Hello All!!! I thought I would do something different this week and tell you about the first post comment I received on my blog last week. To refresh your memory, it was which is better: Mid-Atlantic or New England. One is my hometown, and one is my adoptive hometown. This was a lighter blog I thought was very needed after the multi-part series on grief.

This comment was followed by a meme of a dog pooping with wording similar to “Here is your crap back” or something else unoriginal. I promised myself when I started this blog that I would not take down comments just because I disagreed with them. I am also a Women’s Author, meaning I am writing to an audience of women 30+ years old as my primary audience but I love when others outside of the demographic also read and enjoy. This comment was made by a male and, in alpha male stereotypical fashion, shit on the blog, figuratively and as much as possible literally, but gave no offer of improvement or even what he is calling garbage. So, let’s look at the possibilities:

1. He doesn’t like my website-Yeah, I feel ya there. I only got a website as a project for school, and now that I see the benefits and try to self-promote, it has become a valuable tool. However, I am not using the most user-friendly website, but it is the top-rated one for bloggers. So, WordPress, some days you don’t like me, and some days I don’t like you. However, I am in the last semester of my undergrad degree, and once this is complete, I am looking into online instruction or even webinars to make this page much more user-friendly. Hell, I even tried to forward a blog, and I couldn’t find it easily.
2. He doesn’t like my page-Hey, no problem there. I curate my content for my target audience, and he is the wrong gender and age group to be a part of this. However, I dismiss this as he is a follower on my FB page, and no one has to force anyone’s arm into that, so I doubt this is the reason
3. He didn’t like my conclusions-Okay. I had Mid-Atlantic taking out a victory but just barely. I know a lot of people love the Patriots and Maine lobsters, but a bushel of steamed crabs, along with watching the Baltimore Ravens, is an experience like no other. And until the Patriots have a rivalry like Ravens/Steelers, they will not be as much fun of a team to watch, follow, and root for.
4. He is a sexist ass that hates to see women achieve-No. I think this is the one farthest from the possible truth. However, please see 5. below.
5. He is a man comfortable in his world and can’t handle a female showing him the real world-This I would believe more if this hadn’t been written as a fun blog. There was nothing to be taken seriously in this blog. However, I try not to shy away from issues that affect women, so it is possible that he didn’t feel comfortable spilling his hate on a serious piece and decided to wait until something with a bit more fluff came out
6. He is a troll-I saved the most likely for last. He could just be a troll that has no talents of his own, so spends his days in such misery from lack of stimulation that he has no choice but to lash out at those who have a talent and a passion. Now I am not saying I am the greatest writer ever, and at 50, I am getting a very late start on dream fulfillment, but the difference is I am chasing it, not just shitting on the people brave enough to try.

Now, there could be other reasons, but by putting only the word Garbage and the meme, he leaves me with no other option than to think it is one of the reasons above. If you don’t like my vernacular, my conversational tone, my opinions, let me know. I am always looking for some constructive suggestions. I never use constructive criticism because as a GenX kid, every masochist teacher loved to call it constructive criticism and just basically take all ambition and joy out of everything. So yes, I love feedback. But if all you can spare of your energy or brain is a one-word unhelpful comment, please utilize the energy to unfollow me. I have readers that look forward to my blogs and that is my audience. So if you are reading and enjoying this and my other blogs, thank you! This is a dream come true. Everything I am currently doing is to one day be a financial success and hopefully my wife and I will be able to live off what I make through my writing, but that is a ways off yet. So, as I hone my craft, thank you! Thank you for the love, thank you for the patience as I learn, and thank you for just sparing a few moments to help this person’s dream come true!

I truly can not express the gratitude I owe each of you!

Jessie