Editor’s note: Brian didn’t take kindly to some of the more vitriolic comments from Aaron Thomas’s Nobody Should Care That I Dislike Uncharted 2 piece, so he decided it’s time to call out the online bullies. I can’t stand this kind of crap on message boards, either — the lack of such talk is my favorite thing about Bitmob. -Jason
I recently read an article that brought to light the absurdity of some of the arguments frequently found on popular video game websites. I often find readers complaining about a single grammar mistake, a review score, or someone’s supposed preference for a system or series of games when I’m browsing these sites, so I can relate.
While I haven’t ever accused a professional game journalist of being an Xbox or PlayStation fanboy, I have jumped into arguments on occasion. Arguments never make me feel good, but sometimes my desire to defend one of my interests gets the best of me. Sometimes, these arguments have resulted in mutual understanding, but I’ve resorted to childish name calling. Whether I was right or wrong in these situations, I agree with Aaron Thomas that such trivial issues are meaningless when compared to the well being of our friends, family, and humanity in general.
So when I got back home and fired up Twitter, I was disgusted to hear that people were trivializing the situation of Aaron’s friend by writing such cruel comments as “Aaron Thomas is not a real journalist.” I also noticed a number of posts saying that it was irresponsible of him to make a post about a real life situation instead of reviewing Uncharted 2.
Not only were some of these posts insulting — they also illustrated why requiring people to use their real name is of value to a web community. When people are forced to use their real name, they’re held more accountable for what they say. The main benefit of this type of system is that you’ll rarely find users posting derogatory comments and harassing others. On the other hand, when users remain anonymous, they’re far more likely to make ridiculous comments such as “You need to get laid.”
Now, I can understand someone disagreeing with Aaron’s take on Uncharted 2, but saying that he “needs to get laid” when he was simply trying to illustrate a point and describe a heartbreaking situation he’s dealing with is just stooping too low.
What I’ve realized is that most of the people making those types of comments are usually one of the following:
A) They’ve never experienced a major illness or the death of someone close to them.
B) They’re cowards who spew garbage from behind a computer.
C) They’re self-centered individuals who don’t care about other people.
I can understand people’s ignorance toward traumatic situations that they’ve never experienced, but what I don’t get is why people would make vicious comments. The only logical explanation would be that these anonymous forum dwellers are insecure, and so they feel the need to kick someone in the balls when they’re down.
These are the same kind of people who’d torment a quiet kid, beat up someone because of their appearance, and make fun of a person who’s depressed and suicidal. People like these have no conscience and are as self-centered as war profiteers.
Cowards like these heckle people, because they know they can get away with it due to their anonymity. They’re aware that potential employers won’t be able to see their information, and they know that the receiver of their vicious messages won’t be able to give them the beating they so deserve. These same individuals more than likely would hide behind their mom if the recipient of their insults came knocking on their door.
I’m happy that some people have been fortunate enough that they haven’t experienced life’s hardships, but I think it’d be wise for them to see what certain people have to go through before dissing someone in a cowardly manner. Instead of making fun of someone (or their situation), why not go out in the world and see what life is like for sick or homeless people?
Leave your gated suburb and step out on the streets of your city and observe the harsh world homeless people face. Go to a hospital and see all of the horrible illnesses people have to deal with. Or you could simply look around you when you’re in class, at work, or anywhere, and you might notice someone who’s depressed and possibly contemplating suicide.
Who knows, maybe you had a lousy life and are just acting out online because it’s your only avenue. But if that’s the case, at least be nice to the people who never did anything to you. You never know; someday a person similar to one of the people you’re insulting may help you when you’re in trouble. Even if you’re feeling high and mighty now, something can happen in an instant that will make you get on your knees and beg God to save you.
If you didn’t get anything out of this article, at least remember this: Don’t waste your time being an asshole when you could instead be doing the best you can to better yourself and the world.