Here’s a picture someone posted to Reddit about a day ago:
The general consensus amongst Redditors who saw the post was that it was hilarious. At last count, the post had gotten 1,157 up votes and 318 down votes, giving it 830 net upvotes. That’s a shitload, even for Reddit; it’s gotten more net upvotes than all but one of the posts currently on the front page of the subreddit (r/vertical) it was posted in.
It’s also pretty fucking offensive — a rape joke, a murder-of-women joke, and a necrophilia joke all rolled into one. Sure, it’s a “joke,” but it wouldn’t be hard to make the argument that pictures like this one, which make violence against women into a joke, can actually serve to encourage such violence.
If you did believe this, what would be the appropriate reaction to such a picture? You could post critical remarks about it in the comments section for the post on Reddit. You could post about it in ShitRedditSays, a subreddit devoted to ferreting out misogyny and racism and other bigotries on Reddit. You could post about it on your blog.
Or you could declare the picture an “unambiguous call for murder” and the person responsible for it to be a ” depraved and murderous male supremacist.” You could offer a reward for information on that person’s real identity, and post that person’s personal information — including their phone number, their place of employment, their home address — online. And if someone points out that posting such information might lead to this person being physically harmed or even killed, you could say: I don’t give a shit.
But that would be wrong.
It would also be terribly time-consuming, because crap like this gets posted to Reddit all the fucking time.
The proper response to speech you don’t like, however vile you think it is, isn’t violence or harassment, but more speech.
If what someone says goes beyond the bounds of free speech, you have other options. If someone threatens you personally, in a posting on the internet or by letter or email or phone call, you have the right to (and you should) report them to the proper authorities. If someone threatens you physically, you have the right to defend yourself.
But a misogynistic picture on the internet is not a threat to you. Nor is a misandrist video. These things are challenges — and in many ways opportunities — for you to make your case against hate. Responding to shit you don’t like on the internet with harassment and threats — implicit or explicit — of violence? That is hate.
Honestly I would actually be tempted to gather his posts and send them to his mother with a note asking her if this is how she raised her son.
So it is a good thing I am not able to locate his personal information.
@Elizabeth: So you want to hunt down my personal information to give to my mother in an effort to shame or humiliate me. Yet Paul Elam doing it to women is somehow bad.
Oh the hypocrisy burns my retinas
@Laura: Actually my family is neither proud or ashamed of me.
Brandon, making an ass of yourself isn’t fucking with us. At all, actually XD
Like seriously, I could only smile at your stupidity when you decided to grace us with your so complete knowledge of history, because I don’t laugh. My girlfriend laughs, though, and she did quite well. This is not how you fuck with someone, believe you me XD
@Rutee: You just seem like a miserable, boorish person
I said I would be tempted-not that I would do it. You could learn to comprehend what you read but that is really asking too much.
Also, if that does not show you why doing this to the other people is bad, then I believe your mother really would be depressed at what a terrible child she has.
Projection much?
Brandon, does your family know that you want to secretly videotape sex? That might affect their assessment.
@Elizabeth: Well, he said his family is neither proud nor ashamed of him. I imagine they went with apathy because being sad over the little wretch was just too draining.
@snowy: Ya, ok.
@Laura: wrong again.
And that is sad enough. I pity Brandon for being so emotionally isolated. 🙁
@Elizabeth: For the love of a god that might exist, can you at least try to be right.
Dude, you’re trolling the internet at a family reunion. And you’re /proud/ of it. There is clearly something sad going on here XD
Oh, so you admit that you’re a miserable, boorish person? That’s the first step Brandon! We’re all here for you!
At least this explains why you are so angry and bitter. I know you claim to be laughing but really, your actions belie your claims. Maybe one day your family will care enough about you to feel something about you besides indifferent.
@Rutee: Family reunion doesn’t start till tomorrow. This afternoon was just travel time.
@Snowy: Ya…no. Do I have to place sarcasm tags around what I say so you will understand?
@Elizabeth: I so want you to get it right…just keep trying a little more. You can do it!
Uh ohhh! Call your sponsor Brandon! Otherwise we might have to take away your 3 seconds of not being a dickhead token away! You were doing so well. Admitting you have a problem is the first step!
So you have people you know, and presumably like, and don’t see often, in the same geographical location, and you’re trolling the internet instead of spending time with them, and you think nothing of it. Yepperoni, the Troll’s a sad one XD
What is even sadder about Brandon’s misery that he tries to cover up is the fact that he has no way of changing unlike MRAL. If he stopped denying that it actually hurts to have no one in his family care enough about him to even be disappointed by or in him maybe he could change but he is not capable of that.
So sad. 🙁
@Snowy: You seem to have an understanding of 12 step anonymous programs….did you smoke a lot of dope back in the day? How much clean time do you have?
@Rutee: I will see my family tomorrow. I am not with them right now. But believe what you want. Even Rutee’s can be wrong!
Ohhhh snap! Did I just get called a druggie? Wow, such a horrible insult! Also, uh, dope? How old are you again?
@Snowy: Oh sorry…it wasn’t heroin it was crack. My bad.
@elizabeth: Ya, I am really not miserable. Life is pretty damn awesome and it is even better when you don’t do what society wants you to do.
Yeah, Snowy, why don’t you go smoke some “Mary Jane” with all your hop head friends?