Quote:
Originally Posted by Russic
I think what's complicated about this issue is that in order to solve it, you probably have to take a few steps back and explore other difficult societal problems. Yes, everybody who has a son needs to be addressing what's happening on the internet and how toxic it can be. But that's just addressing it at the base level.
These are not the types of actions that you see out of well adjusted, respectful people. I simply do not believe once the lights are off a balanced person starts making rape jokes. We need to learn from reformed trolls about what made them tick. Once you do that, we get into all sorts of bumpy territory linked to mental illness, abuse, and a host of other problems.
I think it pays to look at what other countries and groups have done to solve those types of problems and ask ourselves how we can implement them. I would be nightmarishly difficult, but truthfully I don't see an easier option.
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I tend to view these types of behaviours from two points of view. One is like you said, whether it is mental illness, abuse etc. These aren't likely to be balanced people in a lot of cases.
On the other hand, I also wonder about how normal people tend to make over the top attention seeking remarks. I've seen some heinous posts on CP and a lot of times I think a person's mindset, temporary loss of self control and desire for attention and to be heard can drown out the part of their brain that knows these types of comments are wrong.
As a society we are so obsessed with hyperbole in every sense of the word. Every movie is the best ever, every player the greatest of all time, every journalist isn't just "meh" they are "the worst POS to ever live". Why are we obsessed with this? I don't know. Information overload? Lack of self identity? When you are one of a bazillion twitter users the only way anyone will pay attention to you is by being over the top. And what is the best way to get the attention of a non-male or non-white person or non-straight person etc? To use their their non-maleness and non-whiteness as an insult.
Sometimes I wonder if it isn't that we have hoards of racist dbags who would lynch every woman, racial minority and LGBT person at the drop of a hat, but instead that these usually 18-35 white males have no sense of consequence of their actions and are simply using whatever means possible to express what should be a fairly mundane opinion. It gets them attention, even if it is the wrong kind.