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?)