I want to be upfront about something that kind of irked me recently. I’ll save some of the fluff and get right into it. You’ll probably even eye roll as soon as you read the next paragraph and I get it.

I’d simply liked a post. That’s it. A simple “RIP Charlie Kirk” post. No caption. No politics. No agenda. Just acknowledging that someone had passed away, particularly around the part about being a husband, a father.

Not long after, I got a DM from a fellow Canberran tearing into me. They accused me of supporting school shootings, American gun culture, wars overseas and made mention of my faith as if it was the main determining factor.

All from a single “like”.

The messages felt long and heated. They took my action as a statement when it was never meant to be one.

I wasn’t endorsing anything. I wasn’t choosing sides. I was simply being human.

And yet, in that moment, it felt like my empathy had been weaponised against me.

Why It Hit Hard

I’ve had negative comments before, I actually laugh at them for the most part because they are directed at Canberra and sometimes are true, sometimes not. But this one (and some comments that I delete straight are away)

It was private.
It was personal.
And it assumed things about me that couldn’t be further from the truth.

For a split second, I thought about quitting. Because if even a “like” can get twisted into a political fight, what chance do any of us have?

Why I Didn’t Quit

I responded politely, however it escalated further, so I stopped. took a breath.

I reminded myself:

My intent was clear.
The majority of you know what I stand for.
And I don’t owe explanations to someone looking for a fight.
I’m just here to take photos of things I like, and make myself and (hopefully) others laugh at something they can relate to that’s in amongst the darkside of the algorithms.

So instead of giving up, I blocked the account and kept going. After all, we shouldn’t be controlled by a one or two negative comments.

What I Learnt

We’re living in a time where everything gets politicised. Even sympathy. Even grief. Which is WILD.

But you’re allowed to:

Show empathy without endorsing someone’s views.
Separate humanity from politics.
Keep creating, even when people misunderstand you.
Not be afraid to be your unique self.

For Other Creators

If you’re a Canberra creative whether you’re making coffee, painting murals, scootering, food vlogging, or posting reels you’ll know this feeling. Someone will take your work out of context.

Don’t let them silence you.
You don’t need everyone to get it. You just need the right people to see it.

Heck, don’t do it for others, go out and create because you have a creative brain that just wants to get content out into the world because you love the grind of it, the art, the getting out doors and disconnecting to make something with your own unique spin.

Still Here

So yeah, that DM nearly made me quit. But it didn’t.

Because creating still fuels me. Because one angry DM or someone disagreeing with my creative approach wont phase me.

I’m still here. Still posting. Still laughing. Still creating. Still boring little old me 

And I’m very thankful to everyone who’s joined along the ride and made some sort of a community within a community.

And for anyone else that wants to consider getting into creating content, I say just post it and have fun. Don’t do it for views or likes, do it because you have fun and enjoy it!

If this resonated, share it on your socials or send it to another creative who might need the reminder today.

This blog was written with the assistance of AI for grammar, creative and SEO purposes.

This One DM Nearly Made Me Quit (But I Didn’t)