Anonymous Anger Rampant On the Web

the4thdimension writes "In a story that may bring out the 'duh' in you, CNN has a story about how anonymous anger is rampant on the Internet. Citing various reasons, it attempts to explain why sites like MyBiggestComplaint and Just Rage exist and why anger via the web seems to be everywhere. Various reasons include: anonymity, lack of rules, and lack of immediate consequences. Whatever the reason, they describe that online anger has resulted in real-life violence and suggest methods for parents and teens to cope with e-aggression and to learn to be aware of it." I can't figure out what makes me angrier: my habit of anonymously trolling web forums, or my video game playing.

Comments

Positive thing

[poetmatt]

Regardless of how extreme some people respond to some parts of anger, this is a pretty positive thing. I'd rather have someone rant about something online than go out and live out the murder they wished upon someone. /stabbity

Re:Positive thing

[PhrostyMcByte]

Various reasons include: anonymity, lack of rules, and lack of immediate consequences

Growing up, we are taught how to act "proper", and much of that involves keeping our emotions bottled up. Everyone gets frustrated with coworkers, on the road, etc. but rarely says anything for fear of consequences. Anger isn't any more rampant on the web than it is in real life, it is just expressed freely here.

So what is the article really suggesting? That we make rules to have everyone bottle up like normal? A lot of what people say on the net might be exaggerated, but I'm sure this is merely a symptom of finally being able to speak your mind, with the oppression of society lifted. It's like kids cussing a lot with friends because it's forbidden at home, then they grow up and suddenly they don't cuss at trivial things anymore, because they're free to do it.

Re:Positive thing

[hey!]

I think you are right, in that removing the source of anger is important. That, after all, is the point of anger, isn't it? Except that in so many situations you can't remove the source of anger by being angry. That's civilization for you: you can't haul of and smack somebody you disagree with into submission.

I agree that if continually provoked to anger (or tempted to do something you are addicted to), you'll end up giving in. But getting angry (unless you can remove the source of anger that way) is no more useful than getting drunk to relieve your alcoholism.

Re:Positive thing

[nine-times]

I remember someone saying (maybe it's a famous quote?) something like, "Being angery is like taking poison and hoping the other guy dies." Or maybe it was hate instead of anger or something, but the basic idea is that when you are angry at someone, sometimes your anger is hurting you more than it hurts them.

I think anger and fear are useful emotions, but sometimes our reactions to them are not useful. It may be that you could argue the same thing about emotions like love and confidence. You can try too hard to hold on to the things you love, and you can get yourself into trouble by being over-confident, for example.

I may be getting too philosophical here. I guess I'm just saying that there are things that you should get angry about, and so I don't feel comfortable talking about it as a wholly negative emotion. I think the problem is when people don't know how to deal with that anger, especially when that anger is rooted in some other obscure emotional issue that results in misdirected anger.

And though it's true that acting angry may make you feel more angry, bottling it up or covering it with a smile won't necessarily help you deal with that anger. Ideally we'd all find the real source of our anger, deal with it properly, and figure out how to not get angry in the first place, but I wouldn't be on that utopia coming any time soon. In reality, sometimes finding an appropriate outlet may be helpful.

On the other hand, I'm not sure being an angry troll on the Internet is an appropriate outlet. It's probably better to go to the batting cage, or whatever kind of meditative physical exertion you prefer. (That's not something I actually do, but it seems like an obvious example: go hit shit with a baseball bat in a socially acceptable environment.)

Good

[ShieldW0lf]

Good. There is a lot to be angry about, and people have been far too sheep-like for far too long.

Here's a fitting response to this article from the fictional Howard Beale:

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.

We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!

We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.

It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."

Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.

I want you to get mad!

I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.

All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.

You've gotta say, "I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!"

So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell,

"I'm as mad as hell,

and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"

Re:Good

[postbigbang]

No one need answer your agenda. We do so in the quest for communications and to seek common ground. We don't whip out weapons and start shooting.

