Everyday bloggers have stories that go viral, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise when you notice a blog post becoming wildly popular. This is what happened for one blogger named Melissa Blake after she wrote a post about Donald Trump. Her post wound up being widely circulated and quickly went viral, but for all the wrong reasons. You see, people began to share and post comments on it, but they were not doing so because they agreed or disagreed with her message. In fact, their reasons have made many on both sides of the political spectrum angry.
It turns out that many who posted on her blog did not care what she had to say. Instead, they just wanted to focus on the picture of her that was included in the article. She had taken a selfie, and the article ended up being mentioned on a YouTube channel. And it wasn’t long before numerous online bullies began trolling the image, and it brought out the worst in people. Once again, the comments did not address the content or context of her article. And even though politics these days can often get pretty nasty, the abuse these online bullies directed at her mainly had to do with how she looked.
“The comments had nothing to do with the content of my work, they were just insulting my looks,” Melissa told “Good Morning America.”
Melissa also took a few screenshots of some of the offensive comments and posted them on Twitter. She included the caption: “Reminder that this is what it’s like to be a disabled woman writer on the internet AND #ThisIsAmerica in 2019.”
“There were comments from people calling me ‘ugly’ and saying ‘she looks like a parade balloon,’” Melissa told Newsbeat.
But the one that really made her upset was a comment that recommended she no longer take photos of herself because she was too ugly. That’s when she decided that she was not going to let it get her down.
“I thought, well, I’m going to do the opposite and show them that they’re not going to get the better of me.”
As a way of responding to her bullies, she posted three more selfies on Twitter.
Again, Melissa’s post started going viral, but this time, people were supporting her instead of tearing her down. The post has since been widely circulated, and it was shared more than 30,000 times with almost 300,000 likes.
Melissa says that folks sometimes would not take her seriously as a journalist, but she has been writing for 14 years. Sometimes she says that she’s judged solely on her looks.
“I find this is something a lot of women who put themselves out there face – they are subject to visual attacks.”
To straighten out the joints in her knees and hands, she had to endure 26 surgeries within her lifetime. She also had scoliosis treatments.
However, Melissa tries to stay positive about it all. But, she admits that sometimes the negativity can get her down.
“I’d be lying if I said they didn’t bother me and it’s hard not to get down on yourself,” she said. “These people are just sat at home hiding behind their keyboards. I don’t think they would say half of what they say on the internet to someone’s face.”
Melissa has now introduced a new challenge for people to share pictures of themselves, using the hashtag #MyBestSelfie.
“I hope this starts a conversation about disability. What we consider beautiful is so narrow,” she said.
What did you think of Melissa’s story? Let us know in the comments section, and please be sure to share her story with friends and family.