Here's an idea! Let's--

[SmartIdiot]

Well... I'm posting this fresh from watching a certain video that has gained notoriety over the last couple of years. I will not go in depth on it, nor describe the acts carried out as I figure that's what the people who made it would've wanted. Some of you will know what I'm talking about and some of you won't. Those of you who don't, just disregard this thread, it's probably better for your well-being. (If you still don't know and your curiosity is killing you, PM me, but remember you've been warned).

The purpose of this thread, after all these weeks of mulling it over and thinking about what friends of mine have said (who had watched said video before me, and warned me about it), is to discuss the nature of the internet. A fantastic source of information and faceless communication, a rapture if you will, free of censorship and restriction.

How far does this go? Where do we reach the point where de-sensitisation has reached its zenith and people are apathetic to the suffering of others? Do we not need these constant shocks to remind us we are human? Do we, also, really need to seek out material documenting the horrific cirumstances in which people are made to suffer? Where do the lines between censorship, horrific realism and understanding through second hand witnessing blur? In spite of the fact humans have been treating one another horribly for centuries is it really necessary to post this in such graphic detail on the internet where anyone could stumble across it? Your thoughts escapists?

EDIT: In light of the first few posts, it's not 2 girls one cup. That's pretty tame by this standard.

EDIT 2: This is also not an excuse to go on depressive rants either. It's merely to prod your thoughts. You seem like an intellectual bunch, spill your mental streams of outrage/nihilism/distress. To further elaborate, is the internet an excuse to expose yourself to the horror of the real world from the comfort of your chair? And where do you draw the line whre the internet is a cold inhuman space of people communicating through 1s and 0s and a collection of small havens of people with some humanity to offer? I would appreciate all angles, it's rough out there, best prepare as much as you can. You never know who's gonna be around the next corner...

 

[BlindMessiah94]

2 girls one cup? Never saw it. The way I see it is, you always have a choice. If you think it's wrong watching that kind of stuff, then don't.

But the fact that so many people watch this stuff is just an indication that human nature is fucked up.

 

[delet]

I have an... idea on what you're talking about. Tell me, does it involve... a cup?

Simply put, I take the approach of 'avoid what I don't want to watch'. Worked pretty well for me so far. I've avoided the worst of the internet and the like. Some people are just weird in that way and so they live to watch weird things; others are different, what most people would classify as normal.

I say let it all stay up and trust people (I know, a horrible idea) to moderate themselves and take responsibility for their own mental scarring.

 

[SmartIdiot]

*snip*.

*snip*

Nope and nope. Something far more inhuman, though I've never seen that video, I have no wish to either...

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Was it one of several videos where it's comprised solely of large groups of people beating up complete strangers (laughing while doing so)?

 

[Timotei]

Awwww. Did someone just see their first shock video?

What was it?

Zippocat? Goatse The Movie? I doubt it's any worse than that video of African rebels video taping their raid of a village, the rape and butchering of women and children as well as the execution of Red Cross workers. That's a video that will haunt you for months right there.

 

[geldonyetich]

Here's an idea! Let's--

-- not start threads whose topic is exactly about the kinds of things the mods and/or the general public don't want to see on the forums.

 

[x0ny]

I think he meant the following, I've never seen the video either:

 

[SmartIdiot]

Awwww. Did someone just see their first shock video?

What was it?

Zippocat? Goatse The Movie? I doubt it's any worse than that video of African rebels video taping their raid of a village, the rape and butchering of women and children as well as the execution of Red Cross workers. That's a video that will haunt you for months right there.

Funnily enough, no. I'm no stranger to shock websites (fuck I fell for that shit when I was 14). It's just I find this kind of material is becoming like a sort of 'torture porn', if you will, for some people. Where do people draw the line between their curiosity getting the better of them and witnessing an act that can potentially scar them for life?

 

[SmartIdiot]

I think he meant the following, I've never seen the video either:

Spoiler

Nope.

 

[SmartIdiot]

Are you talking about Maledom and Femdom? Because that is supposed to be consensual.

You want to watch something harrowing search for the film about the unknown Russian Soldier. Theatrical films really don't do death justice - when you see it, if you have even a shred of decency, you will be disgusted by it.

A few instructors at the Army Recruit Training Centre were disciplined/discharged for showing it to recruits. I saw it later, it certainly made me re-think my decision to become an infantryman. You see, some people don't believe in the Geneva Convention regarding prisoners.

And if you think that's terrible, read up on this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731 .

Mm. That brings back the horrors of my old Modern Studies class. The human race can be vicious, to the point of earning self-termination. However the point of this thread is to discuss the effects of developments in technology which allow people to witness mans inhumanity to man second hand and how that affects the way people function day to day, since access to this information is at our very fingertips. Consider this; do you perhaps think that maybe some people are right when they say things were better in the old days? Ignorance probably was bliss then.

 

[TheTim]

Does it involve a hammer and a screwdriver?

 

[SmartIdiot]

Mm. That brings back the horrors of my old Modern Studies class. The human race can be vicious, to the point of earning self-termination. However the point of this thread is to discuss the effects of developments in technology which allow people to witness mans inhumanity to man second hand and how that affects the way people function day to day, since access to this information is at our very fingertips. Consider this; do you perhaps think that maybe some people are right when they say things were better in the old days? Ignorance probably was bliss then.

