Trolls

There's a certain website that's causing a lot of distress among teachers in Tasmania and probably throughout the world. I'm sure sites like this are set up with the best of intentions. (insert stifled laugh) But when you've got a site that gives users the ability to comment anonymously, then you have to be prepared for the obligatory trolls.

There must be something about the light of a full computer screen that turns these sweet little children (again, the stifled laugh) into horrible spineless troll.com's.

Oh, who am I kidding. When I was young and stupid, I talked about teachers behind their backs just like all of my friends. Kids are very prone to that sort of mob mentality when it comes to teachers and classmates. I'm not advocating this behaviour. I was a victim of it as well as a proponent. I'm just saying that it's been around for much longer than the internet.  Websites like Rate My Teachers are really just a glorified venue for cowardly note passing at the back of the classroom.

So, what's the solution to this new zit on the pimple-clustered face of today's youth?

I'm gonna play the "responsibility" card.

Victor Frankl, in his excellent book Man's Search For Meaning, said that if the United States has a Statue of Liberty on the East Coast then they should have a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast. I agree with this with every logical cell in my brain. Freedom is wonderful glorious right, but some people can abuse it until it is mangled beyond anything recognisable. These people are trolls. They hurl insults and bile from behind the screen of anonymity and call it, "freedom." Many of them, especially the kids, would act very differently if they had to confront that person, face-to-face over a cup of tea.

I'm gonna end this before I degenerate into a rambling cantankerous old codger. But at least you know who I am and where I stand.