Bullied by staff members and blamed, am I hysterical?

I was in one Christian forum for about six months and I was bullied by an anonymous user. She used her “opinions” to discriminate my experience on something in particular. When I went to report the user to a staff member, I accidentally sent it to the wrong person and she started to yell at me and accuse me of stepping over her boundaries, I told her that she’s not being very nice and I don’t want to talk to her anymore. She kept right on saying awful things to me, accusing me of making excuses for my bad behavior. Then she demanded me that I start quoting scriptures from the Bible and then she will have a proper conversation with me. I told her I do not feel like quoting Bible verses because I am too upset at that time. I told her I have a good reason to call out bullying. She started shaming me saying “it’s not reasonable, it’s self pitiful. You are throwing a fit over a disagreement! Therefore I love you and care (no she doesn’t) and therefore I REBUKE you in the name of Christ!”. Then she went on shaming me over how disrespectful I am and how I’m the wrong and I have no reason to get upset over an opinion. Even after I left the conversation she kept harassing me. And as a result I got banned permanently from the site.

In another Christian forum, I was talking about my experience and another staff member ridiculed my experience with “people agreeing with you gives you validity? That’s a lot of pressure to put on us mere humans”. I told him that’s not the point I’m trying to make and that invalidating people’s experiences is wrong. He replied “i know what you’re saying, but it’s clear that you cannot take criticism! if you’re going to try to silence me, then you’re being hypocritical of thinking so! In fact you’re being disrespectful of my opinions and trampling all over them. It makes me feel… victorious! You know the word of God reigns true and every man is a liar!”. I reported him to another staff member asking him to be removed from his position, but she defended him and said “he is not a bully, and I do not see his words as hurtful. If anything, his words are just being fruitful and truthful to the word of God. If I remove him, I’ll have to remove everyone else as well. He has never been a bully to begin with, in fact he’s a very kind man and very sympathetic of people’s struggles (not from what I’ve seen), you’re clearly mistaking yourself (no I am not). You do realize that everyone has different opinions and you are feeling attacked when people disagree. It’s obvious you cannot take criticism and it is you who need professional help! I am going to have to remove you from this site because you need professional assistance and this site is not going to help you!”.

After two days on that forum, I got banned again. I want to tell everyone that my experience is not an opinion and it should as equally respected as everyone else’s. I am so sick and tired of people in power and moderators siding with bullies and blaming victims for what we’ve witnessed. It’s disgusting, and it reminds me strongly of the Harvey Weinstein scandal where several women had reported being raped when they were younger and not surprisingly a lot of people did not believe them. I’m terrified what these people would think if someone reported sexual abuse. I find it sad really.

I’m not looking for advice, I just want support. I’m tired of people telling me I cannot take criticism after telling my experiences of being bullied. Now I’m often questioning myself whether I’m right to feel upset or I’m just being hysterical. It breaks my heart knowing people are too full of themselves that they don’t bother to listen to powerless folks like me.

Am I REALLY being hysterical?

Hi, I'm just another human, so I could be wrong or whatever, but you know what, just follow your instincts. The world's full of you-know-whats and enablers of the you-know-whats. Sad story but that's the way it is.

Good news is, better to be out of all that than to be an abuser or an enabler, right? Leave them all behind and be free. Admittedly, "free" isn't a bed of roses either, but that's where we at. See you along the dusty trail, and I'm rooting for you if your heart's in the right place.

I am sorry to hear about the bullying. I don't think you are hysterical. Hopefully you found another forum.

sharpie22 wrote:I am sorry to hear about the bullying. I don't think you are hysterical. Hopefully you found another forum.

Yes I have, and thank you very much for your support. I gladly appreciate it.

You are welcome.