Hate on the Internet

I've been doing a lot of thinking since I wrote the last post.





I've had time to process the information better, and the initial shock and hurt has worn off.





What now amazes me more than anything is that someone, no, probably many people, took the time to create this hate-charged website. Do they really have nothing else to do? Or did they really think they were giving to the Internet community? If they believed these things, then why did they believe them? Insecurity? Fear? Dogma?


Who are these people? I'd like to say I don't know any, but given the quantity, I must know at least a few. Very few people would actually say those types of things to someone's face, but on the Internet it is so common many don't give it a second thought.


I believe that the Internet liberates people. I know I write things online I would have extreme difficulty saying aloud. Given a certain sense of anonymity, I believe people are more honest with themselves and the world.


That said, does that mean that a lot people, people who you probably see at your job or school or who sit next to you on the bus, have a seething prejudice inside that they just can't wait to take out on innocent bystanders, provided it is highly unlikely that they will be caught? Or am I really one of the few Internet users who isn't an immature 10-year-old doing a very poor job at masquerading as a twentysomething? Or do they feel that the social constructs on the Internet are the same as in "real world," that somehow unsuitable insults are cool and mature and not experience the same freedom I do?


It says in the Encyclopedia Dramatica's about page (turns out there is one; it was pointed out by Shiv in the comments of the first post) that it is not only supposedly meant as humor, that

Encyclopedia Dramatica was created December 9th 2004 while girlvinyl was
impatiently awaiting the delivery of her new ibook. ghettofinger and girlvinyl were
outraged and amused at the ill-treatment of internet
celebrity jameth by the moderators
and nerds at wikipedia. Girlvinyl decided it
was time to present an alternative to the fascist hold they had over information
on the internets.

First, it's no wonder they were banned. Second, Wikipedia strives for accurate information, just because you say it's so doesn't mean it is. Third, I do not see how Wikipedia has a "fascist hold;" anyone can edit, just that a lot of the time people can't seem to differentiate between fact and opinion, except, yes, the mods and nerds, i.e. experts in a subject. The disclaimer page is equally repulsive, stating that, "If you feel as though someone has committed harassment or defamation against you - please pursue your remedies against that poster as encyclopediadramatica.com is not responsible for their words." So, basically, the site is promoting vendettas between users. When I Googled "encyclopedia dramatica," I found stories of abuse by previous members.


I see these things all the time online, just not to such a great scale. On YouTube and less frequently on blogs, but still frequently enough, it is hard to avoid racially, sexually, and just plain prejudiced comments. About a week ago, I watched a featured video on YT made by several homosexual men and women asking people to please stop using hate speech directed towards them- namely "faggot," "dyke," and "that's so gay." The video was polite and contained no hate speech towards the other party. And yet, as I scrolled through the comments, I realized that roughly 98% were some variation of "FUCK OFF FAGGOT!!!!"


Suicidal people say that the world doesn't care whether they live or die. It sure seems to me tonight that some people want them dead, and might possibly laugh when they hear the tragic news.