I Don’t Need to Engage with Everyone

What I really like about having my own website, is being able to reduce the amount of people commenting on my posts, my art, my life and my thoughts by requiring a quick registration process to become a member. I believe that, if I left my comments open to the general public, I could potentially receive nasty or annoying comments from people who find it very easy to spew crap to strangers online. So this alone should be enough to deter people who only want to complain about something. If needed, there are more ways to get rid of people on my own website of course.

Important: I’m using the “general you” in this article – I am not addressing anyone specific!

Now, I’m all for free speech and I’m against censorship. But I also have a choice in what I want to engage in, and to what extent.

You are free to create a tweet or post on your own blog about something I said or created that rubbed you the wrong way. But you don’t get to out your frustrations on my blog. It sounds mean, but the truth is: if I don’t know you, your negative opinion doesn’t matter to me. You can have your opinion, but I don’t have to engage with you.

I don’t HAVE to care what grandmasrustybanana or User-2672632973 have to say. I have better things to do with my time and emotions.

When Harassment Becomes Too Much to Bear

I feel like I shouldn’t even need to ‘defend myself’ like this as I literally try to stay out of trouble and drama and do try to create a cozy, welcoming environment for everyone. But honestly, one look around on the internet – in particular Twitter, but also YouTube and TikTok – and you’ll see how easily you can end up in drama that you never asked for.

Now, I’ve been on the internet and in this world for a while. I’ve had my “fair share” of bullying and threats.

I feel sad when I hear about people half my age or even teenagers getting ganged up on over little things, specifically artists. I’ve heard of people getting bullied over their art style, making characters’ skin colors ”too light” and even for watermarking their art(!?). Goodness gracious, let people just do their thing. Chances are, they didn’t do anything to hurt you or a specific group of people. Not everything is a political or ideological act.

Yeah, comments are open on most websites – especially social media – but that doesn’t mean you HAVE to spew your negative crap. Especially when you don’t know the full story or full situation. Are there people who deserve it? Without a doubt. But who are you to decide who does and who doesn’t deserve to get yelled at? You are not the police and really, you are not that important.

Plus, there’s better things you can do with your time.

Mikayla Raines

Yesterday I came across a tweet about someone called Mikayla Raines, supposedly a girl who rescues foxes. She ended her life. One of the comments said it was due to online bullying. I couldn’t believe it so I continued scrolling. I mean, why would you bully someone for doing something objectively good?

Welp. Turns out it was true.
This unfortunately turned out to be another display of people being absolutely horrible to one another. And for what?

Supposedly Mikayla gained a large following on YouTube and social media through her rescue work with foxes, which made her high-profile in a small, often underfunded community. Other rescuers or individuals in the same field reportedly resented her visibility, donations, and success, especially when she raised over $60,000 in just a few months for her sanctuary.

Online forums targeted her with accusations about:

• How she cared for animals (e.g., claims of poor conditions or hoarding, which were not substantiated).
• Allegations that her rescue was commercialized or driven by views and money, despite her husband saying she never did it for personal gain.
• Misinterpretations of her behavior, possibly due to her autism, which she was open about.

Apparently there is no evidence that Mikayla abused or mistreated animals. Much of the hate seemed rooted in envy, gatekeeping, or in-group hostility, not genuine concern for animal welfare.

So, thanks to these people, the following has been achieved:

– Someone who didn’t deserve it, lost her life
– Someone lost his wife
– A CHILD LOST HER MOTHER(!)
– Foxes will no longer have Mikayla Raines to help them
– Some people will be deterred from doing good deeds, afraid to suffer the same consequences

I have no words. Well, I do, but I’ll keep them to myself.

Protect Yourself

The internet is for everyone. It’s not possible to get rid of all the bad people. So protect yourself. Be okay with blocking people or disabling comments. If comments get to you – don’t read them. It’s easier said than done, I know, but it’s important.

If you want more control over who interacts with you (and more control in general), I would really recommend creating your own website. While on social media you can typically set your comments to be only allowed by people who YOU follow, I think it’s important to be able to receive comments from people that you don’t follow but who genuinely like your work and want to interact with you. The possibilities on social media are limited. On your own websites, they are potentially limitless. (Of course, you’d need to learn how to to get this done, but trust me, it’s not as complicated as it seems at first glance!)