It's been brought to my attention by a select few that the "R" word I used in the previous article is not politically correct and might be offensive to those with disabilities. To those truly offended, I apologize. I have family members with disabilities. I have several writing friends who have overcome tremendous disabilities to make their writing dreams come true. I would never mock them, nor any author for that matter. I am a firm believer in authors supporting one another and not the other way around. The objects of my select adjective were those who indeed can control their behaviors, yet choose not to. In this case, I'm referring to internet trolls, as in those on Goodreads and beyond.
But, since they argued I should use another word in place of the original, here's a new definition for them:
Hypocrite : a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.
This defines every single one of these haters who have attacked me and those I know (at least one of whom has a disability, by the way) with their one-star ratings, ugly shelves, and slanderous articles. There are screenshots showing them using the very same word with zest. I've seen them use much fouler language, but apparently that's fine. No nasty articles are written about them.
Why? Because they're part of the "pack". They're not the author prey they hunt down on a daily basis.
No matter how hard they try to spin up a big fiasco about me over an offense they pretend to be shocked and appalled by, I will not cower in fear, I will not stop writing, and I will not stop defending innocent authors and warning them about people who love to hurt others for pleasure.
Free speech (no matter how much one abuses it) doesn't apply only to a certain few. It applies to us all. If you choose to spread hate and lies about someone, that someone has a right to defend themselves. And defend I will.
Oh, and for the record, this is my mantra:
I believe authors and readers alike should be treated with respect. I highly admire and appreciate those who are genuinely interested in reading my work, even if it's not their cup of tea. I have never, nor will ever, criticize an actual reviewer for a negative review. I have never, nor will ever, rate a book I haven't read. I do not appreciate those who use ratings/reviews as a means of spite and disrespect. I am saddened by those who feel differently.
Spot on, Mysti xxx
ReplyDeleteI completely agree.
ReplyDeleteLet's also be clear as to what these one star "ratings" are not:
ReplyDelete1. They are not based on the book. These people have no interest in actually reading the books they rate. It's easy to see this when you click on their profiles and see 1,000 ratings with an average of 1.5.
2. They are not the means of a noble quest to bring entitled authors down a notch or two. Especially when they come out of the blue from people we've never interacted with. How exactly could one determine that an author feels "entitled" when they know nothing about said author? No one should think this is their "job". An author's work should speak for itself.
3. They are not ways to indicate a reader's interest level in a book. They are also not a "reverse" rating that equates to 1 star = awesome.
These are actually the pitiful "excuses" I've heard from them. What these ratings are is this: plain and simple bullying behavior. It's so easy to see past their lies. I never once interacted with any of these people before they started bombing me with 1-stars. The only reason I came under their fire is because I was connected with a person they started attacking before me. And of course now they are trying to pick out whatever they can on my blog posts to try and get me to fight back with them. Then they can proclaim me a "badly behaving author". Which I'm sure they have already, though I refuse to take the bait.
The saddest thing is that I used to enjoy Goodreads until the bullies started in on me and others who don't deserve this. I will no longer list new books there, nor will I recommend the site to new authors.