Before we show you what happened over the weekend, we want to let our readers know that the message we want to convey with this story is:
DO NOT BLOG ON GOODREADS!
If you’re a Goodreads author, DO NOT create a blog on Goodreads or create a blog feed from your own personal website into your Goodreads author profile.
Why?
Keep reading.
Just recently, another Goodreads author became disgusted with some of the hateful reviews that litter the website so thoroughly. In fact, she became so disgusted, she left her thoughts on some of them, thinking she had every right to speak her mind.
Sigh.
If only she had come to us first.
So… what happened?
Can you guess?
Yes, of course, she was attacked and then her books were attacked with derogatory shelving and carpet bombs:
We’ve also discovered the trolls’ new way of getting around GR’s new anti-bullying policy that forbids author bashing: the dreaded “see-private-notes” shelf:
So… what did this author do?
She decided to write a Goodreads blog post about her experience:
And of course, as you all would expect, the trolls swarmed in on this, too, puffed up with their condescending, sanctimonious hypocrisy, preaching, “Do as we say, not as we do.”
Yes, please, by all means, if any of you use Khanh’s name, please don’t get it confused with Khan Noonien Singh, the iconic Star Trek character played so brilliantly by Ricardo Montalban and Benedict Cumberbatch. Getting her name confused like this is not only an insult to the character, but also to the very fine actors who portray him.
To add insult to injury, not only did the bullies attack her here, too, they reported the post and got it removed. Now if you , you get this:
Now, do you see why we say very loudly and clearly, DO NOT BLOG ON GOODREADS?
This is why.
On STGRB we don’t consider mean-spirited reviews to technically be bully reviews (although we’ve seen some that skirt the edge rather closely). Our definition of a bully review is one that personally attacks the author and/or is created specifically as a revenge review to hurt the author’s sales. BUT! We do believe that authors have the right to state their opinions and critique reviews. We believe that anything that is published is open for public critique, be it a book, an article, a blog post, a review, etc. We don’t believe that anyone should be silenced, attacked, or harassed for stating their opinion and we’ve seen several other authors who were attacked for doing just this. Nathan Bransford for one, who was attacked on his OWN BLOG (and then later attacked on Twitter by Jane Litte) for saying much the same thing that this author did, only he was criticizing reviews left by Stephanie Sinclair and her friends, not Khanh.
Oh, btw, if trolls come to your blog or FB page or other social media to harass you, don’t engage them. Just record, report, delete, and block. It’s the best way to deal with them.
Anyhow, this is why we recommend that authors steer clear of blogging on Goodreads. You are not allowed to speak your mind there and if you do, you will be subject to this kind of harassment as well as the fake one-star ratings, derogatory shelving, and harassment on your other social media. You will also have your posts removed by GR staff and in cases of repeat “offense” (“offense” meaning the crime of speaking your mind), they will ban you from the website. On GR, authors are still not allowed to have a voice about these things. We think GR has come a long way in the fight against bullying and we’ve agreed with several of their recent policies, but this most definitely isn’t one of them. Goodreads is still silencing authors and that needs to change.
« A Notice From Your STGRB Administrator A Message from a Bullied Author »
That’s what caused a friend of mine to be targeted — she merely expressed her opinion on a blog post. This is what got her named a “badly behaving author” and all her books shelved on insulting shelves. She simply disagreed with someone politely, stating her opinion about the attack dog reviews.
These people are LOOKING FOR victims to target. They WANT to do this.
Precisely.
This is why we need to reach out to these authors and guide them to STGRB. These attacks will eventually end. Then just maybe, Goodreads can finally gain the respect it lost thanks to situations like these. Reviews are not the problem, the people who think they have a right to dictate who reviews, who comments and who can speak their disapproval of things THEY find inappropriate, are the problem.
“Do what I say, not what I do” indeed! I will do as I please thank you very much. The difference is I believe in the “R” word, RESPECT! (Whatever Angela– you are barking up the wrong tree)
How funny; I recognize quite a few of those names from when I was bullied on GR. Guess they really don’t have much going on in their lives, or perhaps they miss high school and need to reinvent the “reviewers” form of Mean Girls. Good luck in life, ladies, because if your behavior is any indicator, your existence must be miserable!
