While some of us can’t imagine wasting our energy fighting with or insulting people online, it’s become the favorite hobby of those who lack emotional intelligence or anything better to do.

When a troll feels threatened – usually by someone who disagrees with them – they resort to cruelty. And while they might realize there’s a real person behind that other username, psychologists have found that their psychopathic traits rule over everything else when they get nasty.

Writer Melissa Blake – who is no stranger to being trolled – made headlines back in September when she was on the other end of some very cruel remarks.

Blake is a disabled writer who authors the lifestyle blog “So About What I Said” and whose work can be found in publications such as The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and the New York Times. But it was an op-ed Blake wrote for CNN suggesting that people should unfollow the President on Twitter as an “act of collective resistance” that put her on the radar of the worst trolls of all.

Most of us can get riled up about politics, but there’s a subset of people who simply can’t control their anger when people don’t share their opinions. And it was this anger that drove political trolls to Blake’s Twitter account.

Of course, they weren’t there to argue politics – trolls aren’t capable of that kind of rational response when they get worked up. Instead, they decided to insult her for the way she looked.

It began in the comments on the CNN article, where people called Blake names based on the selfie she had posted with her story. They said she was too fat and too ugly to be posting photos of herself online.

Of course, these kinds of comments say more about the commenters than about Blake.

And the fact that they weren’t even trying to engage with the content of her piece is a good indication that they merely felt threatened by her politics but not intelligent enough to respond in kind.

Blake has a bone and muscular disorder called Freeman Sheldon syndrome. It causes restricted movement in her face, hands, and feet and she’s faced prejudice all of her life for it.

Of course, just because you’ve always been insulted and have developed a thick skin doesn’t mean it’s not exhausting after a while.

Blake wrote about the comments she received on her blog:

“The dig at my journalism credentials doesn’t bother me, but you know what?? I’m getting so tired of people (read: men) thinking it’s OK to insult a woman’s appearance. Yes, my disability makes me look different. Trust me, I know that. I’ve known that my entire life.”

One of the many beautiful things about Blake is her willingness to be vulnerable, even as she stands up for herself against the trolls (who, you will notice, do not post real photos of themselves).

And part of the reason she allows people to know the comments hurt is to show just how cruel people can be towards the disabled.

She said:

“And people wonder why I’ve struggled so much with self-acceptance when it comes to how I look and our society’s notion of what ‘beautiful’ is,” she continued. “It’s because of comments like these — comments that dismiss me and deem me unworthy.”

But Blake also clapped back by refusing to be invisible, despite what people thought of her appearance. In a now-viral Tweet she wrote:

“During the last round of trollgate people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because I’m too ugly. So I’d just like to commemorate the occasion with these three selfies.”

Those three selfies now have well over a quarter of a million likes.

And she just kept going. After all, if someone so crass is truly going to be offended by the way one looks, more selfies are the best way to push back.

There were plenty of people – thousands! – who stood up for Blake, even though she was perfectly capable of doing that herself. They praised her bravery, her emotional intelligence, and her smarts. In the end, there were far more positive comments drowning out the hateful ones.

And while Blake appreciated the support, she wanted to remind people that if they were sincere, they needed to walk the walk in their everyday lives as well.

Since the incident, Blake gained tens of thousands of readers and fans. Meanwhile, the trolls no doubt remain angry and unable to do anything meaningful about it.

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Source: CNN, So About What I Said, Melissa Blake via Twitter