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I've been thinking a lot lately about the Internet, and about how easy it is to post anonymously, and how much hate/discontent/hurt can be done that way. I've been trying to wrap my brain around the type of person who becomes a "troll" - be it here on LJ or elsewhere on message boards, etc. In part, this is because of some trollish comments I've seen on several friends' journals, but not completely. It's also partly because of the Megan Meier case, which horrified me on a whole other level.
I guess it comes down to the fact that I was raised to take responsibility for my words and actions. I don't think I've ever consciously commented anonymously on something - if I say it, then I've said it, dammit, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Responsibility - I feel like it's a four-letter-word.
I dunno. Did we lose it somewhere? Did we decide that we'd rather snipe at each other from the shadows, cutting each other to shreds in the dark and then putting on a false smile and stepping into the light? It just seems so...junior-highish.
And there are consequences. There are always consequences, even if you think no one can find out who you are, because your words are out there. They hurt. They cut.
They can kill.
Words can kill. Words written on a screen, signed by no one, can kill as surely as a knife to the heart. I'm all for using the power of words, but those who wield them need to do so responsibly.
Damn, there's that word again.
I'm not sure what the cure is, other than the world spontaneously getting hit by the clue-by-four and growing up. The one thing, the only thing, that I can ask is that people THINK before typing something.
Well, two things. Sign your damn name too. Don't be a coward. Own your words.
I guess it comes down to the fact that I was raised to take responsibility for my words and actions. I don't think I've ever consciously commented anonymously on something - if I say it, then I've said it, dammit, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Responsibility - I feel like it's a four-letter-word.
I dunno. Did we lose it somewhere? Did we decide that we'd rather snipe at each other from the shadows, cutting each other to shreds in the dark and then putting on a false smile and stepping into the light? It just seems so...junior-highish.
And there are consequences. There are always consequences, even if you think no one can find out who you are, because your words are out there. They hurt. They cut.
They can kill.
Words can kill. Words written on a screen, signed by no one, can kill as surely as a knife to the heart. I'm all for using the power of words, but those who wield them need to do so responsibly.
Damn, there's that word again.
I'm not sure what the cure is, other than the world spontaneously getting hit by the clue-by-four and growing up. The one thing, the only thing, that I can ask is that people THINK before typing something.
Well, two things. Sign your damn name too. Don't be a coward. Own your words.
