2008 Woodie Awards
SpeakForYourself.net
A Simple Grievance
Jarrod Moore
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
While heralded by many as the greatest vehicle of free speech that the world has ever known, the Internet has become the world's bathroom stall of modern culture.
In the same vain of finding it necessary to write "Julie loves the penis" with a handy Sharpie while defecating at a rest area somewhere between Barstow and Las Vegas, message boards, blogs and video posts all over the World Wide Web are constantly greeted with blatant defamatory attacks under the handle of "Anonymous" or "USuckDoggyDoodie."
It seems to me that if someone has something to say, they should take pride in saying it.
If someone reads an acquaintance's heartfelt entry about losing his or her boyfriend to a love for underwater basket weaving, or a colleague's feelings about the state of affairs in current popular culture, and decides to respond with a statement equivalent to "I had relations with your mom and pooped on your floor," they should have the proper posture to inform the victim as to their identity.
But if the Internet has proven anything as the world's foremost interactive medium, it's that the mode of operations of human nature is grounded in cowardice.
If half of the things said in YouTube responses to a cultural exhibition were actually said to the victim's in person, hate crime charges would pop up across the country. But it's perfectly fine to insult somebody's endeavors when the speaker only has to identify himself or herself as "D." and then goes about his or her day forgetfully, feeding the cats and fantasizing about rambunctious sex with Tommy Lee or Fabio.
While I certainly don't subscribe to the "You got something to say, say it to my face" redneck diatribe amongst close friends, I especially find the anonymity of the Internet to be an exposition of the animal instinct of human nature.
Many of our accomplishments in science and technology have, to this point, only provided the masses more routes with which to demean one another on higher grounds of safety.
If we're going to regard ourselves as more intelligent and more evolved than the creatures at which we throw oats and feed in the zoo, we should at least prove it with a display of acceptance, whether in person or in text.
In the same vain of finding it necessary to write "Julie loves the penis" with a handy Sharpie while defecating at a rest area somewhere between Barstow and Las Vegas, message boards, blogs and video posts all over the World Wide Web are constantly greeted with blatant defamatory attacks under the handle of "Anonymous" or "USuckDoggyDoodie."
It seems to me that if someone has something to say, they should take pride in saying it.
If someone reads an acquaintance's heartfelt entry about losing his or her boyfriend to a love for underwater basket weaving, or a colleague's feelings about the state of affairs in current popular culture, and decides to respond with a statement equivalent to "I had relations with your mom and pooped on your floor," they should have the proper posture to inform the victim as to their identity.
But if the Internet has proven anything as the world's foremost interactive medium, it's that the mode of operations of human nature is grounded in cowardice.
If half of the things said in YouTube responses to a cultural exhibition were actually said to the victim's in person, hate crime charges would pop up across the country. But it's perfectly fine to insult somebody's endeavors when the speaker only has to identify himself or herself as "D." and then goes about his or her day forgetfully, feeding the cats and fantasizing about rambunctious sex with Tommy Lee or Fabio.
While I certainly don't subscribe to the "You got something to say, say it to my face" redneck diatribe amongst close friends, I especially find the anonymity of the Internet to be an exposition of the animal instinct of human nature.
Many of our accomplishments in science and technology have, to this point, only provided the masses more routes with which to demean one another on higher grounds of safety.
If we're going to regard ourselves as more intelligent and more evolved than the creatures at which we throw oats and feed in the zoo, we should at least prove it with a display of acceptance, whether in person or in text.
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