‘Faceless Fascists Have Spoken’: Leading Maltese Author Faces Anonymous Online Hate Speech Attack
Leading Maltese author Lara Calleja has recently faced an online hate speech attack instigated by an anonymous Facebook profile.
The Facebook profile, Van Drattaxll, shared screenshots of Lara’s past posts on the ongoing abortion debate and black lives matter, calling her out for being vocal on the issues.
“Look at this ‘sweet girl’ always telling men to go f*** themselves while she licks black people’s a**. This is how hysterical women blinded by hatred, especially towards white men, are,” the anonymous profile wrote.
“This is how those that ‘love’ animals yet kill babies are. This is how those liberals that want migrants to keep on coming are.”
After the hateful post surfaced, Lara shared it herself, saying, “the faceless fascists have spoken” and continued to explain how she’s been told much worse words, and how she feels sorry for people that try to bring others down to feel better about themselves.
“I pity the people that act like machos and throw hate towards others just so they feel better about themselves,” she wrote.
Speaking with Lovin Malta, Lara explained that she immediately decided to not fall victim to these words – however, she plans to take action on them.
“I refuse to fall victim to these comments because they are coming from people who are sad and have low self-esteem and decide to project their ideas onto others,” Lara told Lovin Malta.
Upon deciding to file a police report, Lara was told by Malta’s police that this wouldn’t classify as a criminal case, with Lara telling the newsroom that she felt dismissed.
“The best thing to do in these situations is to not be a victim and to fight back with all means necessary. Even if the police are dismissive,” she said.
In the wake of the public hate speech, scores of people are currently expressing their solidarity for Lara, including Andrew Azzopardi, Andrea Dibben, and Immanuel Mifsud.
“I want to express my solidarity with my friend Lara after the verbal attack committed by a white Maltese man who hides his face and name for possibly stupid reasons. Fascism hurts me, in all possible forms and levels,” Mifsud wrote.
What do you make of the verbal attack?
READ NEXT: Sejjaħli B'Ismi: New Touring Exhibition Explores The Migrant's Identity Beyond Labels
