I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but my motivation levels were not so great. They still aren't and for that reason, this post is going to be pretty disorganized.
So I'm not much of a huge gamer in that I don't play a ton of different games. To add to that, the list of competitive online games that I play really equals about one. However, what I'm about to write about seems to be a pretty shared experience among anyone who spends a lot of time online and to be honest, a lot of this applies to the internet in general.
What I am talking about of course are the trolls. Those are the players online who exist only to say hurtful, disgusting and generally horrible things. These people at times make me regret going online and at other times, make me feel ashamed to be part of the same general human race as them. Now, a lot of these people I can flat out ignore easily for a few different reasons. First, I have a big mouth and can talk over most people until they shut up. Secondly, the ever useful mute button. The second one is the one I've been using as of late because the number of these trolls seems to be increasing at a rate that I can't possibly keep up with and I just get tired. Despite these options, there is one form of trolling that always gets to me. There is one form that just angers me and makes me want to turn off my system and swear off gaming. What I am talking about of course is racial trolling.
One of the biggest strengths of the internet is its anonymity. It's also one of it's biggest weaknesses. Some people take the fact that they are anonymous and no one knows who they are and use it to say things that they wouldn't be caught dead saying otherwise. For example, some people see my online tag and immediately take it upon themselves to judge who and what I am. They use my name to start pushing their hate onto me. Without provocation, I will enter a room and be told to go back to my country. I will be called a wetback. I will be called a spick. I will be told that immigration is coming to get me. All of this comes from no real provocation on my part.
And it is not just limited to me. My best friend is black and sometimes when he enters rooms he is immediately hit with the "N word."
--Now let me go off on a slight tangent and say that there is no word I hate more on this planet than that disgusting piece of filth. In my opinion, it's not okay for anyone to say this; it doesn't matter if you are white, black, latin, Asian, green, blue, Indian, etc and if you use this word, I will lose respect for you. This is a word, that in my opinion, should die in use unless it's a look into history and how horrible people used to be or unless your name is Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock or Mark Twain. There are few things that make my blood instantly boil, but the colloquial use of this word is definitely one of them. I could probably dedicate an entire post to this, but I'll leave it here.--
What scares me the most about the use of these racial terms is how casually they are dropped, the age of the speakers and the frequency at which they are dropped. What makes people use these terms so freely when they wouldn't dare utter them in public? What does this show about their state of mind? What does it say about their upbringing? It's like some sort of twisted case of empowerment where people feel strong because of their anonymous state and use that power to insult other people and ironically, try to hold them down. It's frightening because it's so real. I hear the voice on the other end directing their hate at me.
People say that we are past racism nowadays. Some even say that we are in a post racial world. I think these comments are ridiculous. Racism isn't what it used to be and isn't as outright, but that's because it has evolved. If you want to see part of this evolution, all you have to do is turn on your Playstation or Xbox and log on to a game.
Note: This post is pretty scattered/terrible and that's because currently, my thoughts are scattered.
after you showed me FatUglyorSlutty, i saw this in their about section. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_disinhibition_effect ) it's a theory about why people troll on the internet. a lot of it makes sense, especially the "you can't see me" part. the fact that you are not in front of the people you're playing with/against gives everyone the mind set that they can do or say anything they want because there won't be any repercussions from the person they're trolling. a lot of people are not confrontational irl, but they can be so online because they dont have to see the other people they play with. they can be any kind of level of asshole online because they won't get punched, they won't get kicked, they won't get stabbed. they can sit safely in their room and talk shit with no consequences. and they know psn won't reprimand poor behavior either, so people will be even worse.
ReplyDeleteracial trolling is a direct result of that, im sure. players want to feel like the bigger man, and they'll say ANYTHING to make them look like they're oh so good, even if that means breaking out racial slurs and insults. it really fucking sucks, but unfortunately it cant be avoided because people are assholes and again, no one is going to throw a fist fight in defense.
i know what you mean about the n word too. im the same way with the word cunt. i hate hate HATE that word. it's absolutely disgusting and i definitely lose respect for people who use it. if someone was dropping insults on me left and right, i wouldnt care. the second they call me a cunt, though, i am not responsible for whatever destruction ensues on my part. if ever a friend of mine called me that seriously or in jest, i dont think i could be okay with it no matter how close they were to me.
haha i feel bad now because im pretty sure i dropped the n word like...once or twice while i played with you awhile ago. IM SORRY DONT HATE ME.