My sweet husband took up the bonsai habit a year ago. Watching him develop his hobby has been fun. He reads, shares photos, and follows the masters very closely. He has a blog about his discoveries which gets daily visits from readers around the world. He writes posts through dictation because he struggles to type on a cell phone...so he innocently shared some advice on reddit and some guy who has nothing better to do than troll, trolled him and put him down.
People can be so mean. It's disheartening. When did we become a society that is so quick to put others down? Why can't people just cheer other people on?
I took this photo at the DC arboretum, it was an orchid exhibition. I love orchids and have several of my own. Most are doing well and learning to care for them has been fun. Maybe I should post about them on reddit so some orchid master can tell me everything I do and know is wrong?
I've noticed a lot of bonsai enthusiasts seem to have a 'gatekeeper' attitude online; most fora I've encountered treat newcomers to the hobby with thinly-veiled contempt. This is the first hobby I've gotten into with that kind of toxic online presence prevailing over the less sociopathic tendency to enjoy sharing a hobby with someone new.
ReplyDeleteParticularly obnoxious is the "We're tired of answering the same questions all the time" complaint said gatekeepers whine when called to task for their behavior.