There is only rarely justification for violence of any kind. The Bush administration has abused this in the quest of fear-mongering. My long dead ancestors fought in Virginia, then years later at Antietam, Gettysburg, and so on. Some of them were caucasian.

When I got my draft card, I burned it. I'd do it again. Vietnam wasn't justified, nor was Iraq War I or II. Capturing the madmen of 9/11 is justified; they must be brought to justice, and they so far have escaped, except perhaps one.

In the interim, over 450,000 Iraqi fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and mothers, aunts, children have been killed because of Dick Cheney's ego, and George Bush's unwitting aid to the enemy. Yes, Saddam Hussein was horrible. But then, so has been the violence of Tutsis against Hutu, the red fields of Cambodia, and so many other horrible places.

You stop violence one situation at a time. It can be done. There is no justification for taking the life of another except in self-defense. Only animals believe otherwise, not humans that can respect feelings, or choose to ignore seeming insult.

Complaining about being anonymous is ad hominem

[doconnor]

Complaining about someone being anonymous to discredit them is an ad hominem attack. Hiding their identity doesn't make their argument any worse and revealing it doesn't make it any better.

Hiding their identity only make people more honest and allows their foolish beliefs to be addressed and discredited, which may not have been possible otherwise.

one thing that can be done about it

[ronbohn]

Yeah it's really ridiculous how some people act. I've noticed racism is a real biggie for gamers. I think most people out there mean well, but it seems that sometimes this stuff can have a snowball effect...one person says something, then another. I say try to cut it off at the source so when somebody says something really ignorant, just be like "dude that's not cool"

Re:one thing that can be done about it

[gnick]

A "snowball" is a term used to describe an affect of exponential increase, not a person.

Snowball was a character in Clerks - The opening plot point to a rather uncomfortable scene. I find it distasteful (pun intended) that you feel the need to bring him up here. However if you were instead referring to the Trotsky-pig from Animal Farm you are entirely forgiven - That is a fine example of a large group turning on their victim due to mob mentality and a malicious leader acting as a catalyst.

Easy

[HalAtWork]

When you say something in anger in meatspace, people hold you accountable and may consider what you say as threatening, and there can be consequences, especially in the workspace. Also, people want an audience, and when they're really pissed off they want everyone to know about it. This stuff can be healthy. Of course there are other people where the anger grows inside them and they just post snide remarks and try to piss on peoples' parades and ruin people's days, these people feed their anger and become bitter. It's all about why you're doing it and if you're trying to get rid of some angry feelings and vent, or if you're festering.

Re:Wouldn't they be angry anyway?

[Indras]

Yes, but the difference is, if you vent in public with friends or coworkers, there's no trace of it left behind, except only vaguely in your memories, which are difficult to search and compile into a nice report.

Venting on the internet, however, is practically permanent.

Road Rage

[WorkingDead]

The same goes for road rage. You would never run down the hallway at work, while on your cell phone, yelling at all the other people who are not full out sprinting. But you sure would on your way there in the morning.

Re:Road Rage

[PRMan]

But they would never cut right in front of you and slow down so much as to impede your progress while another person walked at a similar speed blocking the rest of the hallway. And at worse, if they did this (for instance, standing in a doorway) a mere "excuse me" would let you by to continue on faster.

It's precisely because the roadway doesn't mirror the hallway that people get so frustrated. I have seen some pretty nasty episodes in the lines at Costco.

Re:Let Me Offer a Lemma on This Subject ...

[hairyfeet]

Actually I believe John Gabriel's Greater Internet Theory explained the phenomena in the most clear and concise terms.

Re:Sad Really

[Achoi77]

Plus it gives you 10 strength and 50% damage resistance if your health drops below 20%.

Not since the patch. :-( The buff was considered OP because it would proc passively when your HP dropped below 20%. They have since moved it to a Troll racial ability and made it so it can be cast at any time. But they only recieve the full benefit of the buff if they are badly damaged. Fortunately it's got a long cooldown so it can't be spammed.