“There’s Only One Thing To Do When The Internet Calls You Fat”
I laughed, cried, fist pumped and watched it twice.
The BEST thing you’ll see all day.
This was WONDERFUL. After the intense amount of trolling I’ve experienced on YouTube this past year (today, for example) it was great to hear from someone who’s not only experienced it, but overcome it. You’d think after 5 years I’d be used to it, but I’m still waiting for my break through. Some days I really think I’ve got a handle on it. Other days, I bawl like a baby. And by other days, I mean…a large majority of days.
It’s not always the words that hurt, but the pure frustration that comes from the lengths that these strangers will go just to hurt you. And then, you start to get upset about being upset (because in reality these “people” aren’t shit) but by the time you think you have a hold of your emotions, you’re a mess. I’ll never forget the day someone started a fake Facebook account and sent my boyfriend (now fiance) messages saying that I was cheating on him. They said they had met me in a club and I slept with them. They even photoshopped my face onto pornographic images as “evidence”. And this was long before “Shit White Girls Say”. Before I’d ever been on tv, or had more than a small handful of subscribers. There are ebbs and flows, but that one hurt especially because they targeted someone from my real life. Just…insane.
Some days I worry that I’m too fragile for my online life. At times it plagues me and keeps me from being able to create. I wonder, if the internet can bring me to tears, how could I ever survive ACTUAL fame. And is that what I even want? Cause let’s be real, “internet celebrity” is not fame. Certainly not at my level it’s not. But then I get a super sweet email from a viewer who thanks me for making them laugh or have an amazing 2 hour coffee date with a subscriber I met on the street, and then I remember how much I truly love this space. The internet is such a huge part of my life, not just because it’s how I make my living, but because of the wonderful people, experiences and information it’s brought into my life. I can’t quit you internet. I just can’t.
I haven’t experience this level of harassment online, but seeing it happen to others always feels like some kinda of warning saying, “Don’t be too much of yourself online, they’ll tear you down for it.” Which is a shame really. This video is pretty awesome.