These people disgust me. They harp about free speech, but so long as only *they* have the freedom to say whatever vile things they want. Authors to them are punching bags, and yes, they do go out of their way to target them. And those little “authors” in the gang–you’re the most disgusting of the bunch. The only reason you run with these dogs is because you think it will help your career. You’re wrong. Good writing and business sense helps your career, not attacking other authors.
These attacks will never end, not so long as GR allows this gang to keep wreaking havoc on their website.
Authors need to stay the hell away from goodreads, period. Only when GR loses $$$$ in author ads, this crap will stop. It’s time authors start boycotting the site.
After spending some time on there, it seems there aren’t many “readers” as opposed to authors and wannabe reviewers. Hence the reason I no longer participate in ANYTHING on that site!
I like Mahala’s threat: “One last thing, if you have tried to game the system by TRADING REVIEWS (emphasis mine) …. it will be found out and posted- everywhere.”
Is she aware that her good friend, author Pete Morin, has traded reviews? https://stopthegrbullies.com/2013/05/19/pete-m-review-swapping/
To clarify: he is her friend on Goodreads.
And that’s why it’s okay for him to do it.
Hence their condescending, sanctimonious hypocrisy. They don’t care about the principles they pretend to uphold. They just want targets against which they can spew their hatred.
These people have to “win” all the time on the internet, because they cannot “win” at anything IRL. Every one of them must lead very sad, pitiful lives.
Give me a break. Really? … “it will be found out and posted- everywhere.” Statements like that about sums up the mentality this author is dealing with. Lets look at the big picture shall we, 1. Who gives a flying F___ what you do… given the threat above, that was made public … by the “threat maker”, how many people do you think will obviously see the deliberate intent to harm this authors career?
2. Who gives a flying F___ about what you have to say anyway. Honestly, in reality, you occupy a miniscule part of the internet. How many people are you seriously going to reach? How many people even know you exist at all?
Finally, 3. Who gives a F___ Period!
Here is a quote I have in my journal that I have referred to time and again,
When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
To every author, reader, reviewer and anyone else that has been threatened and bullied like the one in this post, Keep moving ahead. Don’t be afraid of the little bumps in the road. You will make mistakes on the way, and there will be those who will try to lift themselves up by pushing you down. Just get back up. Make your mark in this world and be whoever you want to be. Your life is your own so live it the best way you know how, be better than these bullies.
Sorry Athena I’m not usually so worked up, but I’m sick of seeing people pushed around. Hope this post is not out of line.
I bet she feels so powerful being all threatening like that. I mean, really Mahala, where does all that anger come from? Why aren’t you bashing your friend Pete? Oh, that’s right–he’s in the gang, isn’t he? Part of your little internet posse, hell-bent on destroying any author who doesn’t tow your line, right? Normal readers and authors can see right through you and there’s nary a one of us who has to listen to your bullcrap.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Mahala (who goes by the moniker of Spare Ammo on Booklikes) is also good friends with Gavin Hetherington. He’s the one that got kicked off Goodreads for having more than 20 sock puppets, in case anyone’s forgotten. She even helped him rewrite his pitch for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (see 4th comment here:)
I guess she only hates BBAs when they’re not kissing her a**.
How do you know he got kicked off for that? Did STGRBs post that? So far, to do with Gavin in this case, I don’t see any BBA activity. Just friends with all the wrong people and needs rid fast!
Having said that, you are right about Mahala being a hypocrite.
Shelby mentioned it when she had her mega-meltdown, that he’d asked her to keep it quiet so that STGRB wouldn’t gloat. It’s in one of the masses of screenshots somewhere.
I saw the whole meltdown myself. I remember seeing Gavin say he didn’t want this site to know he’d been kicked off Goodreads but there was never a reason for it. Could have been for anything, who knows what he’s been doing to anger the admins of Goodreads.
It’s just you said he got kicked off for that reason like it’s been proved, but it might not be true and it would be a shame for things to spiral out of control again like when you said Gavin was a thief from the article you found and it turned out to be untrue. Just be careful what you post otherwise you could actually hurt someone and the new rules of STGRBs wants some order in the comments so just respect their rules please. Only say things if they are known to be true.
