I tell you this
My internet personality is exactly my irl personality and so far so good.
You gotta know who you are and who you're with that's the key.
Also what makes you think I won't punch back? Actually I won't, I'm more of a weapon person.
It’s a 50/50 thing. I do feel that some of the manners in society have eroded because- not necessarily punching- but a sense of potential consequence has been lost. You can’t really do much online or in person if someone wants to be disrespectful or obnoxious and people are now aware of that. You see the fallout as private citizens seek to use existing litigation or create laws to enforce some level of basic civility or respect for others which shouldn’t be the laws responsibility- but it shouldn’t have to be. You also see it in the push back by people who resent the idea that there be any social or legal constraints to their behaviors- who enjoy being able to say patently outrageous and spiteful things for the sake of simply making life less enjoyable for others.
But the other side of the shoe- is that people can also say things they may have once been afraid to. People are freer to complicate opinions on current affairs or other issues, and a society that uses violence as a form of pre emptive censorship may have less trolls and hate speech- but it also stifles those legitimate forms of discourse- and takes away the voice of anyone who has something to say and not the strength to back it up with force.
All said- if you give people the ability to speak their mind you will find that some people will say things you don’t like- and having ideas challenged in a meaningful way is healthy. Some people- many people- you will find have minds that are incapable of constructive discussion, or just full of emotional and stubborn negativity or hate. But taking away their voice just means they’re still thinking it and you just don’t know it’s out there. One think I love and hate about the level of free expression we have is that at least it lets you know who is thinking what. While it can be disappointing- I’d rather know who the bigots and and fascists and extremists are than push them into the dark and give them absolutely no presence in society- that’s part of how you get terrorists and revolutionaries. And how you don’t see it coming.
Sorry, force of habit
Bwah.
My internet personality is exactly my irl personality and so far so good.
You gotta know who you are and who you're with that's the key.
Also what makes you think I won't punch back? Actually I won't, I'm more of a weapon person.