LogicNProportion said:
Just wanted to say, that to an extent, bullies are actually a good thing. Nothing creates quite like conflict. If you unable to get around the conflict, well, that's just life. It's unfair, and it's survival of the fittest working. In this case, what makes Anonymous 'the fittest' are their organization methods, techniques and skills, and sheer size. It let's them do what they want. Don't mean to sound like an ass, but that's just how the world works.
No, that's a theory to how the world works. What you're describing is evolution through lord of the flies reruns. Or, to be more fair to your intention, forced evolution. The theory holds that you break things... people, stuff, whatever, through conflict. Those that survive come back stronger, those that don't, well, "survival of the fittest," right?
The problem with this are; first, it's incredibly destructive, long term, to everyone involved, second, people don't really come back stronger from perpetual conflict, they wear down, and eventually break. Some individuals lash out with substantial force, but in the long run people are weakened by perpetual conflict, not strengthened by them.
Finally, none of this is the behavior of a bully. A bully is someone who intentionally seeks out individuals (or in this case other groups) that cannot defend itself. It then lords that over it's victim while humiliating them. Bullies tend to seek out the kind of person who won't turn on them, and tend to back off when they do.
It does not have an upside. Even individuals who retaliate don't do so from some inner strength, not really, they lash out in response to their own breakdown, and recovery is a long painful process if it ever occurs.
LogicNProportion said:
And besides, getting trolled is just commonplace on the net now. Don't feed the trolls, and don't be trollbait. If you find yourself coming under severe harassment, chances are, in some shape or fashion, you were being such an asshole enough that you became infamous enough so that your face or info becomes well-known on certain image boards or websites. The guy who calls someone an idiot doesn't make it to there. It often takes a special kind of person to make it there. People who either do incredible good, or horribly bad. Sometimes something so bad it's good, and vice versa.
Here you're assuming something critical. You're assuming that Anonymous is working off a coherent ideology for trolling, but they really aren't. They're bullying people and then hopping onto the next victim. And while no one liked Scientology, so they were fair game, this has become about harming random passers by who weren't being assholes in any way shape or form, simply because some little shit decided to piss on everyone they perceived as being incapable of defending themselves.
For instance the LulzSec Sony hack that resulted in a lot of users having their names, passwords, phone numbers, addresses, and email posted. These aren't people who were being assholes. They weren't being trollbait. These were people who were, by in large elderly citizens, and their information was published in retaliation for something they had no part in.
Now you can hide behind some philosophy of forced evolution, but in a case like this, there's no upside, not for these people at any rate. Just victimization.
LogicNProportion said:
As someone who frequents those websites and studies the 'culture' A LOT, but never acts with it, perhaps I have a bit of insight.
Perhaps. But, these flaws are built into their society, so it's not like their aware of this themselves.
