05-26-2016, 09:34 AM
I can't speak for others, but at no point, in any of my writings, or actually in anything I've ever done in my life, have I sought pity. I despise pity. Pity from others puts you beneath them, as though their life is so much better than yours. Pity towards others puts you above them, as though it is your life that is so much better. Sometimes I look for empathy instead, hoping that I will find somebody in a similar position or situation who can help me and I can help them, or just so that others can read it and think, "I'm not alone in this."
That's why I shared Silence & Darkness, not as a means to get people to take pity on me and be nice to me, but to show others who suffer(ed) from similar feelings that they are never alone. And you know what? I had several people open up to me after that, and I know it helped them. Empathy, not pity, is always the goal for me.
Now, I know those two poems are not aggressive, but this point is still valid; if somebody chooses to pity me after reading those, that is on them. If somebody chooses to empathize with me, then that is on me. It applies to everything. If offence is intended, that is the fault of the author. If offence is taken, that is not the fault of the author (nor the fault of the reader, so don't suggest I'm trying to blame or shame anybody who takes offence).
Now, I have re-read a lot of the poems on here since Emmie raised the point. Some of them I know are aimed at people from MnF, and are forum users. One of them I am aware was, in part, directed at me, although wrongly, and I have received an apology for that.
I have also written one myself that was about somebody who uses the forum and I knew would read it. It hurt them, I apologised and explained, they accepted, we are close friends, and they have at no point even hinted that I should take it down.
"And there you go, you've made a bandwagon. Congratulations, you have successfully made several people target one specific individual." Which specific individual? Nobody has been specified.
The thing is, not a single poem on here that expresses such hate and aggression gives any clear indication of who it is aimed towards. Only those recognise themselves in the words, or those that the author has no doubt voiced their thoughts and feelings towards already, can really be sure of who it is about. If people want to speculate as to who the 'target' is, so be it, but unless the author actually comes out and says "yes, it was that person" then they aren't actually trying to turn anybody against anyone.
I present one of my recent poems, I Won't Fight You Anymore. At no point have I given any indication to who this is about. At no point have I attempted to get people to take pity on me. At no point have I attempted to form a mob and get them to fight alongside me. Read all of my other poems. Identify a single person I actually am aggressive towards, or a poem where I try to make the readers turn on another person.
I write poems because it has become my most effective way of dealing with my depression, anxiety and anger issues. When I am writing, it is also one of the few times I am truly focussed, so in a way I like to think it helps with me ADD. And I share them, as I said, so that people can empathize with me, so I can give them that comfort of knowing they are not alone.
And also because I just want to share. I was at a beer festival a couple of weeks back, and was chatting with some strangers, and ended up showing them some of my poems. Why? Because I have a sense of pride in them. Sure, they aren't all always that great, but it's something I created, and I'm proud of that. Would you tell an painter not to hang their paintings in a gallery? Would you tell a musician not to sing their songs? Of course you wouldn't. Do I listen to a song about a cheating girlfriend and think "oh, what a bitch, let's start a mob and burn her house down!"? Of course I don't. And if somebody did, would you lay blame at the feet of the person who sang that song? No, you would blame the person who burnt her house down.
Not a single poem that I have seen on here is inciting hatred or violence. They don't tell people to gang up on anybody. They don't seek to form an army to wage war on those who once insulted them. They just say "yeah, this happened and I'm not too happy about it," or "here's something somebody did, and I think that is wrong." So, if a mob does form and target somebody, then that is down to either the readers reacting in a way they shouldn't, or because somebody has made that happen another way.
And a final point.
"Here is the disgusting part, some of the authors of these poems claim they are being bullied."
I know who this comment is aimed at. And you know that I will know, and others will know. THIS is targeted. THIS is no less of an attack than anything written in the poems posted here.
That's why I shared Silence & Darkness, not as a means to get people to take pity on me and be nice to me, but to show others who suffer(ed) from similar feelings that they are never alone. And you know what? I had several people open up to me after that, and I know it helped them. Empathy, not pity, is always the goal for me.
Now, I know those two poems are not aggressive, but this point is still valid; if somebody chooses to pity me after reading those, that is on them. If somebody chooses to empathize with me, then that is on me. It applies to everything. If offence is intended, that is the fault of the author. If offence is taken, that is not the fault of the author (nor the fault of the reader, so don't suggest I'm trying to blame or shame anybody who takes offence).
Now, I have re-read a lot of the poems on here since Emmie raised the point. Some of them I know are aimed at people from MnF, and are forum users. One of them I am aware was, in part, directed at me, although wrongly, and I have received an apology for that.
I have also written one myself that was about somebody who uses the forum and I knew would read it. It hurt them, I apologised and explained, they accepted, we are close friends, and they have at no point even hinted that I should take it down.
"And there you go, you've made a bandwagon. Congratulations, you have successfully made several people target one specific individual." Which specific individual? Nobody has been specified.
The thing is, not a single poem on here that expresses such hate and aggression gives any clear indication of who it is aimed towards. Only those recognise themselves in the words, or those that the author has no doubt voiced their thoughts and feelings towards already, can really be sure of who it is about. If people want to speculate as to who the 'target' is, so be it, but unless the author actually comes out and says "yes, it was that person" then they aren't actually trying to turn anybody against anyone.
I present one of my recent poems, I Won't Fight You Anymore. At no point have I given any indication to who this is about. At no point have I attempted to get people to take pity on me. At no point have I attempted to form a mob and get them to fight alongside me. Read all of my other poems. Identify a single person I actually am aggressive towards, or a poem where I try to make the readers turn on another person.
I write poems because it has become my most effective way of dealing with my depression, anxiety and anger issues. When I am writing, it is also one of the few times I am truly focussed, so in a way I like to think it helps with me ADD. And I share them, as I said, so that people can empathize with me, so I can give them that comfort of knowing they are not alone.
And also because I just want to share. I was at a beer festival a couple of weeks back, and was chatting with some strangers, and ended up showing them some of my poems. Why? Because I have a sense of pride in them. Sure, they aren't all always that great, but it's something I created, and I'm proud of that. Would you tell an painter not to hang their paintings in a gallery? Would you tell a musician not to sing their songs? Of course you wouldn't. Do I listen to a song about a cheating girlfriend and think "oh, what a bitch, let's start a mob and burn her house down!"? Of course I don't. And if somebody did, would you lay blame at the feet of the person who sang that song? No, you would blame the person who burnt her house down.
Not a single poem that I have seen on here is inciting hatred or violence. They don't tell people to gang up on anybody. They don't seek to form an army to wage war on those who once insulted them. They just say "yeah, this happened and I'm not too happy about it," or "here's something somebody did, and I think that is wrong." So, if a mob does form and target somebody, then that is down to either the readers reacting in a way they shouldn't, or because somebody has made that happen another way.
And a final point.
"Here is the disgusting part, some of the authors of these poems claim they are being bullied."
I know who this comment is aimed at. And you know that I will know, and others will know. THIS is targeted. THIS is no less of an attack than anything written in the poems posted here.