Meghan McCain Speaks on Cyber-Bullying, Becomes a Target
Meghan McCain, daughter of former Presidential candidate John McCain, has always been outspoken, recently addressing the problem of Internet, or cyber, bullying. However, after a television appearance this weekend, McCain found herself the subject of an attack on Twitter.
"Last week, I went on Al Sharpton's MSNBC show 'PoliticsNation' to talk about extremism in the Republican Party," McCain wrote on The Daily Beast. "On the show, I told Sharpton that many Republicans treat me like a freak, especially the extreme-right members of my party. I went on to say that I don't understand the appeal of extreme bloggers such as Michelle Malkin and the late Andrew Breitbart."
Immediately after the interview aired, McCain's Twitter page lit up with comments from those who disagreed with her words.
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"I am a fat pig. I am ugly. I am disgusting. I am an embarrassment to my family, and they should be ashamed of me. I am an anti-American extremist. I should drink a bottle of alcohol and pills and kill myself," she described.
Those were just a few of the comments left on her page, and even McCain described the above comments as "watered-down." Even though McCain has grown up in the public spotlight, made even more intense by her father's presidential run in 2008, she explained the words still have a great impact on her.
"They hurt [and] rattle me; they (understandably) concern my mother, and they keep me up at night," she said. "The truth is that I don't know what to do. When people don't like my politics, I am happy to have a political discussion with them. But when they don't like my politics and call me fat and say I should die, what's left to say?"
Even though McCain suffered intense scrutiny after the TV appearance, many have rallied around and offered their support to the young woman.
"I just want to say thank you for being a woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind & heart, you are a true role model. I know your parents are proud of you," commented Daily Beast reader mdmomx5.
"If anything is 'un-American' it is that when we are stopped from expressing an opinion, and then mercilessly attacked, we know that is it," added annimargret.
"Thank you to everyone that has sent me such kind words," McCain tweeted. "I am not going to stop being a strong woman who speaks her mind. I just believe our culture and our country is facing a dangerous time when Internet bullying is not only accepted but encouraged. Things need to change."
