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Stand Your Ground

Stand Your Ground I joined the soup to challenge myself, all I wanted to do was write I’m not a professional poet and sometimes my words lack bite I am not a college graduate, I have no English degree But what I have is from God, and some friends I never see I’ve been here on the soup since the beginning of 2020 The trolling started quite early, the slams were good and plenty Within the first two weeks, I felt their crosshairs on my back They would post their nasty comments, then delete after each attack I decided to stand my ground, in the beginning it got quite rough I watched many poets leave, dealing with bullies can be pretty tough Trying to use my words, I defended through all of their bull You can turn the other cheek, but sometimes that trigger just needs a pull I fired back with poems; I honestly did the best I could They eventually gave up on me, just like I figured they would It’s been almost two years, the ring leaders have disappeared We still have a couple who stir the pot, but they no longer are revered

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Lindsay Laurie

Date: 10/23/2021 9:58:00 PM

G'day Mark ... probably the worst problem that arrived with social media. All these cretins want is a bite when what they really need is to exposed - good write indeed Mark - Lindsay

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/24/2021 5:14:00 PM

You are exactly correct my friend. They will eventually expose themselves with a little nudge. Thanks for stopping by my friend!

Karen Jones

Date: 10/20/2021 6:35:00 AM

I enjoyed this as I am a new poet here since 2021. It is not my experience but I am still new. So glad you wrote this and hope the bullies left get dealt with.

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/20/2021 10:35:00 AM

I hope it never happens to you. They will troll poets and give a compliment and then they throw in a few nasty comments. Some of them will do this and then delete their comment and act like you are the problem. Thanks for the visit and welcome to the soup!

Arthur Vaso

Date: 10/19/2021 10:48:00 PM

"I am not a college graduate, I have no English degree", ok that made me laugh for one reason, you have empathy, compassion, it seems a thirst for learning,and a desire to stand up and protect those who may not be able to defend themselves. Some spend years and years studying and never learn this. I might add you have answered in poetry never spite, and do so in a way that makes a strong point but does not close a door, if that makes any sense at all. Thank you for that.

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/20/2021 4:30:00 AM

I get it Art. Thank you very much for saying that. I know most people think I’m nuts, I have my views from my own personal life experiences

Tom Cunningham

Date: 10/18/2021 2:38:00 PM

If you met those trolls and bullies on the street, they'd run a mile. Its about time the relevant authorities clamped down hard on those scum who hide behind a screen, many victims have taken their own lives because of it. Well written Mark. Tom

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/18/2021 4:37:00 PM

I’m sure there is a lot of it going on here that we don’t know about. The ones that I have dealt with are almost gone.

Ilene Bauer

Date: 10/18/2021 2:13:00 PM

it's such a shame that people like that are out there to spread their nastiness around. i've had a few of those interactions and they're very disturbing. you've described this so well, mark, and i'm glad you stuck it out and fought back with poetry...

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/18/2021 4:35:00 PM

The funny thing is, I was defending myself and these jerks would spin it around. This site has banned me 4 or 5 times because I used names. Now we have a blog where one of them actually listed names and nothing happens.

Jenna Logan

Date: 10/18/2021 11:49:00 AM

You’ve been here a bit longer than I have, Mark. I was targeted just a couple of weeks after joining and want you to know how much I am grateful to you for coming to my defense. There should never be such a need, yet a couple of sour grapes keep floating in the pot.

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/18/2021 12:32:00 PM

I think he's the only one left from the original crew that trolled me.

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/18/2021 12:25:00 PM

Thanks Jenna, you've done your share of defending me too and I thank you for that. Hitting ignore and deleting comments might work for some but not all. More people need to stand up to them and then they will just fade into the darkness from where they came.

Jan Allison

Date: 10/18/2021 11:48:00 AM

the troll and bully isn't revered and he isn't feared by me and others cos we stand up to him and then he turns from victimiser to victim as per usual:-) hugs jan xx

Mark Koplin
Date: 10/18/2021 12:29:00 PM

The cowards really get nasty when they hide behind a keyboard. If people can't say something nice then they shouldn't say anything at all. I'm surprised his mother didn't teach him that. We just need to stay vigilant.