Obvs, thank you for the concern. I have to add that no member of STGRB said Gavin was the thief. We said he could be and waited until we had proof either way. As for him getting kicked from Goodreads, it could be that it was because of his sock puppets, but it also seems that it could have been the whole meltdown with Shelby. I seem to recall reading that he freaked out when Shelby got angry and started messaging and leaving comments trying to prove his innocence. When the messages and comments were reported to GR, GR saw it as harassment of a reviewer by an author and deleted him. This could very well be the case seeing as how GR isn’t too fond of giving authors the same rights as reviewers. Which is something that we think GR should change.
Thanks for the clarification Johnny! I just didn’t want the site to be viewed as a one that spreads lies like the GR bullies. I’d rather we know all the facts before we name and shame. That’s what makes this site better than them, because we don’t attack, we just report the facts. I’ll keep looking out for this site because every day I see it improving with more people coming here and supporting you.
LOL, or don’t get Khanh’s name mixed up with that of Genghis Khan, whom I’m sure she much-identifies with (seeing as they’re both such soulless sociopaths).
It’s really curious to me to see such author hatred on Goodreads. It makes me wonder about the sociological phenomenon behind it. My guess is that this extreme author hatred comes from a few sources: 1.) jealousy. I bet if a poll was done, these bullies (Mahala, One-Star Tracy, Ridley, Angela Horned Monster, Hairy Shoshanna, etc.) have pathetic, failed lives. 2.) gang mentality: the lowest common denominator when it comes to intellect. 3.) the sense of a bit of power in their pathetic lives. I.e. authors have historically been admired for their craft, even untalented ones. To be an author is hard work. Most people admire writers. So these small-minded bullies get off on tearing someone down. Oldest story in the book (no pun intended). 4.) The “American Idol” culture where puny minds confuse intelligent criticism with Simon-Cowell abuse. No, tearing someone down just because you can is not cute. No, “snarkiness” isn’t cute. Such nastiness is nothing but hate dressed up.
In short, this extreme author hatred is clearly fueled by the shortcomings in these bullies’ lives. It’s pretty obvious if you do a little digging. Practically every single one I’ve researched is a huge loser in real life. It reminds me of that Santa Barbara killer. He was a loser in the most extreme sense of the word. And how did he get his power? By taking his hatred to an extreme level. These Goodreads bullies are on the same spectrum. It all comes from the same place. There’s no underestimating the obvious mental illness of many of these people.
Cowardliness + loser + mental illness + internet anonymity = a Goodreads troll.
lol they always say it’s never about “jealousy” when everyone knows it is!
Getting a bit personal there, no? I totally agree that these actions are … APPALLING.
But calling them losers and talking about how they live their real-world lives is also bullying. There’s too much hatred in your own post.
Good point, David. Thanks for the reminder. Let’s keep it civil, everyone.
Too bad they haven’t been staying on Booklikes. I guess they weren’t getting enough attention over there. The only way GR will enforce their rules is if another ‘Lauren Pippa fiasco’ occurs.
Fact of the matter is, most of them are bloggers desperate for exposure, and Booklikes simply does not provide that. Goodreads does. If you get to be a high-ranking reviewer on Goodreads, publishers and authors start sending you ARCs, you get pre-approved on Netgalley more, and tour organizers want you on their tours. This is why it’s bullshit that they call themselves ‘readers.’ They are amateur reviewers desperate to turn pro and cash in.
Yep. This is very true.
This is disgusting. I don’t understand how readers can be so anti-author. It would be like a milk-lover being anti-cow.
Goodreads is a sick place.
I am assuming the complaint is the tone of the emails and the “threat.”
But authors really do need to get over this idea that reviews are supposed to be written for their benefit. It’s just nonsense, and it’s so uninformed and naive that it makes them look completely foolish. And silly notions like this only open them up to scathing criticism, the same way silly protagonists will be criticized. It’s inevitable — until they stop making this ridiculous claim.
Did you read what the author said? She said, “The intent should be to give constructive feedback that benefits both READERS and authors.” Her point was that Khanh’s reviews don’t benefit anyone. Not even other readers. They are just downright nasty. Yet for some reason, all the bullies seem to focus on is that she said “authors”. I’m not insinuating that you’re a bully. Just that they seem to do this often. They seem to have missed that she said that reviews are for readers. Why is that? Why is it that the bullies always have this selective misunderstanding of authors’ words?