Honestly I don't really know, except that I would forewarn others that wisdom and knowledge come at a price. And then there's the problem that if people aren't warned about things, they could fall prey to them. It's a tricky balance.

I think ultimately, ignorance of evil allows evil to go unchallenged. In my mind there are certain acts of depravity that should not be tolerated, and the measure I use is consent.

Well naturally it comes at a price. Sometimes in order to gain knowledge you have to sacrifice a part of you which you can never get back.'What has been seen cannot be unseen' as the saying goes. Of course it makes us wiser, however do you think it's worth it in certain instances? And what of those who spread such material virally like a form of aforementioned 'torture porn' in order to get attention/hits? (Don't worry I'm not getting 'high and mighty' I just thought that'd be a good way to word it). Of course ignorance is a scourge, but what about those who, like I mentioned before, may stumble upon it unawares? That could have a potentially destructive effect on their well being and trust of people in the long run.

 

[SmartIdiot]

Does it involve a hammer and a screwdriver?

Yeah I think you know what I'm on about. Unpleasant.

 

[Icecoldcynic]

You're referring to 3 guys 1 hammer, right? In all honesty, that video barely affects me anymore. I have seen it more than once, and I simply have come to accept that some things do not require an explanation, they simply exist.

 

[TheTim]

Does it involve a hammer and a screwdriver?

Yeah I think you know what I'm on about. Unpleasant.

Yea that scarred me for life. I can't believe that is still on the internet

 

[SmartIdiot]

Does it involve a hammer and a screwdriver?

Yeah I think you know what I'm on about. Unpleasant.

Yea that scarred me for life. I can't believe that is still on the internet

Well like I mentioned previously, the internet is a utopia of information in all its grotesque beauty and inhumanity. Once a video like that is leaked it's incredibly hard to censor it or keep it from those whose curiosity would get the better of them. I'd like to take this opportunity to let you and other escapists know I did not actively seek this this video out of bloodthirst, I had heard about it from 2 friends of mine who are otherwise very positive and upbeat individuals. They found this video one day by mistake and watched the first 1 and a half minutes and couldn't go further, since then their positive sensibilities have been somewhat damaged (as can be expected). I only sought to understand what they had seen and remind them that although it is a horrific display of humanity at its worst in 'civilian' life, not all humans are this way inclined.

 

[atalanta]

Mm. That brings back the horrors of my old Modern Studies class. The human race can be vicious, to the point of earning self-termination. However the point of this thread is to discuss the effects of developments in technology which allow people to witness mans inhumanity to man second hand and how that affects the way people function day to day, since access to this information is at our very fingertips. Consider this; do you perhaps think that maybe some people are right when they say things were better in the old days? Ignorance probably was bliss then.

I think I might be misunderstanding some of the context and discussing something rather different than you mean, since i have exactly no idea what you're talking about, but I think it's both a good thing and a bad thing.

On one hand, watching horrible things you can't do anything about can desensitise you to various horrors, and I don't think that's a good thing.

At the same time, though, thanks to the immediacy of the internet, mobilising against Bad Shit Going Down, even in small ways, is easier and faster. For instance, look at the response to the protests after the Iranian election. Sites like Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook got information about what was happening out quickly all over the world; people responded by organising protests and setting up proxies and so on.

I was reading the other day about charities; it said that ads featuring one person and a request for donations do much better than ads showing lots of people; there's something about the small-scale individual level that motivates people, as opposed to things that affect an entire group. Related to that, it's easy to not care about what's going on in another part of the world when you read about it in a newspaper; watching a Youtube video showing a young woman bleeding to death in the street while her family desperately tries to save her makes the situation feel more real and important to people who aren't immediately involved.

 

[Icecoldcynic]

Hey, I don't want to be a poopypants (I think that's the technical term), but don't stray too close to sharing what's on the video. The mods did NOT look kindly on the last person to post that information. It's a good topic overall, just don't get yourself in trouble. And as disgusting as it is, I think it should be allowed to stay up. It can be horribly scarring, but if we know just how low humanity can go maybe a light will go off in us and keep us from straying down that path ourselves. Of course, I'm not that kind of person in the first place, so maybe they're incapable of such insight. Who knows?

I honestly think that the content displayed in that video would be physically impossible for any normal person to carry out. I just don't believe, short of having serious mental issues, I could ever bring myself to do something like that, even on pain of death.

 

[TheTim]

Does it involve a hammer and a screwdriver?

Yeah I think you know what I'm on about. Unpleasant.

Yea that scarred me for life. I can't believe that is still on the internet

Well like I mentioned previously, the internet is a utopia of information in all its grotesque beauty and inhumanity. Once a video like that is leaked it's incredibly hard to censor it or keep it from those whose curiosity would get the better of them. I'd like to take this opportunity to let you and other escapists know I did not actively seek this this video out of bloodthirst, I had heard about it from 2 friends of mine who are otherwise very positive and upbeat individuals. They found this video one day by mistake and watched the first 1 and a half minutes and couldn't go further, since then their positive sensibilities have been somewhat damaged (as can be expected). I only sought to understand what they had seen and remind them that although it is a horrific display of humanity at its worst in 'civilian' life, not all humans are this way inclined.

When me and my friend found it, took us somewhere in the vicinity of 25 minutes to watch the full thing because we both had to throw up >_0