It’s been over a year since August Ames passed away, and what have we really learned. A new podcast from Audible “The Last Days of August” with host Mark Ronson looks into what happened, and interviews many people, including her husband Kevin Moore, Jessica Drake, and Axel Braun. One of the interviews that stands out is Jaxton Wheeler. He bullied her and is “not sorry” and says he “would do it again”. The takeaway from the almost four-hour piece is that August would have killed herself anyway, because she, like many in the adult industry, had mental problems. While that might be so, anyone can be pushed over the edge by bullying, no matter what their level of sanity.
Keyboard warriors believe they can say anything they want, because they have a level of anonymity by being behind their computers and not directly up in your face. If you bully someone online, you should be held accountable. The level of bullying continues to rise on all social media platforms, and it’s very obvious many have learned nothing from August’s death and those who died before and after her due to cyberbullying. And, that is sad.
Brenna Sparks is an adult performer and a cryptocurrency aficionado, as well as being one of our clients. She recently made the Top 10 list of influencers for CoinDesk. That is a huge honor and Brenna is the first adult performer to make that list. CoinDesk came to Vegas to film her. Once it was posted, she received a barrage of hate for being a sex worker on both Twitter and Instagram. Brenna ended up staying off social media for over 48 hours and marking her accounts private—the pain and bullying she went through was incomprehensible and unwarranted. The bullies believed she had no right to be on that list, but in reality they were just jealous and haters.
While it may seem like fun to jump on the bandwagon and harass people, it is a horrible thing to do. I have personally experienced online bullying and know what it’s like. Too many people have harmed themselves or worse from online bullying. Think before you type/post. You never know what other people are going through in their lives and the one thing you might say/post could literally be the nail in their coffin. The old adage “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it all” prevails. Seriously. No need to spread /inflict hate on others. Just keep it to yourself. Or better yet, do the opposite and say something nice.