I did notice that, and I rejected it. Why? Because she said “authors.” Reviews are not for readers and authors, they are for readers and anyone else who happens to like reading them. This is why it really doesn’t matter if the review is “just downright nasty” — if people want to read that, then certainly someone is entitled to provide it for them. Personally, I don’t like reading these types of reviews much myself. Usually they’re way too damn long and detailed. Like I care. If it’s that bad, just tell me quickly and I can move on. But you know what my solution is? I don’t read them. Just as authors may seek an audience for whatever they choose to write, so reviewers can do the same thing.
The problem with this argument is that authors ARE readers. In this author’s case, she was reading reviews of other authors’ books. NOT her own. She made a comment that the reviews were offensive. She stated her opinion. A right she is entitled to. And what happened? She was stalked, harassed, and bullied for having an opinion just because she’s an author. Not cool.
I agree with you. I don’t particularly like reading those types of reviews either. In my opinion, they are a waste of time and very unhelpful. But if I was an author and I made a comment on a review of someone else’s book, I would be infuriated if I was treated the same way as this author was.
As for whether or not reviews are for authors or readers or both, that is a subject of debate and opinion. STGRB leans toward reviews being for readers, but there are people who think that they’re for both readers and authors. The point is, no one should be attacked like this author was for stating her opinion. Period. And the fact that the bullies think they have a right to say whatever they want and others don’t is pure hypocrisy.
We agree that no one deserves undue ridicule or maltreatment.
But I’m surprised there is a “debate” about who reviews are for. They’re for anyone who wants to read them. These people are mostly readers, of course. Yes, any given reviewer may choose to review in such a way that it is helpful for the author. (For myself, I would avoid those reviews like the plague. But that’s just me.) But that’s the point. Any given reviewer can review for whatever reason and for whatever audience they choose (that doesn’t violate our point of agreement). In other words, the field is as wide open as literature, of which reviews (in the broad sense) are a part. There is no rule here, no basis for debate.
Each reader decides for him- or herself the types of reviews he or she likes to read — just as he or she decides the sort of books to read or, for that matter, to write.
Everyone knows that many, many people who read a particular review don’t have any interest in that specific book; rather, they enjoy the style of the author. That style may be offensive to some, while others will enjoy it immensely. That’s life in the big city.
That said, I certainly have my own ideas about what constitutes a good review. I will even advocate it at times. But if others don’t follow my sage advice, well, then, I either suck it up or stop reading their reviews.
Provided no site rules are broken, it’s really as simple as that. That’s the way *I* “lean,” at any rate.
Yes, incredibly, there are people debating about this — exactly who reviews are for, author or readers or both. The point doesn’t make sense really if you consider that authors are readers, too. That’s usually how they become authors, by being readers first. But there are a couple of fine points here. Are reviews only for readers? Are reviews for authors, too, meaning are they there to be constructive for the author who wrote the book? That’s up to each person to decide. STGRB leans toward only for readers, and those readers may or may not be authors themselves.
A reviewer can review a book the way he or she chooses, but if that review is so offensive to others that it either breaks the rules of the host site or offends someone in some way, that person reading the review has a right to state their opinion on it and/or report it. The bullies seem to think they are above this, that their reviews and opinions are not subject to public scrutiny.
Another problem is that this laissez-faire attitude toward reviews became so widely accepted, that reviews were used, not to review a book, but to direct hatred toward the author of the book and at one point, that was considered a “book” review on GR. That is, until an author received rape and death threats and GR was forced to institute their new anti-bullying policy last September.
I support this author because she expressed her opinion on *her* blog. She didn’t go over to the reviewer’s space and leave hateful comments, like they did, plus nasty threats and false one star ratings. The bullies think it’s perfectly fine to have their own author-bashing blogs and they stalk GR and Amazon just looking for things like this so they can move in to attack. Authors have every right to express a personal opinion on their personal blogs and do not deserve to be attacked because of it.
I agree.
Also, let me ask you guys a question: does a doctor take medical advice from his patients?
Does a car repairman ask his customers how to fix a car?
Why is it that author behavior, attitude, and thoughts are controlled by readers? It’s seriously annoying. We’ve gone far past the point where this makes any sense to me.
Authors should be the ones who determine how authors need to behave or what they can or can’t say, not readers.
I hate the term “BBA” for that very reason.
