Japan's parliament on Monday passed legislation making "online insults" punishable by imprisonment amid rising public concern over cyberbullying sparked by the suicide of a reality television star who had faced social media abuse.
I thought it was dumb then and I think it's dumb now. You can log off, sure - when you're not forced to use the internet for work/school - but you can't make everyone else log off. People can still spread hateful content to your family and friends, they can still spread rumors and start hashtag campaigns that all of your peers will see.
And even beyond that, oftentimes the people who face the most harassment online are the ones who have the most trouble fitting in with the real world. They hang out in weirdo anime forums or furry Tumblr and get most of their validation from other internet users. Whether or not that is healthy, these communities don't deserve to be stalked by people hunting for the next big "lolcow" or whatever. They deserve to have safe access to their online communities.
With all of that said, do some people deserve it? Well yeah. The world shouldn't be a safe space for reactionaries. There are some people who should be afraid to show their face, online or otherwise.
I thought it was dumb then and I think it's dumb now. You can log off, sure - when you're not forced to use the internet for work/school - but you can't make everyone else log off. People can still spread hateful content to your family and friends, they can still spread rumors and start hashtag campaigns that all of your peers will see.
And even beyond that, oftentimes the people who face the most harassment online are the ones who have the most trouble fitting in with the real world. They hang out in weirdo anime forums or furry Tumblr and get most of their validation from other internet users. Whether or not that is healthy, these communities don't deserve to be stalked by people hunting for the next big "lolcow" or whatever. They deserve to have safe access to their online communities.
With all of that said, do some people deserve it? Well yeah. The world shouldn't be a safe space for reactionaries. There are some people who should be afraid to show their face, online or otherwise.