Recently a couple of my posts / links / images raised eyes with some of my readers. Some complained and others requested that I put content warnings in front of them.
Well, I don’t do content warnings.*
In this case, one post was about self-harm and had a picture of a cutter’s arm. Another post contained a link to the TV-promo for a Dr. Oz show on electroconvulsive therapy, in which a person gets ECT. Images of self-harm and ECT, it was argued, are very upsetting to some people.
Well, yes.
Nevertheless, in neither case did I think a warning was appropriate.
Here’s why: you’re an adult. Grow up.
Reader Warning on the Bipolar Burble
And just for the record, on the homepage there actually is a content warning for the whole blog. It warns that there may be graphic and disturbing subjects and elements to articles. And this is quite reasonable because if you haven’t been here before you should know what you’re in for – and it might be something you don’t like.
Why No Content Warnings?
There are no content warnings for a simple reason: I don’t think there should be any. There is no reason to warn people about an image of a cutter’s arm.
Why?
Because there is nothing shocking about seeing the evidence of a medical problem. I talked in the comments of that post about how people who self-harm should not be ashamed because what they are suffering from is an illness. By posting a warning about an image of their illness, I am suggesting there is something wrong with these people. I am doing a disservice to their reality, to something they live with every day. They don’t deserve a content warning thrust on them.
And as a writer I think it’s considerably more fitting and I refuse to post a picture of a person forelornly looking at a sunflower because it’s just so damn disingenuous.
And as for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), yup, it’s desturbing to some people, particularly images of ECT conducted in the past. And I rather think it’s tacky for a TV promo to feature images of a procedure that is no longer conducted in that manner. But you’re watching a promo for a TV show on ECT it’s hardly unreasonable to think you might see an image of ECT.
Here’s a Content Warning
You’re an adult. You are going to see and hear things you don’t like. You need to deal with that.
If You’re Feeling Sensitive
And to be fair, I understand sensitivity, I really do. I get sensitive sometimes. Sometimes there are subjects I’m sensitive about. Sometimes I not strong enough to read about things that I might find activating.
So I do this: I don’t read / watch that stuff.
I protect myself. Because it isn’t up to the rest of the world to devine what I might find upsetting and warn me of it. It’s up to me to make the right choices for myself and understand the risks I choose to take. There are lots of things I choose not to read. That’s my choice. That’s my responsibility.
Content Warning Proviso
* I will say that there is content I would warn people about, but that would be a fairly extrardinary circumstance and it certainly wouldn’t include an international TV promo or an image pulled from Wikipedia.
Update: I’m sorry for the flurry of strong feelings. I honestly didn’t think one picture out of the hundreds over the years here would cause such a stirring. While my feelings on the matter are my feelings on the matter, I am sorry it caused so much consternation for others.
A commenter above stated that this blog is not exposure therapy. I disagree, in the sense the this blog, and everything in life, can expose us to triggering things. I cannot speak for Natasha, but when I read her direction to “grow up” it was not a command to not be triggered, but a suggestion for those who are triggered to use their own devices to deal with it. I find this to be helpful advice.
We can’t always control what we’re faced with, and we can’t always control our reactions to things, but we can control how we choose to deal with such things when they happen.
For me, a big part of recovery has been realizing the power of this last point. Power that I have!
@Meow
Well said and on the money!
I wouldn’t have chosen the words “grow up” but then again I’m not a skillful writer as is Natasha although like you, I too understand the message she is conveying and I’m very much in agreement.
There comes a point in one’s life where one has to consider not blaming the world for unfavorable events especially where one has a degree of self-control in responding to those events and/or situations.
Warmly,
Herb
vnsdepression@gmail.com
http://www.vnstherapy-herb.blogspot.com
“I protect myself. Because it isn’t up to the rest of the world to devine what I might find upsetting and warn me of it. It’s up to me to make the right choices for myself and understand the risks I choose to take. There are lots of things I choose not to read. That’s my choice. That’s my responsibility.”
