Why does society seem to be falling apart, even though it's not?

[andrewducker]

Over on Andy Ducker's Links I linked to a story about Robin Williams' daughter leaving social networks because she was receiving abuse after her father died

Comments

[randomdreams]

I hate to make something that could be construed as a pro-violence message, but I think a major part of the greater internet fuckwad theory is less that some people don't think about the consequences of their actions, and more that when their actions have no consequences they feel free to be complete jerks. I'm uncomfortable with the thought that there are lots of people out there who would be glad to rob me or run me down if there weren't police around, but I think it's true.

[andrewducker]

Yeah - I'd love to know more about what causes that kind of behaviour. I wonder if anyone's written anything good on it.

[randomdreams]

Personally, I think it's also the cause of at least some sexist/misogynist behavior, as well: guys won't act like jerks towards other guys because they're afraid they'll get punched, but they then feel free to act like jerks towards women. In this view of things, it's not that they hate women, it's that they fear retaliation.

[andrewducker]

Guys act like jerks towards other guys a lot. But usually in a reasonably friendly way.

And if you look at the hate mail that someone like Scalzi gets, they can get unfriendly there too.

But when women get "uppity", then the hatred _really_ gets unleashed. I think it's a "people getting above their station" response.

[randomdreams]

Which is _exactly_ what people mean when they talk about power structures and gender power dynamics. Although, it doesn't have to be gender: in the US, much of what kept institutional racism in place was a power structure designed to not punish people who maintained the status quo, and reward people who behaved to reinforce the status quo, with the occasional lynching to publicize just exactly what the status quo was. I think the same behavior goes on in modern society, just with a lot less lynching. People are still trying to reinforce the power structures that give them power, by threatening and humiliating other people.
The difficult part is that in many cases I don't think this is conscious behavior. It's pack dynamics. That's harder to fix, although we've managed to, as a culture and as a species, get past a lot of really unhealthy instincts already.

[andrewducker]

Absolutely. (And yes, I chose the word 'uppity' carefully.)

And yes, I agree - most people aren't even aware they're doing it. Getting people to even think about their behaviour is the hard part.