The (Un)Kindness of Strangers

 

In the days following my fathers death, my mother and I were overwhelmed by so many lovely words and gestures by friends and family alike. I was particularly impressed by my parents' neighbours, whom I barely know myself, who dropped by with cards and gifts. On the other end of the spectrum: a troll who replied to my ad on behalf of my mother (for fortifying drinks that had been delivered in large quantity for my dad, but were not needed/consumed any more) in a way that made me gasp. And block them immediately. I had googled the price of said drinks and made what I thought was a fair bundle price (that I would only be the basis for negotiation anyway as people there like to haggle), but instead of ignoring it because they considered it overpriced, that person wrote to ask me if I was out of my mind and (as I had mentioned that the drinks had just been delivered, but the recipient had died shortly thereafter) made a point of remarking that the deceased had probably received everything free of charge by his insurance so it was even more ridiculous on my behalf. It made me realise how public figures must feel every single day when people feel obliged to leave nasty comments on their posts rather than swiping/clicking on and not saying anything.