THIS! If everyone that ever posted anything on the internet had to take into account the sensitivities of everyone else, there would be no internet because you never know when you might offend someone. People seem to have forgotten that there is no constitutional right to not be offended or triggered or whatever the issue is. You already have one content warning on your blog, add any more and you’re censoring yourself to appease the masses and I hope you don’t do it.
I’m not entirely sure where I stand on this issue since I don’t personally experience any trigger reactions, but what does bother me is that you’re telling people who can’t handle graphic images of self-harm to “grow up.”
Sure, you can make the argument that you don’t want to use trigger warnings because you find them offensive and shaming. You can say that the content warning for your entire blog should cover it. You can even say that you don’t see why the images you use should cause an unpleasant reaction to someone. Those are legitimate arguments, and ultimately this is your blog and you should run it however you’d like.
But for heaven’s sake, don’t tell someone with a mental problem to “grow up.” We’ve all spent our lifetimes hearing that from friends, family, and total strangers. That’s why we blog about these issues.
Having a PTSD-like reaction to a graphic image isn’t caused by immaturity, it’s caused by severe emotional trauma.
The title of the post itself should be enough to warn people that it is a frank discussion about self harm. A picture of self harm is expected. It is not as though she has put a picture of self-harm in progress or something. Posting a content warning on it would be like putting a sign in the bathtub that says slippery when wet, or putting a warning on the stove that it gets hot while in use.
My husband is extremely sensitive to scary movies and crime shows, yet he continues to watch them with some kind of morbid fascination. Then he gets nightmares for two days. My warnings to him make absolutely no difference at all. I think anybody shocked by this image of self-harm had it coming, just like my husband.
I am very sorry for people who have been through traumas involving self-harm. Reminders of traumas are very upsetting for anyone who has been through a trauma, but I don’t think it’s practical to tiptoe around you in everyday life. This is a public space and you must decide if it’s safe to venture into it. I am petrified of birds, particulary the Australian magpie, due to a childhood trauma. But it is not feasible to remove them from the environment. I must avoid trigger situations such as picnics and parks during breeding season, until I complete my exposure therapy. Likewise it is your responsibility to avoid trigger situations.
I don’t think the image is particularly sensationalist, just appropriate. Far more people are hurt by stigma than by people who are sensitive to these things.
“My husband is extremely sensitive to scary movies and crime shows, yet he continues to watch them with some kind of morbid fascination. Then he gets nightmares for two days. My warnings to him make absolutely no difference at all. I think anybody shocked by this image of self-harm had it coming, just like my husband.”
Absolutely. Also: there was that time I was really sad, but then I went out with my friends and I was totally better. The reason you have a mood disorder is because you’re lazy and just want the attention. Snap out of it.
How long do I have to play the jeopardy theme before you figure out that your scenario is analogously inappropriate?
Please refrain from attacking others.
– Natasha Tracy
Misunderstanding sorry. I read this again and realised (while the music was playing) that I wrote the scenario as if my husband just doesn’t like violence. My husband has been through many traumas and has extreme anxiety issues because of it. And I mean extreme. Nightmares doesn’t even begin to cover it. But he doesn’t remember the half of what happens to him. I was not trying to dismiss the severity of PTSD. He simply doesn’t like me talking about it in the way I talk about my bipolar.
Classifications and warnings on movies do not help us in making a decision about which movie to watch. He has been triggered by a children’s movie before. We need to carefully sift through information and reviews first. I have to be extremely firm with him about not seeing certain movies. But ultimately he is an adult and is responsible for his own decisions and their consequences. We don’t always get it right. Sometimes he still gets traumatised. He is NOT responsible for having been through the trauma in the first place, or for his symptoms.
I sometimes wonder if he is seeking out the violence in the same way that I seek out more and more stimulation when already manic. Very rough analogy. Maybe it’s more like the ongoing process of trying to cope with the trauma. Anyway, I digress.
