“Your judgements about another person say more about your own character than the character of the person you are pointing a finger at.” ~ Alaric Hutchinson

It’s amusing in this day and age of “reality” shows to realize how many people feel they have the right to pass judgement on anyone on a social platform. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Snapchat. Tinder. YouTube. You name it — any social media platform can quickly become a hotbed of disagreement and discontent.

Many of us have discussed it at length. I have a friend with a blog, a podcast, and an IG account who simply doesn’t read many of the comments, especially if she doesn’t recognize the commentor. An acquaintance and trusted teacher has a weekly post and often has to remind people that it is IRONY or sarcasm and all in fun, not to be taken seriously. Another friend and her husband have a successful YouTube channel with FB and IG accounts and the wife reads every comment. Not only does she read them, she responds to them — not by qualifying her posts but by making fun of the responses . . . some of which are outrageous.

• They don’t like hair, her make-up or her clothes.
• They don’t like her nose.
• They don’t like the fact that she’s a former beauty queen.
• They don’t like her laugh.
• They don’t like the way she dresses to work on old houses.

I’ve been the recipient of comments myself. The most telling ones are the “anonymous” brand – these are the most oft ignored. I’m all about taking ownership. If you’ve got something to say. . . SAY IT. But don’t ever hide behind a pseudonym or the word “anonymous” — that is gutless. If you are unwilling to put your name to it, it shouldn’t be said. One should always be prepared to defend their stance.

I believe you should stand behind what you say and do. Know why you’re doing something and be able to defend it. Know what you believe and how to present it and debate it, if need be. I’ve passed this along to my children. “I don’t know” is never an acceptable answer to a question about something they’ve said or done.

Unlike my creatively snarky friend, I do not have time to create a IG post in response to rude comments. She goes all out in a tiara and ballgown and blatantly pokes fun at her online “haters.” The teacher and my fellow blogger choose to ignore the comments. I don’t have time to waste, so nameless comments get deleted immediately. (Although I can usually tell from the use of words, who the commentor might be.)

Collectively, our adivce to discontented commentors is: Keep scrolling. If you can’t say something nice, say nothing. If you could say it better, do it better, sing it better, whatever better . . . start your own account and DO it, but don’t be rude to us.