I agree that emotional violence (like bullying), even online, is toxic and abusive. Nobody wins in those scenarios. We have to spread positivity. People easily turn into lynch mobs when they can convince themselves that they’re righteous in doing it.
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I think it is more than just being positive. It also involves confronting people on their behaviour and making it clear that it is no longer tolerated and it will not be ignored either. That is, at times, tough to do. But if we don't start standing up and saying 'no', the behaviour will continue to get worse and worse. Then the lynch mobs form and we are all in trouble.
That's true. Sometimes positivity doesn't change anything or even exacerbates a situation. It's tough to find the balance, though. Nobody likes being told that they're the bad guy. (You know, cognitive dissonance and all.) I was bullied a lot as a kid so it really gets at me emotionally to see people getting ganged up on even if they "deserve" it to some degree. I don't think it's any better online--if anything, it's worse, because people use the anonymity as a way to let the worst version of themselves take over. Two wrongs don't make a right, you know? I think it's one of the major problems with having a completely decentralized system. That's why we've set up republican governments instead of direct democratic ones ("republican" and "democratic" in lowercase, not the political parties). Direct democracies mean mob rule and vigilante justice. I realize that it's a little dramatic to refer to an online flagging system as akin to those but at the same time the last thing I want is for this site to turn into a moralistic echo chamber where dissenters are bullied out, because there's a very fine line between justice and groupthink.
I agree. You summed it up very nicely. In a system of anarchy, one of the core principles is freedom. The moment we gang up on somebody because we disagree with what they are saying, we immediately curtail our own freedoms as well. We can confront and rebuke, but the moment we engage in force, coercion or violence, we have crossed the line.
So while it is okay to have discussions about morality and ethics, it is not okay to engage in violence to make our point, despite how 'justified' we are in doing it.
The mob rule is something I've taught for years when it comes to the state and we see it here too. It will take time to work through these lessons that we all have to learn, but we will get there. That is part of the learning process as we all figure out how anarchy actually works.
We are so institutionalize and colonized that we have to go through a deprogramming process so that we can abandon some of those group think ideas and find new ways of interacting with one another in peace and prosperity. It may takes years, but this platform provides the best hope in my opinion as it is a relatively safe place to test out these principles and see if we can do it. if we accomplish it here, then we can accomplish it 'out there'.
That is when we can really change the world. Thank you for such a thoughtful, articulate and insightful response. I love it!