Zelda Williams Returns to Twitter

In the midst of the devastation that Robin Williams' death caused the world, something almost as devastating was occurring. At the very least, it was disgusting. Although many people sent Williams' family their support and condolences in these trying times, his daughter Zelda Williams was run off Twitter by trolls who were harassing her over her father's death. I repeat: People were actually harassing her over her father's death. As sympathetic as we were to Zelda needing time away from the Internet, the reason that she needed it was disappointing and horrifying to think about. Now Zelda has returned to Twitter with an anti-bullying message that the world clearly needs to hear and her strength is inspiring.

Admittedly, her first tweet since she quit Twitter was only a single word "Thanks". However, this came along with a link to her Tumblr in which she had posted a quote from Harvey Fierstein that explains her decision to return to the Internet and meet the trolls and haters head on. "Never be bullied into silence," the quote read. "Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

It seems that Zelda has decided that when she allowed the trolls to drive her from Twitter or Instagram, she was giving them power over her that they don't deserve. The fact that she's taking that power back now, and serving as a role model to people who have also been hurt by cyberbullies, is incredibly admirable.

Basically since the Internet became a thing, people have been using the cloak of anonymity to say whatever they want to people that they wouldn't dare say face-to-face or if there was any way for them to be found. Making fun of Williams' death and harassing his daughter is on the extreme end of that verbal freedom scale, but apparently there's just no limit on how cruel some people can be. With her simple tweet, Zelda showed that she was no longer willing to bow to people like that and that's a good thing for her.

It's redundant to say that Zelda, and the rest of Williams' family, is going through a hard time right now. Somehow, in the midst of grieving for her father, Zelda managed to find the inner strength to stand up for herself and for anyone else who has ever been bullied. But then, what else should we have expected from the child of a man who inspired so many lives and touched so many people?