To be honest, there is only so much rubbish that a person is permitted to accept. It gets to a point where if you allow any more, you’ll only be seen as foolish. There are some things that should be nipped in the bud, the minute you see the signs of disrespect, you squash it at once. Do not let it fester because it will only become harder to control.
However, there are some that the best way to control them is to ignore them. Engaging with them will only give them the attention and satisfaction that they want, it’ll also give them the pleasure of knowing that they were able to get under your skin. So, simply ignoring them will be good enough, no matter how hard they try. Eventually, it will all blow over with time. They’re bound to get tired when they see that none of their shots at you are hitting.
I live in Nigeria, where money can be the defining factor of what justice really is. People have spoken out against celebrities and had themselves arrested, celebrities have been thrown into jail by more powerful celebrities simply because they could. A customer has been thrown into jail for making a review on a product that she bought with her own money. She was jailed because the review she made wasn’t favorable to the company.
Now, am I saying that some of these people deserve to be thrown in jail? Yeah! They said a number of things that were despicable, defaming others and thinking that they were safe simply because they were in their beds and doing all the postings online. But then, there were others who simply didn’t deserve the jail term. All they did was air their opinion and it landed them in trouble. Many of them are still suffering from it months later.
So, for me, will I take legal action if people decide to perform hateful acts against me online? Honestly, it all depends on what they do. There are some things you’ll respond to your steeze will just drop by 1000%. It gets to a point where you’ll see some open invitation to some brawl and you’ll say no simply because the person is not up to your level. Engaging in a war of words with such a person will cost you and probably benefit them. So, you simply ignore them, because you’re bigger than they are.
But then, there are some that you have to respond to, no matter who they are. Especially those that make it their mission to spread falsehoods about you. They do everything they can to ruin your public image and destroy your standing with others. Those ones, you must fight them with everything that you have. Whatever they say, counter it at once. If they insult you, insult them back. Give them back to back. Social media is not the platform for you to be the bigger person, because one single lie can undo everything that you’ve spent years trying to build up. So, you have to be careful the kind of transgressions that you let slide.
And then, when you’re done giving them the gbas gbos, you involve the police, if you can afford to. Have them arrested and make sure that they pay the price in full. Oh yeah!
Personally, I’ll never come out online to insult anybody, unless it’s to reply to a previous insult to my person. That’s why whether here on Hive or on my Web2 platforms, I mostly talk about things happening in my life or in my business. I don’t want anything that will be misinterpreted as an insult, that will now lead to more insults. So, to avoid that, I just tread carefully.
So yeah, I’ll definitely take action against acts of hate. However, it all depends. Each situation will call for its own measures to be deployed. And that is when I’ll decide how exactly I’ll deal with whatever issue I’ve found myself in.
