Let us imagine for amoment that we are two separate and yet civilised bloggers.
Let us imagine that weare both fans of Louis Tomlinson, and as such take an interest in hisgeneral wellbeing, as well as support him in his work.
Let us imagine, that you, dear blogger, saw a three word tag on a post that I wrote, one madeup of nine words.
Let us imagine that youread the words ‘Just a happy hug for Louis. Pass it on’ and then clickedinto my original post and saw the tags ‘one less thing to worryabout’, ‘let him shine’ and 'let him rest’.
Let us imagine that inseeing this, for reasons best known only to you, you chose to focuson the three words ‘let him rest’.
Let us imagine thatwithout choosing to ask, or to seek context as to why I would have madethe post to begin with, let alone used those three particular words, you then instead chose to send me a cowardly anonymous message.
Let us imagine that Iattach no shame to what I choose to blog about, and that instead Ichoose to blog about things that I find positive, or wish to raiseawareness of, as well as things I enjoy.
Let us imagine, anon,that you are unaware of the fact that I am a real life activist, andthat I have in fact been to parliament to discuss real life issueswith real life MPs.
Let us imagine, that you anon, recall before you press send, that you know nothing about me, my life, nor the REAL issues, I, nor anyone around me, face.
Let us imagine,anonymous person who came to my blog with the express purpose ofsending me this message, that you cannot in fact imagine what it waslike, like I, to be raised in the shadow of sectarianism.
Let us imagine,anonymous grey box of safety you choose to hide behind, that everyday of my career, I work assisting people whom I was inspired tosupport, after my mother lost the vast majority of her hearing and was injured in abombing when I was five years old.
Let us imagine, person presumably too ashamed of their actions to use their real name, that no, I amnot ashamed to act with compassion and empathy, and to have a postreflect those parts of me.
Let us imagine that I,a fan of Louis Tomlinson, used those three words, because I was happyto see that he will not face charges in a case that I feel shouldnever have been brought against him in the first place.
Let us imagine that Iused the words ‘let him rest’ because I am happy that instead ofhaving the shadow of the aforementioned case (and the way certainpeople chose to report it) hanging over him, I hope that he caninstead now get some respite, away from this particular kind of exposure.
Let us imagine, thatwhile I understand that everyone experiences and deals with grief inthe way that is personal and right for them, that grief is somethingI sadly understand all too well.
Let us imagine then,that as someone who in the past few years alone, has lost five of mycousins (including one to suicide, the pain of which I talked aboutin depth here), my aunt (who was like a grandmother to me), my uncle(who was in fact buried today), and my father, who died aged fifty-nine(and whom I didn’t even get to say goodbye to, because he passed awaywith no warning), knows a little bit about grief and how it can wearyyou.
Let us imagine thatwithin the scope of my experience, I feel, personally, that while weall handle grief differently, that the one thing you do not need whengrieving is more external stressors in your life, because grief is anall consuming experience (tiring in a way that you cannot know until you have lived through it), that no amount of money, sipping coffee, orfancy clothes can assuage.
Let us imagine that I,someone who has experienced the life changing blow that is losing aparent, empathises with Louis Tomlinson in this instance, and that Ihope he is able to relax a bit and rest a little more (somethingthat in and of itself is open to interpretation) with one less ofthose external stressors to worry about.
Let us imagine, anon,that you have not experienced even a fraction of such a monumental emotion (because I would not wish it on anyone), and that you can find itwithin yourself to understand, to examine context, and to use criticalthinking regarding the words of someone who has, and who in turn chose to make asmall statement on their own blog regarding it.
Let us imagine, dearanon, that we live in a world where people think before they speak,where someone who is grieving can visit a site they enjoy for somerespite from said grief, and where unchecked denigration and spewingvitriol are not the norm. Where people consider their words and howthey will carry them with them (because carry them they must), beforethey send a stranger an anonymous message on the internet.
