Last weekend we lost a beautiful TV personality, Charlotte Dawson. It is so sad to see such a beautiful life end in such a tragic way because everyone deserves to be happy.
I remember when Charlotte was battling trolls via her Twitter back in late-August 2012. The vulgar things these low-lives would tweet her was disgusting and unacceptable. Wishing someone “to do the world a favour” and end their lives is horrendous! What kind of human being says that to another human being?
I’ve been a victim of cyber-bullying, and still to this day I am being bullied by my ex-partner and his new girlfriend. But the best thing I did for myself was ignore the bullshit they would say. Every now and then they’d retweet something about ex-girlfriends or call me a “psycho” just to make themselves feel better, but when a third person reads it – who isn’t related to the situation at all – they just makes themselves look morons, and you know what…? That suits me just fine.
What I really don’t understand is how these people – trolls, my ex-partner and his girlfriend – live with themselves. How does one live knowing their taking a dump on other people’s lives and happiness to make themselves feel better. Must be a pretty lousy way to live.
What my partner Joe doesn’t know is the day I fell in love with him, I sent my ex an email. I thanked him with all my might for the last decade we had known each other; all the heartbreak, tears and effort that was never appreciated.
So, why did I thank him? Because Joe was worth the wait. Joe is the exact opposite to what my ex was and I really had to know what the bad looked like in order for me to appreciate the good when I came across it.
At the end of this email, I wished him well. I told him to love his girlfriend and hold onto her for dear life and treat her like the most precious diamond in the world.
But even today, they still tweet how I’m a psycho and make fun of me, troll my blog and shit all over my life because clearly theirs lack some true organic happiness, they’ve got to make it for themselves at my expense. The only thing they really have in common in their hatred for me, which is a pretty shitty foundation to build a relationship to build on, but then again, what do I know? I’m definitely not a relationship expert.
I am happy to report that I have them both blocked. I will now allow them to get the best of me because I know I am in such a better place than they are.
Like Charlotte, it is exceptionally difficult to put on a brave face and get on with your lives like you’re on top of it. I, too, have some really dark days where I want nothing more than build a pillow fort in our bed and just stay there for days. Before I met Joe, I had to find my strength within myself, which proves easier said than done. But Joe doesn’t allow it in our home and he doesn’t tell me to just “get over it”. He rebuilds my confidence, makes me smile and then takes me out for ice-cream, which has a 90% success rate thus so far.
No one is perfect and not everyone is going to get along, but you don’t know what a person is living with when you decided to write nasty words, troll them and call them names.
We don’t know what our words and actions can do to someone’s soul and well-being, but have to ensure that what we do and say in everyday life and on social media is a postive one. Not everyone has the strength to push through when they feel like they have their back against the wall.
My only piece of advice is this…
…and just be kind to one another. It costs nothing.
Larry Emdur’s tweet to Charlotte pretty much summed it up what everyone is thinking…
Please sign the Charlotte’s Law petition and do something positive in the light of such a tragic event: Sign here.
RIP Charlotte Dawson. xx
