It's like if somebody in your town was like "Look, we're going to hold a hate rally against you a few blocks away, but if you don't like it, just don't come by, okay?"
Exactly. I think maybe a trained Buddhist monk would be able to ignore something like that but the rest of us...not so much.
on the 'net people will jump in right away.
There have always been, and will always be people who just love being part of a mob. All it takes is a few ringleaders to get things going and they'll pile on. The big difference with the internet is that you can be part of a mob without anyone knowing who you are. So once things cool down (assuming they do), you never have to face the person you attacked, or their friends or anyone who might have criticized the mob. You never have explain your actions or take any sort of responsibility for anything you might have said or done. And you can act like it was all no big deal because, hey, it's just harmless internet fun.
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Date: 2008-02-16 03:40 am (UTC)Exactly. I think maybe a trained Buddhist monk would be able to ignore something like that but the rest of us...not so much.
on the 'net people will jump in right away.
There have always been, and will always be people who just love being part of a mob. All it takes is a few ringleaders to get things going and they'll pile on. The big difference with the internet is that you can be part of a mob without anyone knowing who you are. So once things cool down (assuming they do), you never have to face the person you attacked, or their friends or anyone who might have criticized the mob. You never have explain your actions or take any sort of responsibility for anything you might have said or done. And you can act like it was all no big deal because, hey, it's just harmless internet fun.