Racism Alive And Well On The Internet

[Roon]

Although you rarely hear racial insults on Main Street these days, there's a place where unashamed bigotry is all too easy to find: tossed off in the comments sections of some of the Internet's most popular websites, today's virtual Main Street.

Internet anonymity has removed one of the strongest barriers to the type of language that can ruin reputations and end careers. Racist messages are a small percentage of the wild and woolly web, but they stick out since they are rare in person - and they raise a host of questions.

Do these comments reflect a reversal of racial progress? Is that progress an illusion while racism thrives underground? What kind of harm are these statements doing? Could there be any value in such venting? And what, if anything, should a free society do about it?


"We've seen comments that people would not make in the public square or any type of civic discussion, maybe even within their own families," said Dennis Ryerson, editor of The Indianapolis Star. "There is no question in my mind that the process, because it's largely anonymous, enables people who would never speak up on Main Street to communicate their thoughts."
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/technology/25159395/detail.html

[merqz]

1. This is true

there are pluses and minuses to anonymous speech (or at least ASSUMED anonymous. The reality is that many people who think they are truly anonymous on the internet ... aren't), just as there are costs and benefits to free speech in general. We here in the US enjoy much freer speech than other nations, and thus the cost is more exposure to hateful speech. Many nations don't allow stuff like burning holy books, denying the Holocaust, using racist hate speech, etc. We do. Anonymous speech makes this even more blatant, because anonymity naturally opens people up to taboo behavior not just speech), and fortunately, openly racist speech is taboo in polite society.

[RZM]

2. Anyone who visit youtube knows this is very true

It's amazing how something not even remotely connected with race instantly descends into pointless exchanges of bigotry in the comments section. I think part of it is the anonymity, but probably another reason is that it's the same small number of people who post ridiculous stuff day in and day out. If one idiot posts comments all day and night it can seem like such sentiments are more widespread than they really are. Not sure you can do much about it though, other than disable the comments function.

[Stevenmarc]

3. Obviously Dennis hasn't been to a teabagger rally

[Xipe Totec]

4. The internet cloaks bigots in anonymity like a white sheet nt

[CountAllVotes]

6. exactly

the white sheet is hidden too, how convenient huh?

:puke:

[CountAllVotes]

5. it is a way that the hidden racists can vent their filth

A racist can do it anonymously and no one knows who they are. A lot of these posters are very poorly educated and lack even the most basic skills. You can tell by the amount of typographical errors and grammatical errors. :dunce:

Part of me thinks this is kids doing a lot of it and part of me knows it is older people too.

No one is exempt from being a racist.

They come in all shapes, sizes and colors and can be found in huge numbers on the internet.

:dem:

[Roon]

7. I have been online for over 15 years

and I have seen more racism on the internet since obama got elected than I have the whole time I have been online. You hardly ever saw the "N" word before, but now it's an all day every day occurrence.

[CountAllVotes]

8. yes, it is very sickening

I sincerely hope that people out there in the real world aren't as racist as what we now see on the internet. Shocking? Yes.

:(