4chan, reddit, funny and discord. All have been controversial cesspools in some way or another. Some like reddit and discord have redeemed themselves. Others have… well.. yeah, they’re still exactly the same.

In a world dominated by the internet and the discourse that happens on it, a few have decided that we need to monitor what goes on within our virtual halls in order to protect vulnerable populations. Younger girls needs safe spaces to talk amongst themselves and enjoy content. The lgbt community needs to have a safe space to discuss their needs and issues. The fat community needs to have a safe space away from fat phobia. etc. etc. But with these safe spaces came trolls, usually manifesting themselves from teenage boys and young adult men. Trolls who would often post triggering content within these safe spaces trying to illicit a reaction from the members of said group. And while these actions were not tasteful or ok, many failed to realize that it was this group of people who often needed a safe space for themselves. Their behavior, while not to be excused, should be understood where it came from and why.

Many younger boys and men used to watch cringe compilations on sites like YouTube. These compilations while funny and usually innocent would slowly start adding suggestions in the watch next category along the lines of “feminist gets owned” or “sjw fail” and things along those lines. An interesting video many would think, simply an extension of the video they are currently watching, but alas it was truly propaganda meant to draw in that vulnerable population. From these videos showing very blatantly extremist views from people who identified as feminists or social justice warriors, it would create a hatred of said groups for the viewer. These viewers would then go source out this anti-feminist material and go down rabbit holes of trad-wives, meninism, and other masked alt-right propaganda. Within these spaces, many would interact with actual alt-right members and slowly become desensitized to extreme cruelty and violence towards marginalized groups such as poc, lgbt, and women, often under the guise of “They’re the cringe extremists, we are in the right.” Sites like 4chan and reddit would have forums with thousands of members talking about their distrust and dislike of these groups, slowly brainwashing younger more impressionable boys and men into thinking what they were doing is correct, thus creating entire online armies of people to do their bidding. These high school and college aged boys were truly victims of the internet, and a lot of people don’t seem to see them as such. Boys and men who were sweet and caring were slowly and unfortunately brainwashed into believing in hate and bigotry. This is not and should not be considered a “normal phase”. Of course many teenagers go through periods of questioning the norm and going against the grain, but the lack of empathy and willingness to cause other harm and agony is not. Behavior like this truly is a cry for help.