I’ve belonged to a writing website for over four years but don’t go there anymore. The website has a forum where members post questions. The same individuals who answer them back each other up against any outsider who makes a comment.

I’d posted comments on there and received no responses like I was in a cave. It offended me, but I wasn’t surprised. These groups work this way. Those same members post in all the threads like the only thing they do is sit online every day and answer questions. I’d gotten snide answers before from those herd members and chosen not to join them. I just posted my work on that website for feedback, most of which was bitter and meant to be discouraging. There are resentful people who just want to destroy others because they themselves have been destroyed.

I joined a Facebook writing group for laughs and read their roasting when another member posted a chapter of their work. There are usually over a hundred comments from other members. Ninety percent of them trash the work and call it amateur. They say they hate it without giving any constructive criticism. If they do, it’s in a condescending tone. I don’t know why writers choose to post their work on Facebook. That should be the last place to share anything online. The aforementioned website would be a better option for those trying to get feedback from anonymous people. Not that the website is anything supportive for writers. I wanted to change my name on the website. My goal was to hide my identity, but the administrator wouldn’t let me because of bullshit reputation points. I didn’t understand the reason for them other than I hadn’t participated enough to earn the points. My real name is still on the website. I wish they would allow me to change it.

There’s a member on the Facebook page who posts a few sentences a day of what the other members call word salad. His posts never make sense, such as, “The advocacy of my benevolence is maladroit obfuscation.” Those sentences ramble on like that, and members roast the writer for posting them, calling him an idiot in their own words. I would feel sorry for the writer if I didn’t feel like he was trolling everyone. Wouldn’t he get the point by now? I think he’s brilliant if that’s his motivation. It would be fun just to post examples of word salad to these assholes and make them believe I was serious. I’m going to do it. I’m going to start posting such passages to them for feedback just to fuck with everyone. What do I have to lose by trolling these bitter Facebook writers who cut people down when looking for publishing advice?

Most of the time, all I read are responses from writers trying to discourage other writers from looking for agents or publishers because they’ve failed and they want others to fail to feel their misery. I implore all aspiring writers not to join those Facebook groups. They’re nothing but toxic. I also implore them to stay away from actual writing groups outside of the internet. They’re going to run into people in real life who want to discourage others as well. The only difference is it’s a lot easier to be an asshole online, so they’ll hold back like someone who wouldn’t hit someone in person but act vitriolic toward them behind a keyboard. In other words, they’re cowards. I don’t associate with such online behavior.

I scrolled through X yesterday and found a post where an older woman shared a photo of herself at an NBA game. She was proud to be there, so she innocently showed it to the public, and a bunch of people responded with how ugly she was. I knew it was coming before I even read the comments. A lot of hurt people are out there who just want to spread hatred because it’s too deep inside them like a splinter. I remember long ago, my therapist at the time called it aggression. That sounded too vague to me. Of course it was aggression, but what was the root cause?

The only solution is to remove these social media sites. That’s it. There’s no other way. If we eliminate them, the world will be a better place. After all, weren’t these sites geared towards teenagers to begin with? Now adults use them to market themselves. If they’re not doing that, they’re just hurting others, these people who’ve never grown up.

Now the presidents are participating in the same immaturity: Democrats cutting down Republicans and vice versa. Imagine if our first president, George Washington, had X. Would he have stooped so low?

There’s also the shocking display of illiteracy. I can’t speak for past generations, but these new generations appear as if they were never taught how to write in school. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read posts and comments from those who use such ignorant grammar as “should of” instead of “should have”. What are teachers doing at school these days? Just letting their students run amok in classrooms and never disciplining them to sit and read something for God’s sake? It’s only going to get worse. I’m astounded by the degree. The movie Idiocracy should be assigned viewing at all schools.

As for these online writing groups, those people are well-educated more often than not. But like I said, too many are out to hurt other people rather than help them. With that being said, I won’t forget the few who’ve guided me in the right direction.