“I’m a simple girl. All I want are more followers than my enemies,” tweeted Ella Dawson, a TED Talker and feminist who has recently been the vicious target of attacks from Trump supporters. Ms. Dawson began writing about her situation, living with genital herpes; in response, she was the target of an organized effort to smear and shame her. As she wrote on Medium:
It is difficult to explain the loose web of sexist trolls and “conservative provocateurs” that compose the Alt-Right to someone who isn’t immersed in Internet culture. There are the anti-establishment radicals who hate Paul Ryan, the anti-Islam YouTube vloggers who pushed hard for Brexit, and the Twitter users who create memes like #TheTriggering to mock social justice activists. The Alt-Right also overlaps with groups like Men’s Rights Activists, who are convinced matriarchy is oppressing them on a global scale, and the bizarre online hate mob that is GamerGate. Conversations about these men — because they are almost always men, and they are almost always white — are usually dismissive. We call them “trolls,” implying they’re the dimwitted underworld denizens of the Internet. As long as they stay in unread comment sections, what risk do they pose to the rest of us?
To the Alt-Right, I’m a goldmine of entertainment. What a stupid feminist, wanting the social acceptance of herpes! Get a real problem, and don’t make such terrible life choices, you disgusting slut. YouTube commenters have told me to do the world a favor and kill myself. Bloggers have written lengthy posts about how my liberal education contributed to my downfall of virtue. Strangers on Twitter have called me every derogatory term you can imagine. But that’s just an average day as a woman on the Internet. That’s nothing compared to the targeted harassment campaigns that are the fun and games of the Alt-Right.
Because Ms. Dawson chose to write about her situation, she received a deluge of hate speech from Trump trolls, whipped into a frenzy by certain people with a lot of Twitter influence. She received comments like this, as posted on her Twitter:
Herpes-Infected Feminist Ella Dawson Decides the 2016 Election is about her.
Degenerate pig with an STD.
The alt-right’s treatment of her is similar to their treatment of Khizr Khan, the father of a man killed defending our country.
In response, Hillary Clinton wrote Ms. Dawson a letter of support.
xThank you, @HillaryClinton, for reading. I'm incredibly moved. To be accurate, I'm ugly crying. #ImWithHerpic.twitter.com/kt5tAVWrFX
— Ella Dawson (@brosandprose) September 6, 2016You can read the whole letter below:
Thank you for the brave and insightful piece you published on Medium this week. I am so grateful to you for not only speaking out against the stigma surrounding sexually transmitted infections, but for also taking a courageous stand against the ridiculous, but very real barrage of hate you have received online. The erosion of civil public discourse is one of the most concerning developments in our society today; as you point out, the Internet is not a friendly plae for women and you are not alone in facing the relentless onslaught of baseless personal attacks. I have found strength in living by Eleanor Roosevelt’s admonition that women in politics need skin as thick as a rhinoceros — but it shouldn’t take that, and you and I, and all women, should refuse to allow this to become the new normal. That’s why I won’t stay silent about it — and why I’ve made promoting love and kindness a central pillar of my campaign. It’s going to take all of us, working together, to restore our discourse and that work starts by calling out the bullies, chief among them Donald Trump and the “Alt-Right.” As I mentioned in my speech in Reno, there’s an old Mexican proverb that says, “Tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are.” I’m proud to walk with you, Ella. With gratitude and warm wishes, I am Sincerely Yours, SIGNED Hillary Rodham Clinton
Love trumps hate.