de·mor·al·ize
verb
gerund or present participle: demoralizing
1. 1. cause (someone) to lose confidence or hope; dispirit.
“their rejection of the treaty has demoralized the diplomatic community”
synonyms: dishearten, dispirit, deject, cast down, depress, dismay, daunt, discourage, unman, unnerve, crush, shake, throw, cow, subdue;
troll
verb
gerund or present participle: trolling
1. 1.informal
make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.
“if people are obviously trolling then I’ll delete your posts and do my best to ban you”
cy·ber·bul·ly·ing
noun
noun: cyberbullying
1. the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.
There was an incident of trolling and cyberbullying tonight among two residents. It started out innocent then moved to trolling, and finally escalated into cyberbullying. I was called in to mediate one side of the process. I responded that the one that was feeling threatened; and indeed were in person, should call the non-emergency police line and report it to protect themselves from retaliation from the bully.
When people are being rude on social media towards you. Take the higher ground and don’t respond. That’s especially true for personal attacks. Bullies need an audience to justify their own self worth. Try to remain calm and if you feel threatened by them call the police. We have anti-cyberbullying laws to protect oneself and family.
Taking the higher ground isn’t always easy, there are rocks, boulders, dips and ruts that threaten to bury you or leave you stuck on the side of the road endlessly. It takes courage not to get sucked into someone else’s drama. Especially, if the comments go from trolling to cyberbullying, to just plain demoralizing an individual.
Taking the higher ground ensures you won’t get caught in a flood or back lash of water. It allows you the visibility to look ahead and all around you to see what is on the horizon. Taking the higher ground gives you choices and opportunities to deflate or diffuse a situation before it escalates.
Usually, the reason for trolling, cyberbullying, or just plain demoralizing someone shows a great deal of lack of self worth. Trollers and Bullies need an audience to give them the attention they feel they deserve and are unable to get their needs met in a positive venue. If they can stir the waters of contention they can reroute their own sense of failure.
My advice for what ever it is worth: When someone else is fishing in your pond you can take the higher ground and ignore them or if you want a little battle of wit; join them. Just don’t stay too long in the pond or you’ll have a host of other problems crop up.
#cyberbullying #demoralize #trolling
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