Haters gonna hate. But disagreement is not the same thing!

Hate? Trolling? Or real attempt at conversation? I think it's too easy to dismiss all inklings of disagreement as "hate" in the online dog community.

The other day I saw a Twitter video of a young toddler climbing atop of his family dog. When I clicked the replies, I noticed something that made me cringe.

Even polite comments were dismissed as “hate”

Several kind folks had chimed in that while the clip was cute on the surface—the boy clearly loved his dog, and we’re all about children growing up with animal companions!—there are healthier ways for kids to interact with pets. The golden retriever showed clear signs of discomfort. It’s an owner’s job to pay attention to that body language.

Most of these replies felt perfectly reasonable to me. Balanced, free from intentionally antagonistic language or name calling, raising a relevant point. But no matter how maturely the sentiments were phrased? Scores of commenters quickly dismissed any concerns. People wrote back things like “haters gonna hate” and “stop trolling” and “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

I have a very low tolerance for actual harassment…