Abusive and Tactless Comments on This Site

by Darlene Barriere
(Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)

From the Desk of Darlene Barriere - Site Owner and Webmaster

This commentary comes off the heels of highly insensitive comments written yesterday, November 9th, by someone using the handle of Anonymous under the title "Old News." I deleted these condescending and inappropriate comments, but not before they were read by at least one of my regular contributors, JWC. How do I know they were read? Because JWC replied to those unfeeling comments; and did so using an admiringly eloquent approach.

What I don't know is if the person who wrote the comments—not once, not twice, but three times—did so in response to the original comments written by JWC, or in response to the original article Is This Type of Violence Considered Child Abuse?, which I posted on November 6th.

I created this site in order to provide information about child abuse and to offer a forum of support for survivors of child abuse; I want survivors to have a voice and an opportunity to have their pain validated. When a system for commenting on stories, articles and commentaries became available, I was thrilled to be able to provide a platform for my visitors to offer their support and encouraging words. I will not permit postings to this site that demean or degrade.

At this time, I do not have the ability to stop comments from going live, but I do have the ability to remove them once they have been posted. This is not the first time I've had to remove inappropriate comments. In the past, I have deleted the entire posting. In the future, I will leave the posting up, but will replace the disrespectful comments with the following: ***Inappropriate comments removed by webmaster Darlene Barriere***

To disrespectful visitors to this site: This is not the place for you. This is not a place where you can post whatever comes into your head. This is not a place for you to vent your frustration onto someone who has shared freely of themselves. If this is what you are looking for, you have come to the wrong place. If you can't be mature and respectful, I strongly urge you to move on; you are not welcome to make comments here.

To my respectful visitors: You are helping people all over the world when you offer your supportive comments. Keep up the great work!

Email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses AND website/blog URLs in visitor comments are strictly prohibited.