HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Hundreds of horrible, hateful comments were posted online as a Gloucester family struggled with the loss of a mother of eight.
When Brian Bayford’s wife, Dorothy was in the hospital with COVID, he turned to social media to update loved ones because he was overwhelmed with trying to keep people informed.
He got people from around the world following him and offering support.
Most of the comments were supportive but some were downright despicable.
Information about the family was even posted on a hateful anti-vaccine website with hundreds of terrible comments.
“The attacks were unbelievable and exceptionally hateful,” said Brian Bayford.
Comments like, “Why not just kill yourself? Demented weirdos” -- “No sympathy for her at all” – and “She’s still dead”.
Many are too vulgar to share.
He said it appeared some of the comments were coming from organizations as it was hard to track the individual people making the comments.
“We were just getting a lot of messages. ‘Oh, Dorothy is an anti-vaxxer. I hope she dies.’ The hate was unbelievable.”
Last year Dorothy was hospitalized for weeks with COVID, put on a ventilator then tragically passed away.
“My heart was already ripped out at the time, but my kids were amazing,” said Brian Bayford.
Brian said his adult daughters worked to protect him by deleting negative comments and shielding him from hateful websites.
Jazzmine Bayford said the online bullies came after her whole family.
“When did it become okay to bash people and their families because they did something different than you? When did it become okay to say you wish people would die because they didn't agree with your side? It's insane,” said Jazzmine Bayford.
Licensed psychotherapist Dr. Sarah Williams owns Covenant Way Wellness. She said negative comments online can be very damaging.
“That is extremely detrimental, particularly to the individuals that have experienced grief and loss,” said Dr. Williams.
She said the mystery surrounding COVID sparked extreme emotions along with political division.
“There was so much confusion and misinformation that it creates a breeding ground for bullying to occur,” said Dr. Williams.
She said bullies usually have unresolved childhood trauma or mental health issues. She said many of the people doing it online are very passive in person and feel this is a way to let out aggression.
“A cyberbully is someone that is lacking in power, lacking emotional intelligence, and it needs to have an opportunity to sit with a professional and really get to the bottom line as to why they feel the need to bully others,” said Dr. Williams.
For the Bayford family, they say the tragedy of losing their beloved mother has brought them closer and they encourage everyone to show love not division toward either other no matter how you feel about COVID, masks, or vaccines.
Brian Bayford said people need to love each other regardless of the choices they make or the differences they have. He said there is no reason to be hateful.
Click here for a link to resources for adults for cyberbullying.
