Anonymity. It’s a word that more than often is followed by a condescending tone, however, many fail to see the good side of it before jumping
directly into the bad. Yes there are ignorant and uncultured people who take
advantage of online anonymity to cause harm to people or to express their
opinions in inappropriate forms. There’s really no solid way to stop these people,
even if we can get one to stop, two more are bound to pop up. This doesn’t mean
that every person with some form of anonymous identity is out there to harm
others. What of that mom who could use a little help parenting but is too embarrassed
to ask? What of that kid who’s going through something for the first time? What
of that one person sitting alone on a bed who’d just like to know there’s other
people like them out there. What of that writer to be with a whole universe in
his or her head, only they’re too afraid to claim that universe as their own?
As much strength as an anonymous “I hate you” has, an anonymous “I love you”
has that same strength if not more. We can’t completely ignore the fact that
someone will sit at their desk for hours on end thinking of the latest way to
hurt someone, but honestly, what can we do? Respond to them in the same manner?
Give them the satisfaction of seeing us hurt? Spend a day thinking about
someone who probably forgot what they said? We have to take that same power
they have to hurt and use it to help those who need it, who find strength in
it.
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