And then, of course, there are the straight-up trolls, gleefully wreaking havoc. There is another category entirely of racists, homophobes, transphobes, xenophobes and other bigots who target the subjects of their ire relentlessly and are largely unchecked by the platforms enabling them. And these are the more reasonable online arguments. Bad-faith arguments abound, presented with righteous bluster. Roxane Gay, Why I Can't Forgive the Killer in Charleston, New York Times (June. Vulnerability and difference are weaponized. hatred and oppression: notably anti-Semitism and anti-black racism. As Gay points out, online “every harm is treated as trauma. (For example, I get way more hate email or general complaints from the far left.) Meanwhile, online discourse becomes more and more extreme, and less and less connected to actual in-person interactions between real life human beings. And that fear is often driven by the attacks from people who are on your side of the political spectrum, but feel compelled to attack you because you’re not far enough over to that side. People in the sane middle are afraid to speak their minds because of a concern over being lambasted by one of those sides. Relatedly, people at the extremes thrive on the conflict-riddled social media platforms.
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While the rest of us are up all night worrying about a flame war, they’re sleeping like babies, happily nestled into their happy place. Social media rewards those who love conflict. It would take a collection of our best and brightest psychologists and sociologists to fully address this issue. NYT (gift article): Why People Are So Awful Online. We have all become hammers in search of nails.” That’s Roxane Gay channeling the lament so many longtime internet users feel about what a bummer social media has become. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. Rights groups express anger as Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court Justice New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay recently penned an essay for Refinery29. An experience that was once charming and fun becomes stressful and largely unpleasant. It becomes harder to disinvest from pointless arguments that have nothing at all to do with you.
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It becomes harder and harder to distinguish good-faith criticism from pettiness or cruelty.
HATRED NYT ROXANE GAY SKIN
Your skin thins until you have no defenses left. “After being on the receiving end of enough aggression, everything starts to feel like an attack.