Social media has changed our world, hasn’t it? We can connect with old friends and make new ones. We can share photos, and funnies. Goodness knows, I do it all the time (and I appreciate you putting up with it).
Unfortunately, it has also become the breeding ground for bullying, hatred, and flat-out ignorance. Read any “comments” section on a media outlet’s Facebook page and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Some people read a headline, or see a picture, and then blurt out their opinion, without taking the time to actually read what they’re commenting about.
Plus there are those, often using fake names, who evidently have no lives of their own. So they use the power of the internet to insult whoever they see on their screen. I’ve seen recent ugliness aimed at Jimmy Carter when he revealed he had cancer, actor Samuel L. Jackson when it was announced he will emcee a benefit for families of Chattanooga’s fallen servicemen, and Rosie O’Donnell when her daughter was reported missing. Really? I understand if you don’t like one or all of those people, for whatever reason. So, why insult them (from a safe distance) at a low point in their lives, or when they are donating their time for a good cause. Honestly, you can find something else to read. It’s just a click away. If the power of online hating gives folks some sort of satisfaction, their lives are very sad indeed.
Then, this story caught my eye. A TV meteorologist for a Philadelphia station is in her ninth month of pregnancy. Katie Fehlinger will soon give birth to twin girls. This is what she looks like.
Katie Fehlinger of CBS-3 in Philadelphia, soon to the proud mom of twin girls
She’s pretty darn beautiful. But some poor souls, with nothing better to do, decided to go online, calling her “disgusting,” and saying she looked like a “sausage in casing.” Katie, to her credit, took the opportunity to respond. This is what she said:
“A message for the haters…
Hey guys! Once more, I have to get something off my chest. So, the nature of my job makes me an easy target for criticism. I will always understand that, and I will most typically just ignore it. However, after someone blatantly called me a “sausage in casing” and another declared that “sticking your pregnant abdomen out like that is disgusting”, I felt a need to draw a line and speak up.
Everyone’s right to their opinion is important, but so are manners. And while rude comments like these will never make me feel the need to change anything about myself, I find a bigger underlying issue here. These particular nasty-grams were directed at a pregnant woman.
So this little manifesto of sorts is dedicated to every mother out there – other pregnant moms-to-be, moms reading this while their toddlers play on the swing set, moms whose kids have long since gone off to college…
You are beautiful.
Even during the most uncomfortable – and let’s face it, less than glamorous – symptoms of pregnancy, what women go through to bring their precious children into the world is, simply put, AMAZING and you should be lauded.
Frankly, I don’t care how “terrible” or “inappropriate” anyone thinks I look. I will gladly gain 50 pounds & suffer sleepless, uncomfortable nights if it means upping my chances to deliver 2 healthy baby girls. Now it’s about more than aesthetics. I want these babies to have the best start possible. And that hopefully means my belly that “looks like it’s about to explode!” will continue to grow the next few weeks.
I say let’s raise a Shirley Temple to swollen feet, stretch marks, nausea, all the extra pounds and the dark circles! They’re badges of motherhood. And for those of you who think that’s “disgusting”, remember a woman went through the very same thing to bring YOU into the world.
In the meantime, let’s all remember the lesson Mom taught us – if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”
Good for you Katie. Congratulations on your upcoming blessed event (times two!) and don’t let the haters get you down. Just keep winning at life.
Good for you David. I’ve even gotten some hate PMs from my radio days. One I know was from a “groupie” from long ago when I was single. One I got from a supposed friend of my EX’s mother. It was on a PM I just said “Evidently you never heard Paul Harvey” to that one. I have got some PMs from old girl friends when I wasn’t married those are nice. I think pregnant women are cute.
Bless you David for this. I just don’t understand this need people seem to have lately to put down anyone they can. I cherish friendship, harmony, getting along. If they would spend the time they take to put people down, working on something to help someone, or the community, what a great world it would be. By the way, congratulations to this lovely mom-to-be.