If the person actually purchased the book and hated it, they have a right to their opinion. Whether it was horrible or wonderful, they have that right to post it, and yes it’s going to hurt an author’s feelings, but… so what. It happens, get over it. What is NOT RIGHT is for people to create a review specifically for hurting book sales, and unfortunately, that’s what a lot of these trolls do as many of them are failing authors or just sad, bored, a-holes who have limited control in their own life and want to try and control someone else’s. That is the real problem and until it’s addressed by GR, authors shouldn’t have to “get over it”. These are people intentionally trying to hurt an author’s book sales because they don’t like the writer, or their friends, or something that was said on the internet. It’s ridiculous.
I understand what you’re trying to say, Brian, and I agree. Authors sometimes open themselves up for mockery when they imply reviews could – or should – benefit authors. It’s a silly notion, but still doesn’t give bullies the right to trash authors. Like you, I see the issue from both sides.
Yes, exactly. But they can and will trash that opinion. So, though it’s just one piece of the problem, authors should stop promoting it.
Perhaps STGRB should add that to their advice for authors. If they can stop “debating” who reviews are for…. : -)
STGRB will state what we think on the matter and let others decide for themselves how they view it. The reason is because it’s not really as simple you think. We’ve spoken to authors who bring up some good points about reviews. One author we know uses reader reviews for audience analysis, that is, to see which audience likes what best and then how to cater to that audience. Or to see if she is marketing the book correctly. If the wrong audience is reading her book, she can change marketing strategies. This approach is perfectly legit as long as the author distances her emotions from the reviews, which she does. We also have had discussion with authors who’ve corrected a reviewer when they got the facts wrong in the review and we also think this is legitimate as long as the author is polite about it. Misleading facts in a review can result in future readers misunderstanding the story altogether and in this case, it’s probably best to correct that. For the most part, though, we recommend authors stay away from reviews if they can’t put their egos on the shelf. We will be giving an example on our blog very soon of the worst thing an author can do when it comes to reviews.
I look forward to that.
Just one point, though. It makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to reviewers (nor should it) how authors choose to use their reviews. That is the author’s business, not the reviewer’s. You can’t say that because authors want to use reviews in a particular way that reviewers have to conform to that model. Reviewers do not work for them, which is the self-centered and frankly offensive idea that this approach takes for granted. Authors have no say in the matter. So I beg to differ: on this point anyway, it really *is* that simple.
I don’t think we’re disagreeing on this point. This particular author uses the reviews for audience analysis without the reviewers knowledge. She doesn’t expect them to conform to her at all. The whole reason she does it is to analyze them and find out the best approach to writing books.
I know that my comments on this blog are of interest to the BBA Whisperer crowd. In fact they stalk this blog like bears to honey. So they “try” to make some point that they are the ones being victimized. It’s frivolous at best. Go ahead post my comments, hell post every single comment on this site. Dissect it, read into it and by all means create your own opinions and conspiracy theories. Feel free to revel in your beliefs.
That’s what you need to tell yourself. Do it. I take back nothing because what is said is said and what is done is done. As for the situation mentioned in this post, the author was attacked by a few self serving people, not readers or reviewers of her books on her own blog page. That is not okay. I will support her and STGRB always. That is how I feel period and nothing will ever convince me otherwise. That sums up my true feelings. Do with it whatever you like. After all it’s your battle not mine. Moving past now.
In my opinion, there is no safe place on the internet for authors to talk about their feelings as authors. In the Amazon Forums there is certainly no safe place. Abusers patrol the “Meet Our Authors” Forum as well as the “Top Reviewers Forum.” They’re always searching for authors to target and vilify. I am optimistic that in time Amazon will realize how these bullies seek to mislead honest customers. STGRB’ list of Amazon Flora Trolls is a valuable asset for authors. Be aware, be very aware.
Hi Anne, we have actually found one safe place for authors to speak their minds. I’m sure Athena can tell you more about it in private.
It’s so cool that Anne Rice has been commenting on here lately. Just had to mention that.
😀
I support STGRB. I am glad they are here.
hehe, good for you, Ms. Rice! You and stgrb are doing amazing things. 😀
The reason the trolls comments are so shocking is because of their lack of respect. Society as a norm, teaches respect. We create art and have confidence it is our best. We have respect towards reviewers and readers. So when someone comes along who has no confidence and chooses to try and build up their self esteem by lack of respect to others, we are taken back.
