There is a single group of people amongst the most hateful, bigoted and closed minded in the world. This has nothing to do with religion, ethnicity, location or gender. The people i am referring to are people who trawl through news websites and leave comments when given an opportunity.
These appear to be the same people no matter the topic. Preaching their hate and supporting their own agenda - even if it has nothing to do with the subject at hand. A story on cricket will collapse into a discussion on federal politics and, in America, a story about a funeral will descend into a debate on gun rights in freedom. Lately, the conflict in Syria has given ample opportunities for people to reveal their vast knowledge on the subject. Somehow, Pete from Panania believes he knows more than those in government throughout the world and would be able to solve all of the problems.
Often these people are referred to as trolls. I do not like this as it dehumanises them. you take away their human aspect and then you begin to make excuses for their words. These are people. Real people. Albeit ones that have the time to comment on stories throughout the day - probably at their employer's expense.
Recently there was a double homicide in Glendora with two homeless men stabbed late at night in a car wash. I read with interest and it was a big story in a sleepy town. It shocked me that the first four comments were all jokes. today i read an article about the poor Australian shot in Oklahoma. At the bottom, the comments quickly descended into a left versus right debate on racism and gun laws. I was sickened. Where was the respect? People bringing up the Trayvon Martin-Zimmerman case and very few paying tribute to a life cut tragically short.
There are a few different kinds of these people: those who peddle hate believing they are right and making a difference; people spruiking supposed intellectual superiority; people sucked in and who end up being aggressive and personal when others are not reasonable; and those simply stirring the pot. Neither of these are any better than any others. They are all clumped in the same bottom of the barrel, group.
Henry Rollins said something memorable and en pointe when i saw him in Sydney. He said that these people only speak on account of their anonymity. They have avatars such as Patriot_03 or TruBluAussie and say offensive things about subjects they know very little. The kind of stuff they would not dare say if they were accountable or needed to leave appropriate sources.
Who is to blame and how do we fix it? The news websites do need to shoulder some blame here. You will not find the comment option below bland stories without minority groups or political input. The media outlets blow the dog whistle and, as the readers can remain anonymous, they respond resoundingly.
The people themselves may be beyond help. The fact that they have time to leave comments all through the days speaks volumes. The existence of conspiracy theories and that you can kind a fundamentalist group for everything online provides the views. These news sites are the outlets.
Cut off the outlet, cut off the power. If only the news websites had the moral fibres...
Do me and yourself a big favour. When it comes to commenting on news websites, please, just say no.
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