Well if they deserve "hate", then what makes hateful people so different from the people they hate?

Sure using profanity and issuing threats is different than merely hating someone, but where do you think emotion like hatred tends to lead people? (hint: it ain't toward kindness). If you hate someone, so be it, but morality isn't about justifying hate.

Someone issuing empty threats and using profanity need not be worried about unless they cross some line into harassment. Someone using profanity or issuing an empty threat via anonymous internet comment isn't exactly harassment so much as it is cursory ridicule, but really it's up to internet users to police the public internet spaces they carelessly create.

Nobody deserves hate. Nobody deserves anything. But people need things. What that person needs is help. If for some reason help cannot be provided, and they do not desist, what the other people need is for that person to be restrained.

Several years ago, I experienced indirect threats from a work colleague who said things like 'women deserve to get bashed' and told me I should watch a movie called Irreversible about a woman who is brutally raped among plenty of other things including slander, attempting to get me into trouble, harassing me etc. The bullying in the seven months I worked with him had profound effects on me and friends at work tried helping me with strategies to deal with his fixation. All this because he was attracted to me and I rejected his ridiculous advances (he once said "I don't mind facing the consequences if I cheat on my girlfriend" to me among other stupid things). When I had enough, he projected his behavior by lying about me to his girlfriend and together they continued harassing me by turning me into the one that had the problem, even long after I was gone.

The worst part about it is that I knew he needed help and I tried. I tried to compel him to compassion, to feel empathy by speaking of my personal story, tried to support him at work, try to get him to understand concepts like love and charity, but not only did it not work, he continued with more enjoyment as I continued getting hurt. He was and will remain a beast. Nothing more and no amount of help can change that.

I learned that the only thing I could do is walk away and let him and his cohort be as they are. I managed to outwit him but it hurt me for quite sometime and I only found peace by learning to be fearless. I imagine though that had I lacked the integrity and commitment to virtue and provided that monster with what he wanted, restraints may have become a necessity.

OMG what a story!! That guy is totally deranged; I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that! (hug)

Thank you so much for sharing your story!!

I think I agree with you in a way. Thank you for the help!

WAHH your points are very very good!!! (Y) But may I ask... What if it crosses the borders, and becomes online harassment? (L) (L)

What if it crosses the borders, and becomes online harassment — Rozylee

Then take action.

report/block/ignore them from your feeds, ban them from your personal spaces. Keep your profiles private.

I got a little emotional this morning on the train... it felt good though.


It depends. I volunteered with other legal experts on changing bullying legislation in my state following my experience and most of the people that I spoke with know the person they are being cyber-bullied from in real life. Reporting or blocking them may have no effect because bullies target the weak and they always find ways because the virtual platform enables them to create numerous personas.

I am really small in stature and I haven't many people in my life so I am an easy target for cowards, thus the best way of defeating a bully is showing that you are strong enough not to care. You learn to report, block and ignore them the moment you actually do find the strength to stand up for yourself, you can even walk right past them without hyperventilating, but sometimes action is also about playing their game until they go away themselves, like the principle of non-violent resistance. It really is relative.

Do you think someone like this, who uses profanity at it's extremist, and cusses at everyone, deserves hate? — Rozylee

A person like this is being verbally abusive. If it is situational, then it can be helped by reminding the person that they have to control how their mood affects the people around them. If it is a deep-seated pathology, then very little can be done without extreme self-analysis and psychological self-reflection. This person will most likely get worse over time. They can hide their abusive behavior only so long before they will show it again. If it is a particularly calculative person, they will probably try to lull you into thinking that they have reformed before showing their true colors again.