THIS AUTHOR MUST STAND UP! www.livmclean.com
- plowmanpublishing
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
AS A WRITER - Standing Firm Against Online Hate: Why “You Are You, I Am Me” Matters More Than Ever
Over the past two decades, I’ve devoted my professional life to writing and illustrating children’s literature that promotes compassion, empathy, and personal growth. Since my first publication in 2005, my mission has remained consistent: as a fiction author, I write about identities and relationships in a world that often demands conformity. I was first picked up by a Publishing company in the United States for two novels that had their run. They were written for adults; the first was a historical thriller, and the second was a psychological thriller. I still write under another pen name and continue to work on adult fiction; however, I have recently devoted a great deal of time and effort as an author and illustrator to creating children's books.
My thirteenth and most recent book, You Are You, I Am Me, is an extension of that mission. It is a story set in a classroom, where students are encouraged by their teacher to deliver short speeches celebrating their differences—whether related to culture, ability, appearance, or family. The goal of this book is to foster respectful dialogue around individuality, identity, and inclusion, with the added voice of a senior woman visiting the classroom to share her own lived experiences with age-related discrimination.
Unfortunately, despite the book’s intention to build bridges of understanding, it has become the target of inappropriate, hateful, and deeply troubling online comments. Within days of promoting the book on my author Facebook page—a space intended for educators, parents, and young readers—there was an eruption of bullying, racist, and ignorant messages that had no relevance to the content of the book, nor any place in a forum dedicated to children’s literature.
These responses were not grounded in critique or discussion; they were verbal attacks from individuals who appear to be fundamentally opposed to the values of inclusion, empathy, and diversity. To those trying to seek some twisted political identity from their bad behaviour, you will not be accepted or allowed near my writing! You will be deleted.
To all those individuals: your comments have been deleted, and they will continue to be removed. My platform will not serve as a stage for intolerance.
I have endured bullying in various forms throughout my life. However, never before have I witnessed such a coordinated backlash against a children’s book—particularly one with the modest goal of encouraging acceptance and celebrating difference. It is profoundly disheartening to see how quickly hate can spread when bigotry is disguised as opinion.
But I will not be silenced, and I will not allow this experience to diminish the value of this work. If anything, the intensity of the response only confirms the importance of You Are You, I Am Me. It affirms that we still have much work to do in teaching respect, empathy, and the fundamental dignity of every human being. It seems there is an entire group that was never taught the importance of accepting others for who they are.
To my fellow authors, educators, parents, and guardians: I know you share my desire to cultivate a generation that values understanding over judgment. Thank you for standing beside those of us who continue to use storytelling as a means of healing and social change.
Books like You Are You, I Am Me are not dangerous. What is dangerous is the suppression of dialogue, the dehumanization of difference, and the failure to challenge harmful narratives.
We must continue to teach our children—and remind ourselves—that being different is not only acceptable, it is essential to the richness of our world.
Respectfully,
Liv McLean
Author & Illustrator
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