I woke up today missing one of my book community friends who "didn't make it." He's alive. But his booktube (and probably author) prospects got crushed by a Twitter mob. I've seen a few fall off since I started here two years ago. It's always the same pattern: 1. Person says something mild that people don't like. 2. Mob crushes said person with borderline (or flat-out) abusive comments, quote posts, and bad-mouthing both public and private (author clique discords, etc.). 3. Person caves and disappears, OR 4. Person gets fed up, lashes out in desperation, and gets mobbed even worse. 5. Step 3 and 4 repeat on loop. The worst part is seeing these people celebrate when they "win." They actually think they have the moral high ground. You don't. Not by a long shot. And I for one will never forget. To everyone else: Be better than this. If we're going to call this a fellowship, a community, or whatever... Be better. Be kind. Be patient. And recognize when to step back. Give grace when someone is standing on the edge of a cliff so they have room to step away. Don't push them off and call it justice. It isn't, and "just" or "good" are the farthest words I'd use for what happened. -- A note from a guy who misses his friends (plural).