Sadly technology has created new opportunities for mean people to practice their hurt. I find it especially worrisome for young people who now have so many new ways to experience cruelty from random strangers. At least in the “good ol’ days” you had a face to face with the bullies/mean people. That probably discouraged the less aggressive ones from acting. Now it flows so easily from behind the safety of a keyboard.

One thing to consider is the fact that these attacks are not really personal, (even though they seem so intensely personal when you encounter them!) Angry, hurt strangers lash ou at you online because it is a pathetic form of human connection for them. They may get a response from you. You might engage in a back and forth — and that will dispel their loneliness for a moment. They are like the weird craigslist callers — inquiring about items you have posted just to communicate with another human being. They hound you with calls and emails — but have no intention of ever buying your stuff. Craigslist trollers are pretty harmless types. These are their angrier, more mentally unstable cousins.

I am so sorry for the loss of your brother. A dear childhood friend of mine jumped off the George Washington Bridge last June. All his friends and I were/are stunned by the incomprehensibilty of it. It hurts terribly when you know a loved one was in such pain. You feel responsibile regardless of the irrationality of that feeling. Their death feels so tragic and wasteful. Timmy should be seeing the fiddleheads he loved poking their heads up this spring. Your brother should be doing the things that brought him joy. The only consolation I find is knowing my friend’s pain is gone. Peace to you and your family.