I am a little hypomanic right now and it’s because I took on extra hours at work, and stayed up late on Saturday night. I don’t blame my boss for asking me to fill in at work. He respects my need for a sleep schedule and the hours were within normal daytime hours. I blame myself for not saying no. I wanted the extra dollars and the gratification of being obliging. I don’t blame my relatives for inviting me to a party an hour away from home, and I don’t blame them for encouraging me to stay late. I miss them and I love their company and hardly ever see them. But I broke my cardinal rule about not staying out past ten. I rationalised it by saying to myself ‘at least I didn’t have a drink’. And now I’m in trouble again.
Some more thoughts on the mis-communication. I’ve been caught out before blogging internationally. We Aussies tend to understate things. For example: “a few quiet drinks” means “a big piss-up”; Crocodile Dundee’s ‘knife’ is more like a large dagger. We do it for mental illnesses too. If a new mum is suffering the baby blues, we’ll say she’s ‘adjusting’ or ‘she’ll be right’. If she is suffering post-natal depression we’ll probably say ‘she’s having a sad day’, and everyone will naturally get how serious her condition is. They’ll respect the fact that cheering her up won’t work, that the family will need some serious support. In doing so we are not trying to trivialise the condition. The understatement is more about the fact that culturally, Aussies do not boast and they do not complain. We pull together during the hard times.
This cultural tendency to understate is so ingrained I just automatically assumed that if I said ‘extremely sensitive to violence’ people would get what I meant. We think we share a common language, but…
Now I’ve made the effort to apologise and explain the wording that so offended you. But this isn’t finished because you have yet to apologise for deliberately attacking me in error. Kindly do so, unless you feel there is a reason why I deserve to be ridiculed and insulted.
No one insults us. It is how much we care about the other person’s opinion of us that causes us pain.
I agree completely with the sentiment of not letting insults hurt, and I’ve got to say that my self-esteem is fairly intact (maybe a little too high at the moment!). Its a good reminder for all of us though. But the thing is that this poster called PTSD/Depression did TRY to insult me. He said I was attention seeking because he thought that’s what i said to him. He also implied that I was slow. And I took it in good humour, and I made my point about acting like an adult and making up after a disagreement gets personal. And yes I was somewhat arrogant, and I’m sorry for that, I get opinionated when manic. And if I got too opinionated and Natasha had to kick me off then that would be my own fault, for blogging when manic. To hear a full page rant about my opinion on this subject, check out bothsides81.blogspot.com.au
“We are as sick as our secrets” that we cover up…
Natasha,
I understand that this is your blog and you are therefore entitled to say and post whatever you’d like. However, I’ve been reading your blog for at least a year now, probably more, and I have never once found myself in the position I was in upon reading your last entry: triggered by an image of self-injury. As I’m sure you know, the idea of trigger warnings are common in the mental health community and are a sign of common courtesy toward those of us who might be triggered by particular types of images and words. Yes, you have your disclaimer, but as I said, I’ve been reading your blog for quite awhile and assumed I was familiar with the kind of content covered by that warning. Apparently I was wrong.
As the initial commenter who suggested a trigger warning, I was taken aback by the tone of this entry. Honestly, I don’t appreciate being told to “grow up” in response to raising a reasonable point. (Also, your response to my original comment confused me…you were very defensive about not being ashamed of one’s scars. I’m not ashamed of mine and I never suggested I was.) I’ve always viewed you as a responsible, educated blogger who truly understood what it was like to live with mental illness, but your childish, defensive response to this issue is really making me think otherwise (for what it’s worth – I don’t for one second think my opinion of you means anything to anyone but me, nor should it).
I’ve stopped reading blogs over this exact issue in the past (specifically Jezebel, who refused to take down a much more graphic image even with literally PAGES of comments pleading for at least a trigger warning). I hate to stop reading yours, as I do think it’s unique and remarkable among all the bipolar blogs I’ve come across, but if this is your attitude about trigger warnings, I might have to, for my own good.
