son272 Posted November 15, 2013 Posted November 15, 2013 I spend some time on reddit, which is quite the "melting-pot" amongst internet forums. Every now and then I'll see a video (like today) of someone being an asshole and then getting knocked over or punched, and it's celebrated. I'll read through the top 50 comments and find no dissent at all. Then I post something like "Wow, that could have been handled a lot of other ways. What if that person was seriously injured?" or something to that effect. I'll get about 10 downvotes in as many minutes (but of course never a decent rebuttal), and then my comment is below the threshold to be shown to most users. What really troubles me is that these aren't secret agents of the state, trying to destroy the voices of peace; they're our neighbors reveling in unwarranted aggression. Just felt like venting. It's nice to have a little corner of the 'net where you aren't shunned for wanting peace!
powersquash Posted November 15, 2013 Posted November 15, 2013 Unfortunately it seems we (as a society) have normalized and almost idolized such actions of violence to the point that it is cheered on as a random man gets shot on the side of the road. There is no amount of reason or facts you can throw at these onlookers to the video that will make them take you seriously. A week or two ago someone posted on here about a wikihow instructing readers how to "properly" spank a child. I simply posted under the tips section on how spanking is NEVER an acceptable form of punishment; my post was almost instantaneously deleted. It just goes to show where a large majority of the world's minds are currently.
Honest Posted November 15, 2013 Posted November 15, 2013 I feel ambivalent about this. I see the state loving and violence fetichizing trends of the zeitgeist in general, but at the same time just about everyone I encounter in daily life, from clerks, bus drivers, bank tellers, to even police officers seem really nice and rational. Perhaps it's internet bravery, maybe the less savory elements among them are more vocal, but most likely it's people compartmentalizing the principles by which they deal with other people and their personal voluntary relationships, and just throw under the carpet their violent urges and never bother to deal with their cognitive dissonance.
Gaurav251 Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 I remember being like this, and its a very vivid feeling, because it felt like nothing in my life was enjoyable and the only thing that actually woke me up, or gave my nerves a good 'impulse' was the sight of violence or death. Granted I was not the type to 'endorse' violence. But I always felt that these people that watch and comment on things like this don't really care about who is beating up who, they just need a justification to make the violence not seem awful and thus worthy of being initiated. Like if you see a white man beating up a brown man, you wouldn't really 'enjoy' or 'endorse' or 'support' the persons decision on committing violence on some one else unless you were really into human hatred and psychopathic tendencies. But if there is a justification given to you such as the brown man being a grocery shoplifter, or a confirmed rapist, or something else, you will have a reason for liking that violence because you think "that's what they deserve". So I am guessing the reason that violence was endorsed is because people had the reason that "since that guy is a asshole he deserves to get beat up", and its very easy to find reasons to use violence on others. I mean I see this all the time if I ever go check up on reddit combat footage videos, day in day out real people dead bodies being blown up to dust with mostly every one looking and saying "he deserved it for being a idiot" or some other reason.
Guest Exceptionalist Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 @sob3444 Maybe you were way to nice. I tend to challenge people on their immorality believes with sarcasm. If there is zombie ressentment, I know it is pointless to press the issue further. If they understand it, they were just emotional.
Seleneccentric Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 You can't feel empathy if you're emotionally dead. Violence is fun and exciting, if you are so mutilated inside that your mind is practically swimming around in a soup of your own blood and offal. -- edit: that came off more graphic than I intended, suffice to say I share your feelings of revulsion toward this kind of depravity.
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