I have to say (and called in to briefly say so), that although I think the people who do this are in fact cowards, hiding behind a computer screen, I do not think the internet should be "policed". At least not in the sense of 'who is saying whatever mean thing you can think of', but possibly to the degree that it could be done in real life: stalking, slander, defamation, etc. (all things that are hard enough to prove when you know the person, much less an anonymous stalker). The problem with the internet is it gives depraved people the opportunity to attack random or known people and rally whole mobs against them all behind a cloak of anonymity. Something that is mostly harmless in the virtual world for those with iron guts. However, there are people who are a little more sensitive to words..."sticks and stones" and such. As evidenced by the people who have committed suicide as a result of cyberbullying. In addition, there is the possibility, especially amongst classmates, colleagues, social groups, etc., for these things to spill over into real life. This is where these things can cause real harm to people, and put people in real physical danger. Since the online world is very impersonal there is also a lot of room for misinterpretation; not to mention there is an equally valid and opposing point to ANY thought, belief, opinion, or comprehension of a situation. So, there is an endless capacity to attack or oppose someone.
Since I have been blogging, I have to say, writing in this manner, has given me the opportunity to be more outspoken about my opinions in a sense, and to even defend them more vigorously. You could say it has empowered me in a way that I wasn't able to accomplish in public discourse (in some ways). I have said things that I did not know would anger people, and was shocked at the backlash I received. I have said things that I knew would piss people off, and was still shocked at the VERY INTENSE anger I received on and offline as a result. I have no regrets for anything I have said, and I am very familiar with how dangerous it can be when these things leave the virtual world. However, despite all of that, I think the public outcry to this and other events is an over reaction to something very minute, when in fact the bigger problem is not really being addressed. People are becoming more and more morally bankrupt, and there is no better place to see that, than on the internet. Like I said to the radio DJ, I would rather see the internet become less anonymous, so that people would have to be accountable to their words and have ownership over their thoughts. I believe I would rather know, who thinks I am [insert some asinine expletive here], than have that person keep it to themselves while pissing in my coffee pot. Sadly, even in real life these people exist and prey upon others. That leads to another problem I see. People need to be more aware of the fact that the world is not this safe place where your life is never in danger and teach their children that. I was blissfully in this naive frame of thought until I became a blogger.
Lastly, the DJ also made a comment about "who allows their 11 yo free reign to post on the internet". I'd like to take a different stance, and ask: Who allows or teaches their child or even themselves to attack people in such angry and hateful manners? The problem is not the 11 yo girl who thinks she is the best thing since sliced bread, the problem is the anonymous bully, who hates her for it, and feels the need to say so.
