstory, and I am still responsible for my actions. As are you. As is everyone. Nothing makes it okay to lash out, to take our wounds and multiply them on others so we’re all painted red. 

I’m so tired of this. 

I know it’s best to ignore the trolls, to avoid their anger so I don’t catch it like a virus (and, you know, sneeze it out on others). But to me, that seems like a faulty solution, because you lose if you engage and you lose if you sit on the sidelines. Either way their words aren’t harmless. So you stand up to them and try to be as nice as possible about it and end up feeling like you’re getting dragged down to their level, or you stand by and do nothing even though that doesn’t feel like the right thing to do, because you would be wrong to stand by and do nothing if this were happening in front of you instead of online. Of course, you can flag comments and report abuse, but usually nothing happens when you do. Like I said, lose-lose. 

I know these authors usually have support systems, so please don’t think I’m sitting here chewing my nails, seeing myself as their savior, the one to swoop in and stop the bullying. But the fact remains that these authors are no less human than the rest of us, and depression and anxiety are big issues in the writing community. Words from trolls have as much power to hurt writers as they do to hurt non-writers. When you consider these people are being bullied about their job, the thing that pays their bills, I find that especially troubling. And I would love to wake up one morning to an internet free of trolls, free of unnecessary anger and hate, a world where people live and let live. 

(This all being said, I’m definitely not ignoring the bad eggs among the authors who troll their trolls, or, you know, stalk them.) 

Can we do something? Can we take back this ground with positivity? Can we drown out the trolls with nice thoughts and nice words so no one even pays attention to the angry angries anymore? Can we find some way to make overwhelming kindness a thing again? Or am I just being too idealistic? 

What about you, my little coffee beans? What do you think about all this drama? What is your policy when it comes to trolls? Do you know of any authors who have been specifically targeted lately? (Also, please, no spoilers for EMPIRE OF STORMS, or I will give you a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it. I haven’t even read CROWN OF MIDNIGHT yet. WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?)

16 comments:

  1. Wow - I totally feel you. Some readers can be so childish. Thankfully I don't go on twitter much so I missed all this author hate - but I agree people really need to leave authors alone. At the end of the day - writers write what they want to write. Good writers don't cave in to fans - despite all the death threats - they just plod on with writing the world and characters they love, as they see them. I don't understand why fans feel they can dictate the outcomes in a story... grr, makes my blood boil! Great Post!

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    1. They can be. :P It would be nice if readers had more respect for authors as people, instead of just treating them like products themselves. It is frustrating that fans act like they're the ones in charge of the book. And yes, I mean, it's good to pay attention to feedback from fans, because writers can have blind spots, but in the end, writing is their career, and they should get to run it the way they want.

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  2. I am loving your ranty posts! I just don't understand why people bully writers (and other people, of course, but just sticking with the main theme of the post here). What do they want to accomplish? And why do they feel the need to spread their negativity through the world? Ugh, it frustrates me so much.

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    1. Aww, I'm so glad! They're too much fun to write. :P It frustrates me that writers get bullied so often. I don't understand why trolls are trolls either. :(

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  3. That's terrible people are bullying Sarah. I've seen them bully book bloggers too. I try to stay out of all that. I don't have time for that.

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    1. Yeah, it can be so tempting to engage with trolls, but it is a waste of time. :P I've seen other book bloggers get bullied, and it boils my blood.

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  4. Ugh I hate trolls. Just as a book reviewer I get a ton of them on goodreads and it absolutely sucks. I can only imagine what it'd be like to be an author and work really hard on a book and then have people yell at you that you don't know what you're doing. like, SIT DOWN, TROLLS. WUT EVEN ARE YOU SAYING. It's okay to not like what an author does and it's okay to speak up against problematic things in books! But it is never okay to bully / hate / shame / threaten... Like never. There is just no excuse.

    But as much as we can get so upset that people can be so horrible....like you said, what is there even to be done about it? Trolls won't change. Fighting with them is awful and messy and doesn't resolve anything. I guess ignoring is the best option. D:

    It kind of scares me to become an author though!! Knowing what people go through from these rabid trolls. ugh.

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    1. Grr, it frustrates me when I see the trolls going after you, like it's somehow wrong for you to have a differing opinion. Trolls are the worst. It really bothers me that threats and shame and anger have just become so prevalent.

      Yeah, I wish there was something to be done, but even with moderators and whatnot, it's a never ending fight. :( But it makes it easier to ignore them when I remember that, no matter what I say and no matter how well I say it, they probably won't care because they like being butts.

      Same. :P I'll probably hire an underling to help with the trolls. XD

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  5. I haven't been on Twitter much recently, so thankfully I missed all this craziness, but I can totally relate to the feeling. To me it's never made much sense to get angry at writers for how they wrote their books. I mean, they're sharing them with us, yes. But at the same time, it's the writer's creation, and if they want to write the story a certain way, that's their right. But then, I look at this from the perspective of a writer myself so I'm definitely not on the same wavelength as the trolls and haters. All I can hope is that these writers hold strong and respect their own decisions in spite of all the hate.

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    1. I'm glad you didn't have to see all the anger! It does bother me that there's this prevalent sense of entitlement, like readers think they own writers and get a say in how books turn out. It's not that, as a writer, I would want them bowing at my feet, all profusely grateful and whatnot, I just hate the thought of people trying to control my expression. And whatever happened to just not saying anything if you have nothing nice to say? Seriously, trolls. Why? :P

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  6. Gosh I had no idea this happened. But I've heard many a writer bullied for not writing how other people think they should write, especially about gay and lesbian couples. It's one reason I'm not for that agenda, because I feel like it puts this undue pressure on writers. That's a rant for another day. But I'm glad Maas didn't make whoever those characters are gay (I have my suspicions who they are). I see writers get bullied for all kinds of things, but mainly for their beliefs. It's sad. Any public figure gets bullied at some point. It's wrong and it needs to stop.

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. I do dislike how there can be such a strong sense of disapproval over any lack of representation. Like, I understand wanting to have diverse books. But I don't think it's ever okay to bully those who don't provide the diverse books people want. I've only read Throne of Glass so far, so I'm not even sure which of these two characters they are, but I'm curious if I'll be able to guess them as I read the other books. :P I wish trolls would understand that being in the public eye doesn't give them a free pass to tear you apart.

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  7. I didn't see this happen on Twitter myself, but I see the trolls who show up all the time. *sighs* It's kind of an embarrassment to humanity. I'm sad about that. But yeah. LET US BE NICE.

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    1. Ugh, so many trolls. They're like weeds, but way more mean. *flops dramatically* It is indeed. I just pretend I'm not human so I don't have to be grouped with them. NICENESS IS NICE. :P

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  8. Honestly, I don't know if we can drown them out. But we can definitely try. :)

    It's sad that people feel the need to be so hateful. Like, there's no such thing as "agree to disagree" or "I didn't like this, but someone else might" anymore. And to go from hating something that happened in the book to threatening the author??? Like, what kind of people are you? Are you people? Ugh. It's just awful, and I feel so bad for those authors.


    Alexa
    thessalexa.blogspot.com
    verbosityreviews.com

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    1. We certainly can. Or we can eat ice cream all day. That would work too. :P I would do that.

      It is sad, and a little bit scary to realize that hate and anger are such natural reactions, even to small things. I wish people would just agree to disagree. It would solve so many problems if people were mature about things. ARE THEY EVEN PEOPLE IS A VALID QUESTION. *slams coffee cup on table*

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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