For the past few days, Mrs. GI Joe has been battling the dreaded Anonymous commenter on her blog. The post originated way back in March, but apparently this nasty commenter went surfing through her blog. The content of the post really doesn't matter. What does matter is that this commenter - who later referred to herself as Mrs. GI Jack - was determined to cut Mrs. GI Joe down for her beliefs, opinions and feelings. Feelings that any one of us would have had if we had been in Mrs. GI Joe's shoes.
Not only did she cut down Mrs. GI Joe, but she continued to do so in several comments. After each one, Mrs. GI Joe and her husband attempted to shut down the commenter by being civil and trying to help them understand the reasoning behind the post. In the end, the nasty commenter decided to tell Mrs. GI Joe that she and her husband needed to grow up. That she and her husband were just trying to give GI Joe and Mrs. GI Joe [unsolicited] opinions that "most people have to pay" for.
Sweet, isn't it?
I find it difficult to believe that this woman and her husband would willingly put down another member of the military community. We ALL go through deployments. We ALL struggle to deal with them in our own ways. How dare they come into her "realm" of the blogosphere and tell her how to feel?! Even IF she had acted (or said things) immaturely, it's HER blog. She was stating HER feelings and HER reactions. What difference does it make how someone else views that situation?! Disagreeing is fine - allowed, even. But, if the only way you can share your opinion is to cut someone else down, my advice is for you to stay away from those of us who aren't afraid to tell you to leave our friends and our blogs alone.
The reason we have blogs is so that we can get our thoughts and feelings out there. And maybe, in the process of things, we make new friends. New friends who understand what we're going through. New friends who are there for us when we're having a weak moment. NOT people who only read and comment so that they can tear us down to feel better about themselves.
If you are a person who gets their "kicks" by tearing other people down, I have some advice for you:
1. Reevaluate yourself. If you need to kick other people to feel better about yourself, then it's YOU who needs to change.
2. Stay away from the milspouse community online. If you hit one of us, you hit US ALL.
Mrs. GI Joe is a dear friend of mine, even though we've never met in person. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this. In fact, no one deserves this kind of treatment. If you would like to read her post and the comments, just click here.
If you agree with me (and pretty much everyone else...), let's no longer allow rude anonymous commenters to be heard on our blogs. If you have something to say, I believe that you can do it tactfully. If you can do it tactfully, what's the harm in putting your name with it?!
I think our milspouse motto should be that of The Three Musketeers:
{Yes, I did use a phrase from a group that may or may not have existed in history. Yes, I did use a picture of my husband and I. =P}
