There are some really cruel people on-line.

[LiberalLoner]

[SheltieLover]

1. Yes there are.

[tintinvotes]

2. Lots of bot farms

[surfered]

3. Anonymity brings out some people's dark side.

[Ocelot II]

4. There are some really cruel people IRL, too, but the especially cowardly ones

display their cruelty on-line because their anonymity lets them get away with it. IRL assholes risk pushback for their assholery but on-line ones can just sit in their parents' basements eating doritos and getting off on being mean. The good thing is that they can be deleted or blocked or otherwise ignored.

[LiberalLoner]

6. Good reminder 💙💙💙

[chouchou]

5. A lot of wealthy sociopaths love to stir the citizen pot. Pulling the strings while laughing...

...while running to the proverbial banks.
Most can buy anything in the world...not enough though....gim-me the entire world.

[LiberalLoner]

7. Addresses are easy to find and wealthy sociopaths and their trolls are not as bulletproof as they think.

[LiberalLoner]

8. And most of them are old and close to death as it is, hope they have fun in hell.

[chouchou]

36. I'll be glad to show them the way. :)

[LiberalLoner]

38. I often daydream about channeling Saint Luigi, these days....

[LiberalLoner]

9. I am being subscription bombed, among other things. Assholes.

[Goddessartist]

27. I'm so sorry

Big hugs my friend.

[LiberalLoner]

30. Thank you so much, dear friend. 💙💙💙

[mountain grammy]

10. By my count

77 million Americans

[LiberalLoner]

11. I know one thing, I will never bother to post my art on DU ever again.

[Ocelot II]

12. Hey, wait a minute! We *want* to see it!

I've seen the art you've posted and it's really good. If anybody said otherwise, fuck them. Keep posting it and don't let assholes who think they're critics discourage you.

[LiberalLoner]

13. Thank you. Well, my husband liked the two paintings I did today, at least. His opinion matters the most to me, so I

Can ignore people who say my work is ugly.

I am learning a whole new genre of art, and excited to learn, and maybe it doesn’t look so good just yet. Even so, if I post something ugly, aren’t I at least encouraging others, who may say to themselves, “hey, I can do way better, maybe I will pick up my art supplies again!”

[Ocelot II]

14. Ignore the critics; have fun with your work. Isn't that really why we do it anyhow?

It's especially mean for people to snark about anybody's beginning attempts at a new method, so poop on them, and keep at it.

[LiberalLoner]

15. Thank you so much! You are right! I shouldn't pay any attention to mean people. 😍💙💙💙

[chouchou]

37. I must have missed that. Is it fairly easy to find.

[hunter]

17. I've never been brave enough to post my art on DU.

For one thing it tends to get pretty dark. Then I start thinking maybe I should put the camera and/or paint brushes down.

A lot of my mom's art was an expression of her inner demons and I don't want to be like that.

I'm likely to abandon web sites and email addresses when things start to get dark.

[LiberalLoner]

18. Maybe your art will bring light and understanding to the world, and help others feel less alone. I

Think you should not give it up.

💙💙💙

Do you think I should abandon web sites and email addresses at this time? To be safe?

[LiberalLoner]

19. Will I keep being tormented, unless I do? Is it necessary now, to be safe?

[LiberalLoner]

20. I have often wondered if my emails have been hacked, somehow. And if there are trolls tied to celebrities,

Stalking me here and trying to harm me.

[Ocelot II]

21. If you have been threatened or are concerned about your privacy or safety,

you might want to change your email address or give up some other social media - but that's a big hassle. Unless you've been hacked or are being trolled in a way that threatens your safety or invades your personal privacy or your financial information, just deleting or blocking the trolls is probably all you need to do.

[LiberalLoner]

22. Thank you so much. It's only been petty harassment so far these days...subscription bombing, unwanted text messages,

That sort of thing.

It was far worse a couple years ago.

I think deleting and blocking might be enough. Who wants the hassle? And why should I be the one to leave DU, just because of nasty trolls?

[Ocelot II]

23. Ignore the trolls, delete their crap, and stay with us.

You have support here.

[LiberalLoner]

24. Thank you so much. You don't know how much your words mean to me! I have been here a long time and this

Feels like family to me, real family. I don’t want to give all of you up.

💙💙💙💙💙💙

[Goddessartist]

29. I love your art!

You're so talented! I'm so sorry someone here was ugly to you.

I haven't visited the art group in months.

[LiberalLoner]

32. Thank you so much, that means the world to me! Especially since you are such an amazing artist! 💙💙💙

[hunter]

40. Currently I simply ignore most of my email and mark anything unwanted as spam.

That seems to be working.

The last email address I abandoned was because of a stalker.

I've been on the internet since the late 'seventies and have a pretty thick skin but I was afraid this one would show up on my doorstep.

They didn't. Maybe they figured they'd won, depriving me of an email address and internet identity I was fond of. I haven't heard from them since.

At this point DU is my second oldest surviving internet identity and the only "social media" I subscribe to. I've never used the email apps on my phones and keep my most important contacts on paper, some of those in my head.

Maybe I'm too cautious (some might say to the point of paranoia), and maybe I should stop letting violence forty and fifty years behind me feed my present-day anxieties, but here I am. Meds and therapy have made the PTSD survivable but haven't "fixed it."

If you do change your email address you don't have to do it like I tend to, "cold turkey." I've quit meds cold turkey too, which is another thing I don't recommend..."

Embarrassingly, I've discovered more than once that I've had financial stuff I'd forgotten about tied to a particular email address. I once lost a cell phone number because of that, which caused even more problems...

It's a good idea to keep a separate email account for bills and business.

[LiberalLoner]

41. Thank you so very much...I have definitely been targeted by a group. But I want to stand my ground, now. I'm

Sorry for what you have gone through.

I hope you will be safe now…

💙💙💙💙

[Ocelot II]

25. Do it! Art is essential, and it's a form of communication.

Doesn't matter if it's dark. Some of the greatest art is dark.

[LiberalLoner]

33. The darkest art make all of us feel not so alone. 💙💙💙

[murielm99]

28. I like your art.

I am sorry that I have not said so before now.

[LiberalLoner]

34. Thank you so much! I'm very grateful. 💙💙💙. I'm trying to learn a new thing, and it's abstract art,

And I’ve been excited just to be exploring something new. But I think I made a bad mistake posting it.

[Srkdqltr]

35. Don't feel that way. There are a lot of people here who need art. I should post some of my quilts.

If I figure out how to, then you have to keep posting 📫.

[LiberalLoner]

39. Thank you so much...I would love to see your beautiful quilts! 💙💙💙

[The Wizard]

16. The Fighting 101st

keyboardists huddled in their parents' basements.

[Evolve Dammit]

26. And in person. We are a sick society. Common courtesy could be considered "quaint." Sadly.

[TommieMommy]

31. Yes there is. Unfortunately