Vile
A very brave friend posted on Facebook an email he received from a twisted, vile sub-human. Read it here.
While it was an email, it could just as easily been a letter through the post or a malicious phone call. It is vile.
Yet shortly after reading that I signed a Declaration of Internet Freedom. Frankly, not the greatest work of democracy, but not bad all the same.
But here is the nub of the tension. We do need Internet freedom. But we also need protection. Protection from vile cowardly fuckers who use this wonderful tool to hurt and abuse other people.
“Trolls” is such a sweet word – dismissive, meaningless, valueless. The tension is something I have struggled with for more than a decade. Yes, let’s keep the internet free. But how do we protect ourselves from bullying bastard, fucker, arse-holes (or Trolls if you prefer the pretty word) and from intrusive government agencies?
The struggle continues.