Working for Odyssey, I've suddenly become dedicated to spreading and sharing articles across the Internet. Some of these articles, as is expected from a website primarily run for and by college students, cover material that many people may feel slightly opinionated about. And by slightly opinionated I mean that whenever people disagree with you, you might as well be insulting their mother with the way they respond to your articles.
The articles that mainly receive these kinds of reactions revolve around the "taboo" topics like politics, sexuality, guns, religion or confrontation. By confrontation, I am referring to topics that confront the public for a perceived "flaw" that others may not agree with. Such as confrontation about ingrained misogyny or racism in society. I've witnessed so many articles that spread awareness on cultural appropriation, violence against women, or merely express a writer's personal political views, be savagely torn apart by readers as they gain attention.
Frankly, I try to keep myself separated from any Facebook fights that may occur from my articles. Although my writings don't necessarily get popular enough to get some truly nasty readers, I've had a few topics bring forward some feuds between different family members. However, I have witnessed articles that not only bring forward people who insult the topic, but the intelligence of the author due to their pure rage at the article as well.
My advice to those writing about these rage-inducing topics? Don't read the comments. Don't read them. Don't read them. Don't read them!
It can be hard, especially when you really are excited about an article, to ignore the comments that readers make. However, people will say some nasty things online if they don't agree with you, and it may be best for your self-esteem and sanity to not even give the angered person the satisfaction of having gotten to you.
One of the reasons why online hate has become such an epidemic is because of the almost anonymity, if not complete anonymity of the process. Someone can leave a comment without facing repercussions, and that encourages them to speak the most rotten parts of their mind. If I post an article talking about why dark chocolate is great, but someone in Alaska despises dark chocolate and prefers milk, then they can go and leave a comment calling me an unintelligent swine and they'll never know the difference. They move on with their day and create the reaction they want from us in their heads, giving them satisfaction. While they may believe they've persuaded me of how wrong I was, in reality, they've just solidified my thought that my way is better. I know a fight over chocolate types seems unrealistic, but I can guarantee you it's happened over pettier things.
One of the things that definitely makes the situation worse is engaging in the argument. When a small family feud erupted over an article of mine, I was even tagged in the comments, but as soon as I noticed it was a tiff I chose to turn off notifications for the post. If other friends of yours feel like jumping to your defense, then that's great because you have supporters! However, don't allow yourself to engage unless you feel as though you really should. By ignoring them, you're taking away the attention they want and making them appear ignorant on their own. Don't start a fight that results in a Facebook comment section that says, "Show 146 previous comments".
People get angry over the internet. It's a fact of life, unfortunately. Due to the lack of consequences, people will call you things you wouldn't call your worst enemy, but don't give them the time of day. If a person has nothing better to do then have a Facebook fight then who's the real loser? Starting a fight will not change anyone's mind, only solidify their hatred for what they don't understand. So go ahead and write that article on how straight, white men ruined North America and then post it on a Trump fan page. Just turn off your notifications and enjoy the sh*t show.
