Figures of 'hate'

Rhodri Marsden has a piece in today's Independent about Mary Bale, the lady who this week put a cat in a wheelie bin and whose misdemeanour was caught on CCTV...and naturally, was then made into a villain of the highest order, thanks to the Internet.

No-one would deny that the topic is a matter for discussion amongst the public at large. That this arena now includes the public's burgeoning digital presence means that the story got an immediate and seemingly universal reaction. We are increasingly more likely to gather on networking sites and forums to discuss things, just as we would in pubs, at work, at home, etc.

But, as Rhodri points out, being online gives you anonymity. At the very worst, you're safely behind a computer screen. You can fire off a comment and let rip.

I'm not saying that things should not be discussed online, but reasoned (and informed) debate rarely seems to get a look-in. Everyone has an opinion, but they always seem to be extreme. It's always refreshing when someone comes up with another point of view, one you hadn't considered, but rare when one comment gives everyone pause for thought, which can happen in face-to-face discussion.

Maybe it's because this 'discussion' is between hundreds, thousands, even millions of users. A lone voice is drowned out or shouted down, the downside of online user democracy. Forums and comment pages are just crowds gathering outside the castle walls. No-one speaks for them and it's not like the movies, where a hero steps in to make them see sense.

Of course, people often don't have the time or space to present thoughts and ideas for validation. They have to get straight to the point.

All this seems to conspire to bring out the worst in people, when, maybe, they should be using the Internet to bring out their better nature or at least use a modicum of sense when approaching subjects under discussion.

I like to think that people should not be denied the right to say the things that they want: that is after all, the principle of free speech. But, perhaps, when someone is vilified or attacked out of hand, out of sheer malice, with no coherent or constructive point to be made, we, as observers or participants, might choose NOT to heed what is said or step back and think for ourselves.