Dear Natasha,
After having read your various blogs for a number of years, from my perspective although respectfully we have had our differences of opinion, I think your writings have for the most part been spot on and highly relevant.
Why it is so much easier for others to lay blame or seek fault or not take responsibility for their actions or thoughts or working to overcome these kinds of issues through the appropriate help is beyond me.
“welcome to the bipolar burble
Hi. My name is Natasha Tracy, and I’m the author and host here at the Bipolar Burble. Welcome. I write mostly about issues of bipolar disorder, depression, mental health treatments and life with a mental illness although other random bits slip through the cracks from time to time. Please note: this site is not appropriate for minors and contains graphic, disturbing and sexual content.”
The above quote is taken directly from the Welcome link to your site.
I’m curious with the fact that you’ve made the above statement early on that some of these same folks aren’t finding fault with and commenting about their own lack of reading skills or carelessness to start at the beginning of the blog site before taking issue with your subject matter or pictures? In my opinion if some of these people took the time to read some your background information and past writings that could be brutally realistic and can paint a far more disconcerting image in one’s mind than any pictures I’ve seen that you’ve posted to date.
I’m truly sorry that anyone is disturbed by what they’ve seen or read but I would hope they’d be adult enough and capable of dealing with and making choices that are in their own best interest.
Personally, I come to read your thoughts and offerings because I find them to be one of the most balanced, unbiased and skillfully written of all the sites I’ve come to read through these many years. Most importantly, while you do share the brutal realities of your illness and experiences I don’t find you to dwell constantly on the negatives as do many other blog writers which for me is a turn-off. Despite your serious challenges I strongly feel you almost always try to keep your eye on the ball (achieving wellness) and taking responsibility for your actions and decision making. These attributes from my perspective are ones that I truly respect and admire and are proactive in nature.
Warmly,
Herb
vnsdepression@gmail.com
http://www.vnstherapy-herb.blogspot.com
I agree with you here, Natasha. I have followed your blog for a while, I don’t always comment, but I do read. I forgot what the picture even looked like and when I went back, it looks like someone whose cuts are being healed. That is what should be focused on and I’m sorry other readers didn’t see it that way.
Great post here.
Once again, Natasha, you have given me, as a person with bipolar II, something to be proud about. I’m a grownup, and I don’t freak out every time something rubs me the wrong way. While I do believe that some things can be triggers, I don’t think something as simple as a photo should send anyone over the edge…and if it does, that person should high-tail it back to his or her pdoc and get those meds adjusted.
I didn’t even remember the picture. I had to go back and look for it just to know what we are talking about. A cat has given me worse looking scratches. It’s truly sad that you even have to have this discussion.
I just don’t understand why you think printing a picture of someone’s self-inflcited injuries is a good idea. What did you hope to accomplish by this other than upsetting people?
Look at it this way: Why should you have to hide away because someone doesn’t like looking at you? Not reasonable, is it, because you have nothing to be ashamed of and there is no reason why you should hide; it’s their problem if they don’t like looking at you. Similarly, why should people who self-harm have to hide away just because other people don’t want to look at them? If you have an issue with it, that is your problem, not theirs’ to solve on your behalf by hiding away from your gaze.
Where to start…I fully support Natasha and her reasonings. My big trigger is women drinking wine on tv or actually people drinking any alcohol. Imagine all tv shows w/ alcohol posting a warning at beginning of show. I have to find ways to deal w/ this so common sighting.
I didn’t notice the frequency of tv drinking until I lost my long term sobriety. I swear, almost every show has drinking. I have become desensitized over time about this trigger.
I was in a mental health outpatient program recently and a young girl, cutter, wore short sleeves w/ her scars in full view. I was at first slightly startled but then felt the need to tell her I was proud of her that she shows the world her scars or doesn’t feel like hiding them. I was impressed w/ her even tho she was extremely shy and young.
