Spread Love, Stop Hate

Share Love, Stop Hate 

Social Media is a way to connect with friends, family or loved ones. For others it’s a way to join communities of people with similar interests, join fandoms, make friends and connect with people all over the world. However, the darker, more insidious side to Social Media should not ever be downplayed because there are dangers to Social Media and that is what I’m going to explore in this article.

In light of the tragic, untimely, heartbreaking passing of Liam Payne, solo artist and member of One Direction this is something that desperately needs addressing. When Caroline Flack passed a few years ago, there was an uproar about her treatment at the hands of those on Social Media and how vilified she was, yet we appear to have  learned nothing from her tragedy. 

Liam was relentlessly bullied, victimised, humiliated and harassed on Social Media. Fans of Liam begged people to stop, begged people to have compassion, to treat people with kindness and remember that Liam was a human being and was hurting immensely because of their actions and words, yet they didn’t stop. 

I covered the hate in the last article I wrote and I won’t rehash it, but those celebrities and accounts who constantly abused Liam, because that is what it was, emotional abuse, now have blood on their hands. Fans raised concerns, Rebecca Ferguson tried in vain to reach out to see if Liam was okay, yet no one spoke up. No celebrity publicly defended Liam from the insane levels of harassment he was receiving recently. 

Liam on his snapchat stories showed he was struggling, he told through his snapchat that he wanted his mum and that he was being made to do things he didn’t want to do. He was spiraling in front of our eyes and when he went to Niall’s show in Argentina the bullying got worse. 

Ironically called Lovers, fans of Niall were vicious and abused Liam relentlessly online. Brave from behind a screen, but sickening to see. When you act with impunity online, saying horrible things about someone, do you not think your words impact on them? Do you not consider that whether that person is famous or not, they are still human beings with feelings and with a heart that bleeds just like yours does? 

Even if the rumours were true, what was justified about the very public persecution of Liam? Who gets justice from a witch hunt? Does the victim? Does the perpetrator and how does turning someone else into a victim of a relentless hate campaign help anyone? 

People with addiction issues aren’t perfect, and are always at risk of falling off the wagon, but instead of kicking someone who is already at rock bottom, why not offer help? Why not reach out and ask what you can do to help? If you want justice, go about it the right way, but turning a human being into a victim of emotional abuse, relentless hate and constant bullying doesn’t solve any problems. 

To the celebrities who jumped on the hate campaign waged against Liam, I won’t name you, but I hope you feel the shame for your actions. This man was hurting immensely and instead of exercising caution and asking him if you could help, you contributed to a hate campaign against him. What joy did you get from that? How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot and your every single move was criticized with no exception? 

Many celebrities in light of Liam’s passing are talking about the damage that Social Media can and does do to their lives, their mental health and their sobriety. No one could live with a torrent of hate like that pouring on them constantly and Liam was no exception and while his death was tragic and heartbreaking, it raises questions. 

Where was Liam’s team? Who was there with him? Why did Kate leave him alone in Buenos Aires while he was spiralling so badly? Why didn’t they call someone else to help? I’m sure his dad or his mum or Louis or multiple other people would have gone to him, if only they’d been asked. 

Further where was his label while he was being abused, his PR team? Who was looking out for Liam? Who cared for him? Why are artists brought through a system that cares so little for their mental health and sobriety? Why are Capitol, Universal, Sony and Modest posting condolences when they all are culpable of the abuse of Liam? Why didn’t Universal see a man at the end of his tether struggling with his life and instead of dropping him, get him some much needed help? 

The music industry desperately needs to be investigated and these abuses of power and dereliction of duty when it comes to artist wellbeing need to stop. No one deserves to be treated as a prop, as a product only to be shown off when it’s profitable and shelved when they need help or support. People are worth more than profits, always and for an industry that relies on talented people, why don’t they treat them better? Why are they cannon fodder when they are no longer useful for money making? 

On another note to those online- the world is bigger than your screen and your words have an impact on someone whether they are Joe Bloggs down the road or a celebrity you don’t like. You can have an impact on a person you’ve never met just by being kind, but you can also hurt someone by being hateful. Ask yourself - is it worth it? Is causing someone pain worth it? Is the guilt worth it? If someone ends their life or has a tragic accident because of how you treated them, is it worth it? 

Why not be kind and instead of hurting others with your words, how about spreading a little kindness, a little joy and remembering that lives are lost daily because of people like you and me who say whatever they want, whether that's telling people to harm themselves, calling them names, being cruel and down right awful online? What possible joy can you get from making anothers life miserable? Does it make your life any better? Is it of any benefit to you? 

Please try to remember that someone lost a son, a brother and a loved one in part because of how he was treated in the online world. He was an incredibly talented man with so much more to offer the world, but instead of him getting the help he so desperately needed and getting to live his life to the fullest, his life is over. His fans are heartbroken at the loss of the future we all wanted for Liam. 

People die everyday, but if you contribute to online bullying and they end their lives because of your words, what does that make you? In my eyes it makes you a monster. You don’t have to like, agree or even respect someone, but having compassion, being kind and not harming others with your words should be a given. Life is fickle and it is short and you should spend your time in a way that you can be proud of instead of spreading hate and hurt. 

Liam, if you can hear us, we are sorry. Sorry we didn’t do more, sorry we couldn’t help, but we will always love you. We will carry you with us every day for the rest of our lives and we will honour your memory by fighting to get justice for you and fighting for your last album to be released. I hope wherever you are, you are at rest and are watching over your family and our boys for us. We hope they can take comfort in the fact that you were eternally loved. We promise as a fandom to shower your loved ones with all the love we can as they navigate your loss and we’ll hold them tightly in our hearts always. 

To Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry, our hearts broke with yours when we heard the news and broke again at your incredible tributes. We are so sorry that you lost your friend, your brother in such a tragic way. We all wished to see you once more, but not like this and never for this. We will hold Liam in our hearts and will honour his memory by carrying on his kindness and brightness into the world. We will also fight to change the world. It’s too late for us to help Liam, but we will fight harder than ever to help new and current artists in the entertainment industries. We will stay behind you all every step of the way and always support you all. You have our love and we are with you, always.

Thanks for reading and please share a little love today. Spread some kindness and let’s show people we care more than we hate, 

A full tribute to Our darling Liam will come, but we are devastated, much like everyone else who stood by Liam until the end, so we’re not quite ready yet. 

Thanks for understanding  

Behind The Curtains.