I was attacked online. A stranger decided that I am undeserving of respect and basic human decency and wrote something quite derogatory about me on Facebook, which as many have noticed, has become a festering pit for those who have a huge vacuum in the space normally reserved for the brain.
Anger was of course the obvious response and suddenly all those mundane MTV PSAs about hate and bullying online struck a chord. They would usually annoy me as I wait for the next video; but now as I felt the hot flush of anger I realized how infuriating one becomes when a perfect stranger decides to launch an attack on you for no apparent reason.
The anger came mostly from the anonymity of it all. I had no idea who this person was - we've never met, never even shared the same space, yet this individual decided that they should attempt to belittle me in such a hurtful way. Perhaps it would not have stung so hot if maybe I'd had a disagreement with the few friends, family or media contacts on my personal profile. But it is hard to conceptualize why a stranger would suddenly fire such an insulting bullet directly at me. It's hard to understand because I would never do the same to anyone - most of all a stranger. Perhaps that is the underlying reason for the anger that comes rushing to one's head when things like this happen. We never fully understand why another person would try to hurt us when we would not dream of doing the same to them. Not being capable of doing such a hateful act to someone makes it that much harder to deal with being attacked by a total stranger. We understand our family, best friends and even our co-workers, but have a complete stranger say something nasty about you and it's like cold steel running through the most vulnerable part of your chest.
Good advice stopped me from lashing out, which I must admit was a definite possibility. This did not happen. My response was a bit more diplomatic and I was reminded by those close to me that any idiot can use a keyboard and string together an insult about someone they have no clue about. It takes a confident person to say hey, the offspring of cousins is not worth my words or my energy.
Indeed, as a great friend pointed out, venting your hatred and attacking people online is a nasty trend. It is especially dangerous when it is aimed at young people. I have read and viewed dozens of stories about teens and even pre teens committing suicide because of the rabid idiots that misuse social networking. It's important to recognize that we cannot stand by and watch it. People who use Facebook, Twitter and the ever growing universe of social media to belittle or abuse others should be viewed as delinquents; deviant retards who should be labelled accordingly and shut down. No child or teen deserves to be attacked in a safe area created for their enjoyment. Facebook, despite its privacy flaws, can be a safe place for normal people to interact; but it is the responsibility of those "normal people" to protect the vulnerable from the inevitable idiots who seek to abuse others online.
Does this happen? Hardly. I was able to handle the situation myself, but I did need other level headed people to help me see past the anger. How will a teen deal with being told they are too fat, they look diseased or any of the assorted insults these idiots spew online? How many parents monitor the interaction their kids have online, especially with strangers. This needs to change and fast. Too many are taking their lives when they are made victims online. Please do not say "it's not happening here". Just check with a random friend on Facebook, chances are they have been attacked online. It's wrong and we need to recognize abuse in all its forms.
Even celebrities are not spared. I was shocked to hear about the abuse suffered by budding pop star Rebecca Black. Yes, I'll admit her song and video for "Friday" is no Debbie Gibson, but despite one's dislike for an artiste's work, should we use the opportunity to send them death threats and hate mail. I could not comprehend why those who hated the Youtube video for "Friday" decided to attack Rebecca Black about her voice, weight, family and just about every nasty thing you could think of to tell a teen. Yes, a teen. No one stops to think about the damage such thoughtless words can cause to a still developing mind.
Whether you liked "Friday" or not there is no excuse for threatening Rebecca Black who is simply attempting to launch a music career. And for heaven's sake, a music career is not hard to attain these days given the less than stellar voice talents paraded on MTV. She did not deserve having some idiot threaten her life simply because he disliked her song. Since when is it ok to send a teen a death threat especially given the insignificant reason behind the threat? The FBI should have tracked down this coward and made him an example.
The question I keep asking myself is why. Why is it so easy to send hate or even something more serious, a death threat, to someone via the net? The answer is clear. The internet provides just about enough distance for us to forget that these hurtful words are being expressed to actual people. Despite her alleged bad taste in vocals and music, Rebecca Black is a very REAL, living, breathing young woman. But whoever sent her that threat was provided with the distance of the internet - just enough distance to forget that his threat would hurt real feelings and affect an entire family. The internet makes us numb to the fact that we are interacting with REAL people and that our messages have REAL consequences. Things we cannot say to a person face to face, we rush to blurt out via hyper text. Hence my conclusion that only a coward, devoid of the capability to speak to their victims in person, sends hate messages online. It's just that simple. If you cannot say it to someone's face, why say it via Facebook, Youtube or whatever social media? Only a coward would do this.
The individual who decided to attack me because of a small incident regarding my place of work was just such a coward. When I confronted him I came quickly to the realization that the poor sap was incapable of saying what he had typed to my face. In fact, he was a particularly sad coward when confronted.
It may be just hyper text, but what was said about me online hurt REAL feelings. I forgave the stranger who wasn't worth my time, and being in this line of work instantly brings criticism; but I continue to worry about those who cannot cope with being attacked online. We all should worry. The idle idiots who obsess and attack those they hate online seldom rest and seldom give up on their victims. We need to be ready to combat this. I didn't see it coming but it was upsetting, especially since it involved my job; and while I had to draw on every bit of professionalism in me, I sincerely wanted to reach out to this stranger and quite frankly behave like a spartan. No, not the CGI spartans in "300", the "should have been censored" spartans from the Starz channel "Spartacus" series.
But acting out in anger was too easy and I'm not regretting my decision to play it cool. However, I stand by my new determination to stand up for those made victims online. Any more attacks aimed at me will be dismissed. Besides how am I going to afford an original spartan sword in this economy.
