The age of Internet Gangsters

I recently discovered that I did not need to have a YouTube account in order to comment on YouTube videos so I gave it a shot. I decided to comment on a very controversial video that had surfaced on YouTube. It was a video by the band Day Above Ground and the song is called "Asian Girlz". The video pretty much threw out all the stereotypes that ever existed about Asians in a twisted way of letting the band's adoration for Asian women be known. This was not taken well by many people of all races as many people viewed the song and video as racist despite the band's attempt to clarify that the musical production was not meant to be racist or offensive, but instead it was meant to be racy, edgy and satirical.

My take on the video was that it was blatantly stereotypical, racy and vulgar in some aspects but I could not be offended as I understood the message that they were trying to convey. They were pretty much explaining that they love Asian girls and the stereotypical associations that are attached to Asian girls. They were being absolutely ridiculous in their expression and it was pretty much successful at getting a laugh out of more liberal minded individuals.

Well, I was one of the few people that didn't view it as offensive or racist and instead viewed it more along the lines of silliness on the part of the band members. Once I made that clear on YouTube. The backlash were angry, intolerant and borderline insulting remarks from other viewers. It became increasingly clear to me that once you let your opinion be seen on YouTube and it is not the mainstream opinion, your opinion will not be respected and chances are there will be some level of internet bullying in an attempt to either get you to change your mind or just simply to make you feel bad.

The comments attached to that video became more and more racist and inappropriate. The band members were consistently being attacked while the Asian girl who was a part of the video was being rebuked and insulted for being a part of the video. I actually felt some level of sympathy for them but considering that they had not removed the video I figured that the band didn't mind the negative publicity. However, as for the rest of us who dared not agree that the video was racist, we had to deal with the angry internet mob.

I did not succumb to the internet pressures as I held firm to my stance but I found myself getting irate at how intolerant and insulting some of the comments were. Each time I told myself that I was making the last comment on the page, an outrageous comment by another person would pull me back and provoke me into responding. As much as I did not agree with majority of the comments on the site, I tried as best as possible to be respectful to others but when you are in the midst of a group of internet gangsters, It seems that "netiquette" matters not.

When one has the freedom to say exactly how they feel at the click of a button with very little consequences in reality, then virtual reality rules clearly apply. People will insult others at the drop of a hat. It gets so wild that people actually remain on the internet, specifically YouTube, for hours and hours, losing sleep going back and forth with their internet nemesis. I fell victim to that until I got a grip and realized that the whole thing was ridiculous.

I also learned that there is a term specifically used to describe the people who literally dedicated all their comments and responses to the purpose of ill intent. The term is trolling. They type the most filthy and outrageous comments you could think of hoping to cut the target down to size. It was incredible because I witnessed first hand how expressing your thoughts and opinions on a video or article could quickly escalate into an ongoing war of words, wit and insults.

This made me realize just how real internet bullying is and that we indeed live in an age of internet gangsters where average unassuming individuals who would never have the guts to argue with you face to face but feel empowered by their anonymity or their safe haven behind their computer screen will say the most hurtful and vicious of things in their attempt to bully, belittle or degrade other individuals via the internet.

I am not sure if this type of behavior or culture will change or can even be affected considering that these internet trolls are generally nameless or faceless and are armed with the knowledge that they can type whatever they want on the internet. However, I would just like to do my part in imploring people to act with civility and respect even when their are no perceived consequences because of the fact that their are so many fragile and vulnerable individuals in the world, some of which are children and you never know if your words can be the catalyst to dangerous results in the life of another.

In addition to this, we have to learn to respect other's opinions even if we do not agree with it. Too many times people forget that everyone is entitled to their opinion and are quick to try to attack the other person's intelligence, character and appearance in order to validate their own opinion. When it pertains to opinions, there is no one way of thinking. Some opinions may be lacking and some may be informative. Some opinions are so passionate they provoke a debate but regardless, it is always best to be respectful. While the internet gives us the privilege of exercising freedom of speech, each individuals ought to weigh their words carefully before posting it on a medium that is so public because the fact is, there is potential for there to be negative repercussions, the most obvious one being, hurting another person emotionally. As such, let's please use the power of the internet responsibly.