I’d like all of us to become more open to the general public about our mentalness, show/tell people about the internal/external scars to help battle all the fuckin’ stigmas.
Carry on, Sistah Natasha!!
I don’t think telling readers to grow up is particularly constructive, and then getting upset at someone for insulting you when they haven’t is just double standards.
It’s all well and good saying ‘don’t read it’, but the issue there is once you’ve seen it, it’s a bit too late.
And personally, yes, I thought the picture of self harm was a bit off. People are coming to you looking for help and you’ve posted something which could trigger them and make it worse.
While I normally agree with everything you say and really love your blog, I think this is rather ridiculous. If people want a warning because it may be shocking to some, I understand why you would refuse. But if people are triggered by an image and they politely ask you to use trigger warnings, then I don’t really see why you wouldn’t. The internet is not exposure therapy.
Maybe it is oversensitive if people are triggered by the image of self-harm or whatever, but who are you to say that they should get over that, and that you should be the one to help them over that?
I, for one, remember that when in the first month after I stopped cutting, I was horribly thankful for trigger warnings. When I saw a picture of someone’s scarred arm, it literally knocked the breath out of me and I would just want so bad that it hurt. It’s less now, most days, but sometimes I still feel like cutting when I see an image.
You say that you won’t use warnings for things because it would suggest that there is something wrong with the people who do those things, but that isn’t the point behind it. The point is that some days people don’t want to see images of scars or read detailed texts about how much the author wants to kill himself. It’s really only polite to add the four words ‘trigger warning: suicidal ideation’ or whatever else. I could get into an ever longer rant about boundary violation culture on the internet, but I’m honestly too tired to do so so I’ll just leave you with that. Everyone always seems to think, these days, that they have a right to decide what other people do (think of classmates going swimming and someone who’s afraid of water, refusing to go along and people keep pestering him until he does because it’s fun, everyone should go swimming, etc.)
I don’t think I’ll be able to change your mind on this because you seem like the kind of person who is very much behind their opinion, and that’s fine, but please, at least think about this.
I do think content/trigger warnings are a complicated issue that can be handled various different ways. However, the way you’ve handled this is spectacularly ignorant (using the term literally here, not as a meaningless insult) and insensitive. Are you seriously intending to tell people with PTSD and other mental health conditions that they should ‘grow up’ and ‘learn to deal with [seeing things you don’t like]’? Because that really is what you’re doing. You can refuse to alter your own behaviour for your own – good – reasons without invalidating other people’s reactions to that behaviour. There is nothing immature or shameful about experiencing severe negative reactions to content relating to a traumatic experience, and avoiding said content when you aren’t in a place to handle those reactions is a sensible tactic. No, you can’t expect the whole world to change to help you, but trigger warnings are standard on mental health blogs, so it would seem reasonable for them to feel this ought to be a safe space. Most mental health bloggers have a better understanding of mental health issues, even ones they don’t suffer from themselves, and so most tend to try to consider the people likely to be reading their blog and take reasonable precautions to avoid causing them harm.
Rather than getting annoyed at people criticising your choice, why not look at why they are making those criticisms, and what the consequences of your choice are. People are criticising because unexpectedly seeing an image like that (and it is reasonable that they would not expect to see it on your blog, given most mental health blogs do not show images like that without warnings) can lead to extremely distressing flashbacks, panic attacks, anxiety, thoughts of self harm, and general drops in mood. This is not the same as a mentally well person seeing a picture that makes them feel a bit sad. You surely ought to understand the potential severity of mental distress, and that it is not something one can just ‘get over’ or ‘grow up’ about. It is not their fault and it is not within their control. This is the result of you putting images up like that without warnings.
Now, look at the other side of your choice – what are the advantages to having posted it up?
… Well? What balances that out? Why was posting that image without warning so important that it justifies that? What possible advantage do you gain by not providing trigger warnings?
