Fanbullying redux 2
Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats goes back tomorrow, so here's my last few notes from the book.
The author, Nancy E. Willard, devotes an entire chapter to the question of how young people learn to act responsibly. She names "four external forces":
Moral values and social expectations learned from family and peers.
Understanding that an action has caused harm. While recognition of having hurt someone may lead to remorse, it can also lead to rationalising the harmful act in order to not feel remorse.
Social disapproval.
Negative consequences. This is presumably the reason fandom_wank doesn't live on LiveJournal; it'd be TOSsed. The mod's tolerance of malicious gossip, etc, in the Who anon meme is what makes it possible - well, it is kind of the point of the comm.
Out of this list, the two "forces" which can be used to oppose fanbullying are moral values and social expectations, and social disapproval. In a sense, they're the same thing: fanbullying persists because fandom accepts it and tolerates it. We shrug. That's just the way fandom is. Besides, we don't want to attract the bullies' attention by complaining.
Willard's list of bullies' rationalisations makes amusing reading. It includes:
- "I won't get caught".
- "It didn't really hurt."
- "Everyone does it".
- "They deserve it." / "They made me do it."
Oh the bells that list rings.
Oops, dinner is ready. More in part 2 of this exciting posting.
The author, Nancy E. Willard, devotes an entire chapter to the question of how young people learn to act responsibly. She names "four external forces":
Moral values and social expectations learned from family and peers.
Understanding that an action has caused harm. While recognition of having hurt someone may lead to remorse, it can also lead to rationalising the harmful act in order to not feel remorse.
Social disapproval.
Negative consequences. This is presumably the reason fandom_wank doesn't live on LiveJournal; it'd be TOSsed. The mod's tolerance of malicious gossip, etc, in the Who anon meme is what makes it possible - well, it is kind of the point of the comm.
Out of this list, the two "forces" which can be used to oppose fanbullying are moral values and social expectations, and social disapproval. In a sense, they're the same thing: fanbullying persists because fandom accepts it and tolerates it. We shrug. That's just the way fandom is. Besides, we don't want to attract the bullies' attention by complaining.
Willard's list of bullies' rationalisations makes amusing reading. It includes:
- "I won't get caught".
- "It didn't really hurt."
- "Everyone does it".
- "They deserve it." / "They made me do it."
Oh the bells that list rings.
Oops, dinner is ready. More in part 2 of this exciting posting.