I know that someone will not like my work. How they choose to express that is up to them. If they are respectful, I’m respectful. If not, I realize there are issues to deep for me to ever fix in that person, they must do it themselves, and I leave them to it. I don’t allow it to affect me. If there is a comment on my work that I can use, I definitely heed it. Otherwise, I just label it as opinion and move on.
STGRB has consistently given the names of those who need to be avoided and I appreciate that. I agree that GR has been corrupted and consistently is ineffectual in their attempts to change the infestation that has occurred there. My mom used to say, “Birds of a feather, flock together,” and no where is it more evident than on GR. I feel for those who allow this to affect them as authors, but only we can control our thoughts, emotions and reactions.
I know it has been said many times, and it is hard to practice, but really, don’t feed the trolls. You are only enabling their addiction.
We aren’t feeding the trolls. We’re giving //attention// to the actual problem, and if everyone kept silent about it (like authors did for many years – this shit is not a new thing) things would get worse (which is what happened when authors kept silent before STGRB came into the picture). If nothing else, GR began to enforce their TOS last year because of the trolls and the Laura P. incident, again partly in thanks to stgrb. Readers were starting to realize there are trolls on certain book sites. Trolls who make it harder for REAL readers to find books, because the ratings are messed up and it’s tough to tell which books actually suck and which have merely been trashed for the hell of it. See what I’m saying? Real Readers are getting sick of it too.
The squeaky wheel gets the attention. Silence makes the issue far worse, which has already been proven beyond any doubt.
Silence. does. not. work. You cannot ignore a problem and expect it to go away, this isn’t how life works. I’ve known people who’ve been cyber-stalked for literally YEARS and nothing’s going to change it except speaking out about it, letting others know, warning people (like stgrb does) and at some point, the bully’s reputation will be ruined, as it should be, he/she will be shamed, alienated and will stop bullying, or get arrested at some point. Laws are changing; just not fast enough.
And some of the bullies HAVE stopped engaging in drama. So this IS working.
It’s not “feeding the trolls”, it’s not that simple. It’s bringing attention to this problem so it can be rectified at some point. Problems do not go away just ’cause you ignore them. Everyone should know that. Really the whole “don’t feed them” thing reminds me of elementary school when teachers and parents told you to ignore the bullies, which didn’t work back then either. Just sayin’. [back then, what worked was a nice pop to the mouth]
This is true. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away and the approach STGRB and many others have taken in speaking out about it has worked. Unfortunately, there are, however, those trolls who constantly harass and bully others because they want attention. They thrive on attention. To give you an example, there are trolls who are considered to be the armpit of the troll population. The ones that even the regular bullies don’t associate with because it would be too embarrassing. Although many of our readers know exactly who we’re talking about, we won’t name any names. Many of these people have been called out on our blog and yet, they seem to be proud of it, so they try harder and do more outrageous things. Getting attention on STGRB and elsewhere is their goal. They thrive on it. So, in their case, the term “don’t feed the troll” applies. It all depends on what kind of trolls you’re dealing with.
Ah, the wonderful hitch to the written word. Sorry Anon101, I hear you and understand exactly what you are saying. Let me clarify by what I meant about ‘don’t feed the trolls’. I’m talking about not responding to a definite troll review on a book.
I agree, once the stalking begins, to fight back makes sense. STGRB was created for that reason if I’m correct. I’m only talking about responding to a negative review. I have personally seen authors get attacked simply for voting, or blogging, or who they are friends with or even just going about their business and for some reason they attract the trolls and start getting harassed. I agree fighting back then is necessary.
But I feel you should not respond to a negative review. It just gives them ammunition against you. No matter what you say, they twist it.
Hope that clears up what I was talking about. I appreciate your views and opinion.
Standing up against the bully is always needed because there are too many people that are unable to do it for themselves. Those are they who are afraid of the constant harassment, so hide in the corners or actually believe the vitriol these individuals spew. But STGRBs site is here to educate, and direct to help, and give comfort.
To paraphrase Emma P., if the need to feel important is derived by pulling others down, go wallow in your cold comfort while the injured, once helped, will be in the army, moving past the dunghill without further notice.