I guess it saves you a few seconds of typing. Is that really worth it?
You claim that you don’t post trigger warnings because you feel not posting them benefits people who self harm. I believe you are mistaken. Posting a trigger warning doesn’t say ‘this is shameful and bad and wrong’, it says ‘this may trigger flashbacks or panic attacks for people for whom this is related to a traumatic experience’. I see nothing to fault in that statement, and I think it’s something important to consider. If you want to make it clear you don’t think self harm is shameful, then say that, and you’ve gotten that message across without hurting anyone. I do not feel self harm is bad and wrong. Sometimes it’s the correct choice. Sometimes it’s not. But of course it can be traumatic. By denying that you erase the very valid experiences of a lot of people. If you care about reducing mental health stigma, how about considering the stigma that PTSD-sufferers face all the time when people tell them they could ‘get over’ their experiences if they tried harder and grew up and stopped being so ‘sensitive’? You are contributing to that.
I do think reducing the stigma around self harm is very important, and there are arguments for not having trigger warnings sometimes that I would consider valid – I think it could be an extremely interesting discussion to have. But your view at the moment is ridiculously simplistic and flawed, so there’s no point trying to have a nuanced discussion here.
Please, go read up on this stuff. Go think about it, and consider other people’s feelings. Go listen to the people saying ‘this causes us harm.’ and consider whether you have any good reason for causing that harm anyway or not.
Be strong and mature enough to admit when you’re wrong, and then maybe we can have a useful dialogue about this. Which might actually help some people. Isn’t that what you want?
But to whom is it causing harm? If it harms people who hurt themselves, then I would agree that they need to be sheltered from these kind of illustrations; but for anyone else, I don’t think there is any good reason to hide the reality of this illness.
It’s not about hiding the reality of the disease, it’s about taking five seconds to not put an image in a post without it being underneath a cut that says trigger warning: self-harm. It’s not about wanting to shelter or baby people, it’s about giving them a choice of whether or not to view an image that could have a negative effect on their mental well-being (which isn’t a question of “if it causes them harm”, seeing as multiple people have commented on this post to say that it DID). I’m amazed that there are so many people on this blog who don’t seem to understand that concept.
I, too, agree with you. A warning is doing a disservice to reality. Although I understand that some people don’t want to be upset, the idea that you can follow a blog of this kind without ever getting upset is absurd.
Not wanting to get upset confuses cause and effect. If something harms you, that’s upsetting. But if something upsets you, that doesn’t mean it has harmed you. Getting upset isn’t “negative”. It’s a positive emotional response to something bad, and life is full of bad things. I read this blog because it upsets me, because it matters.
I have to say I am conflicted about this issue. On one hand I completely agree with your stance. However I have been reading your blog since 2008 and that cutting post photo was the first time I’ve ever been upset from something on your site. Not screaming into the night upset, but as loathe as I’m to say it, it’s a trigger for me. What you said in the post was well thought out and absolutely what I expect from your blog, but to me, that was a traumatizing image that I had no way to avoid.
And I sorta get what you are trying to say, but I have to disagree. Posting a warning about a cutting image (which I would challenge didn’t add anything to the posting IHO) is not telling people there’s something wrong with them, it’s giving the people the option to maybe this day, not to see something that is going to negatively effect them. And you say that you don’t read/watch things that are activating, so you acknowledge that this is an issue.
And in the end it seems to me you are telling someone like me not to read your blog. Which is weird. I honestly never imagined that I would encounter a photo like that on your site.
Hi Sisyphusgal,
I’m sorry if you feel like I’m saying you shouldn’t read my blog, that’s not the intention, naturally.
I’m really trying to suggest that people _take_care_ of themselves. I’m not the type of writer that uses upsetting images, in general, I don’t see the point. But I thought that was reasonable. It wasn’t even graphic.
I understand you disagree, and I understand others will too. Sometimes reasonable people do that.
