The Insensitive Society

Every day that I interact with another person, I am struck by the ability of the human race to act...well...less than human. I am amazed on a daily basis that a people can treat each other with such indifference, even antagonism, and not feel. This is never more prevalent then when one logs into any number of online communities. You will never experience more racial slurs, sexist humor, and insensitive conversation that you will when playing an online game.

Some would say that the anonymity of the online space allows people to truly experience their 'Id' so to speak. To let loose of all social norms and say what they really think, to act on the urges that polite company would never allow. Is this really what people think? Is the world smiling to your your face but really wanting to tell you that 'your mother is a goat-f@#cking Wh#@re who should have dumped you in a pile of manure to let you rot' (this is an actual example copy-pasted from a chat log during a conversation about the 2008 election)? Is this really all we've gleaned from those "conflict management" posters that were pasted up and down our Junior High school hallways?

Maybe so, but I think this has less to do with the 'Id', and more to do with the 'super-ego'. Could it be that the home of our societal mores, societal belonging, and feelings of guilt is what is driving us to engage in what looks like the most indulgent pointless blathering since the first Neanderthal said "ook"?

People aren't saying shocking things because they're lower brain tells them they want to, they're doing it because the society in which they're operating is TELLING them that they must. A chatroom is filled with text posted by the first person to type. This is usually the brashest, most offensive person; the person there to try and 'stir the pot'. This seems to set the tone for everyone else.

All of the sane people are talking in 'whispers' or 'tells' (private messages not open to the public eye). Most of us are uncomfortable throwing ourselves out there for the sharks. We tend to filter our ideas through others. Just look around next time you go to watch a comedy at the theater. Wait for a joke, then look around to see how many people are making sure that they're supposed to be laughing. They're looking at their date, their friends, the people sitting in front of them.

Back to the chat room. This first person to talk, this loudmouth who thrives on creating chaos (and these people do exists in our daily lives, watch for them), is the only person not speaking in private. These people are the ones who are creating the community that we look at for guidance. They don't have the same amount of shame and social responsibility that we've built up over the years. We all look at the loudest person and follow in step. In following the society, we end up creating the society that we all strive to avoid.

Remember, YOU are society, YOU are the voice.

Don't fall in line with the other ants; you might end up being led across the wrong counter-top.