Decisions.

It's been a crazy week for my old blog.

It started when "Anonymous" came back from the shadows.

I didn't publish the comments, because they were nothing more than personal attacks. Name-calling. Allegations. And an attack on my guest-writer.

I was content to just keep Anonymous's voice silenced on my blog and continue as usual, but they just didn't want to give it up. When I posted my blog about the comment rules, this is what Anonymous had to say:

"Yes, it IS all about YOU. "Snarky" comments? The Beast, Idiocy, Fatbelly, Spawn....You really don't get it, do you? If you were telling tales from the "real" world, you'd use real names. What are you worried about? Surely not LIBEL, because everything you say is TRUE...er, well, hmm, ah...you can "demand respect" all you want, but you will never command respect."

I actually posted that comment and replied to it, pointing out that my blog IS all about me (duh), that spawn isn't snarky, that pointing out someone's fat belly or stupidity isn't snarky so much as truthful, that posting ANYONE'S full name without their consent is unethical and something I don't do EVER, and that person has no first-hand knowledge of anything I write and if it is, in fact, true "er well hmm ah" not (unless it IS The Beast behind that facade) and has no business throwing around words like libel, when this person was the one making allegations about me that actually COULD be prosecuted if they posted their damned name. I also asked if I should change my blog-title to True Stories with Pseudonyms to avoid being sued for "false-advertising" as well ;) heh heh.

But, after some words of wisdom and squooshy bewbie hugs via Internet, I decided to remove both of the posts. And then it started to fester. It didn't bother me what this person said, or what they thought about me, or that they were ball-less enough to continually come at me without owning their words. What bothered me was that this person, who is obviously acquainted with me in some way, is sucking up all this information about me. They know my favorite kind of peanut butter. They can pore over pictures of my family and read about my wedding. Those are things I don't mind sharing with the general public, but knowing someone malicious is out there sucking up every detail I write, that bothered me.

So I toyed with the idea of making my blog private. I would only let people I knew and approved peek into my life. I advertised it on Facebook and to my friends and family. Within 24 hours I had more readers than I could even accommodate! I had no idea how many readers I actually had, and I hadn't even mentioned this to most of my blog followers yet. I had many suggestions and pleas not to do it, and after a look at the privacy settings, I decided to keep it open. One person's negativity shouldn't over-ride the positivity of more than a hundred.
You know what? I can't control EVERYONE in the world. I can't keep mean, vicious people from looking into my life unless I stop blogging altogether. I can't do that. It's one of my favorite things in the world! I can't keep people from stalking me or voicing their opinions about me.

But I CAN control what comes across my desk.

So from now on, you have to be logged into SOMETHING to comment on my blog. If it gets too out-of-hand, I will limit it to blog followers only. The comments aren't really that necessary anyway. And I have a sneaking suspicion that if this person has to keep reading about my life and my opinions, but has no way to enlighten my supporters to his/her own opinion, he or she will lose interest. And if not, then what's that say about him/her?

Haters are gonna hate. And a reader is a reader, right? ;) I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and not let anyone interfere. Worst-case scenario? I'll change the comment format to Diqus and nab the IP address every time someone comments. :)

Thanks for being a reader. Thanks for your support, and thanks for making blogging a successful pastime for me. I love knowing you're out there and I LOVE telling my story.

The Beast: Monty

Throughout the year I'd got to know Monty, and I enjoyed having him in my class. He was a front-row kid. The first one done with tests. The only one excited about Shakespeare. The best writer in his hour. A kid who cared about grammar. He was also a rules-stickler, and even came up with a "secret code" for when students were texting while I was teaching. I could have my back to the class, hear his cue, and proclaim, "PUT IT AWAY. If I see you texting again it's mine." Blew their minds ;) Obviously he became a bit of a teacher's pet, though I despise the term. I prefer model citizen and exceptional student of literature and writing.

When Monty showed me the letter, I was nearly speechless. I was honored that he and his fellow classmates would stand up for me like that. It was bitter-sweet, though, because I knew what this meant. It meant he was going up against The Beast, and It would hold a grudge and likely start a vendetta against Monty, someone undeserving of such persecution. There were even students who refused to sign the letter, fearful that just having their name on the document would bring them Its wrath.

I asked Monty who told The Beast that I was worthless, as he mentioned in the letter, and he admitted to me that one of those people was his very good friend. I was worried at what this might bring for him, and even more-so when I found out he would be presenting his letter to the board, and would be speaking on behalf of all the students who signed, as well as answering any questions they may have. He was just a kid. Barely fifteen. It was a lot.

You'll read about the board meeting later this week, but I wanted to give you a little more information on my take-a-stand student, Monty, because tomorrow he will reveal his identity and post in a guest-spot, giving you his perspective of the events that shaped that year.

He did not know at the time, most of the things you've learned in this series. I did enlighten him some in the following years, when all was said and done, as to just how bad it was, but this has been the first time that anyone has known many of these tales. After reading several of these posts, he's contacted me, appalled at how deep the iceberg was, only the tip of which he'd seen prior to this.

Monty had suffered at the hand of The Beast, too. I didn't know it at the time, but looking back I see what courage it must have taken for him to stand against It. Already persecuted, he stuck his neck out in my honor, and though the guillotine didn't drop immediately, he soon found himself in The Beast's Death Camp.

Come back tomorrow so you can read first-hand what Monty saw, how he perceived me, The Beast, and the situation, and what he's doing now as a senior.