– Natasha Tracy
Natasha,
Normally I agree with you on things, on this issue however I see your response as childish. It is the internet equivalent of looking to someone for help and you saying they should ‘man up’ after they flinch when you are putting salt in their wound. Instead of telling someone who is hurt to grow up, why not advise them to use an rss feed to read your blog or turn off images. You could assist them by properly alt tagging future images. They could help themselves by using selective image blocking.
R.K. Brumbelow,
If a person felt the need to go to such lengths they can certainly feel free but it seems like an overreaction. But again, that’s just me.
I’m not _trying_ to hurt people. I never _try_ to hurt anyone, but it is the case that you can’t make everyone happy and I can’t anticipate what will upset people – which is pretty much everything in my experience.
– Natasha Tracy
So again, why not properly alt tag your images? (which should be done for accessibility regardless) Then your readers could use something like http://www.admuncher.com/ to block images that might upset them?
Example: perhaps someone has PTSD from being attacked by a hummingbird at a young age. If you place this image: http://www.moplants.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/hummingbird.JPG you would use the alt tags ‘hummingbird’ ‘red’ ‘flower’ and it would be blocked by admuncher for the use of the word hummingbird. The PTSD sufferer avoids the possibility of triggering a reaction and you keep a reader. How is this not a win-win situation? A further benefit comes when you have a blind or other screen reading individual that visits your site now has proper alt text for their reader. And you don’t have people like me cavetching about you telling them to grow up.
I do have PTSD and I do get flashbacks to episodes when I see some images. Quite frankly, the episodes were bad enough the first time I went through them and I do not want to have to live through my sister dying again, or holding someone’s hand as they die in a car accident only to find the hand was not attached, or seeing the person I loved’s arms after they tried to commit suicide or any of the other things that flash back in full colour, smell and sight (thankfully I don’t get sound) when the right trigger conditions happen. This is one reason I do not browse the web with images enabled and I am fortunate that I use a screen reader, but no amount of ‘Growing Up’ is going to stop the episodes as they happen, avoiding the triggers does help though.
You purport to be a professional, so help your readers instead of being churlish.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “properly tagging.” The title of the image is something like “self-harm and cutting” and the alt is “cutting and self-injury.” I guess I could be more explicit, but those tags seem to indicate an image that has something to do with cutting.
And seriously, do you think insulting me is going to make your point?
– Natasha
Insulting you? I did not. I did point out some things you may not have liked; and if calling bad behaviour bad and properly labeling it is insulting to you, I am sorry that you feel that way.
I happened to check a number of images on your blog and many of them are improperly tagged. I did not look at the ‘offending’ image because I did not want to react to it. I have never seen the image and likely will not precisely because I take steps to protect myself on the net.
Regardless, I hope you the best in all your endevours; I,for one, shall not be there to see them unfold.
Hi Natasha,
I think you just lucked out. It appears to me that should one not agree with Mr. Brumbelow’s point of view he attributes “bad behavior” or some other series of attributes to the individual if not in fact it is his own “bad behavior”.
Anyway based upon the abilities of any good skillful writer you included, in my opinion, the writer can conjure up all kinds of images more disconcerting than an actual picture. I guess that too in his way of thinking would also be considered “bad behavior”. Then why not just stop writing altogether as that might suit Mr. Brumbelow’s next supposed constructive friendly suggestion.
I think you’re doing just fine. You might like to win over the world with your writings. In all likelihood it may not happen. Such is the nature of things.
Warmly,
Herb
vnsdepression@gmail.com
http://www.vnstherapy-herb.blogspot.com
If they are so sensitive they should just stop following and go follow some daisies or something. While the rest of us deal with real life and the hard times that come with it.
Hi Mamatink,
I do think it’s about dealing with life, I agree. Of course, I’ve been known to want to recede from that every once and a while too.
– Natasha
I could not agree will you more.
Bill,
Thanks.
– Natasha