This month I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge, blogging every day of the month of April, except Sundays, on a topic from A to Z. I’m posting short-form topics meant to get you talking and sharing! Join the discussion in the comments.

How do you handle it when you come across something on the Internet that makes you angry? I recently stumbled on a media/news/entertainment website that has a writer who writes an entire column devoted to making fun of one of my favorite writers (I won’t link to it because I don’t want to drive traffic to it). It’s a satirical column that applies this writer’s ideas to other books, of course misrepresenting much along the way.

I’ve never been a big fan of satire in the first place; it seems to exist only for the sake of tearing things down, and I’m a person who exists for building things.

I could have been angry when I saw the column, and it would not have been unjustified. But I’ve come across many things like this in my life, and at this point I tend to think, Boy, she must be bitter. What an ugly way to live, focusing on making fun of things you dislike. Her life must be missing the good stuff. And if it is, it’s because she hasn’t built it. She hasn’t stretched herself to achieve it.

Why do some people devote their lives to hate?

I guess because it’s easy. Being open about what you love leaves you open for judgment. It leaves you open to criticism. It requires that you take risks and fight for it.

How do you deal with haters? How has your approach to them changed as you’ve grown? What advice would you give to someone struggling with being hit with vitriol? Why do you think some people spend so much time and energy on things they don’t like?