Why Isn't It Enough To Just Disagree?



Last night I was bumming around the GOPunk website and clicked on their link to the "Right Brothers" site. Anyway, I listened to some MP3s out of curiosity and checked out their store, but what fascinated me was the band's "Comments" page. I read the comments of some of their detractors and was amused by the incredible vitriol contained in many of the letters. It wasn't enough for people to say "I really don't like your music" or "I think your message is bullshit because..." The majority of these messages were more along the lines of "Fuck you assholes, I hope you die."

I have frequently seen this same sort of eloquence from the trolls on the Conservative Punk website, and when I ran my Planet Franken website, I received such mail on pretty much a daily basis. Michale Graves is no stranger to such hate mail, either, as he made clear on his Daily Show interview. And it's not just conservatives who receive this sort of hate, either. It's basically anyone who is bold enough to state their political opinions publically. Alan Colmes describes in his book "Red, White and Liberal" receiving the same type of mail from the right.

Here are some very common statements one might find in this type of letter:

1) Die! or Drop Dead! or I hope you die! etc... You get the idea.

Now, why would peace-loving liberals wish for people's demise? Or pro-life conservatives for that matter? More importantly, why would anybody be so offended by a simple opinion or political ideal that they would actually get a thrill from the thought of that person dying?

2) You make me sick!

Okay, this one is understandable. Certain people make me sick for sure, but I don't go out of my way to get in their faces about it unless they first come after me personally. I've never taken time out of my busy schedule just to email Michael Moore and tell him what a douchebag he is. I have better things to do with my time, and besides, he knows deep down what a douchebag he is. I think that people who spend their time writing hate mail to public figures are deeply insecure.

3) Your (site, article, music, book, whatever) made me laugh my ass off.

This one is funny because it's usually surrounded by statements indicating that the writer is DEFINITELY not laughing. I can just picture people sweating, gritting their teeth and ripping the hairs right out of their heads all while saying how hilarious they think we are. Right.

4) You poeple are to stewpid for words!

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but all too common in its many delightful variations. I call this the "tragic irony" of hate mail writing; not a tragic irony in the theatrical sense, mind you. The irony is in the way the writer unknowingly uses gibberish to try and discredit people's intelligence; the tragedy is that it actually happens...a lot.

5) I'M GOING TO USE ALL CAPS BECAUSE I'M PISSED OFF, I'VE READ TOO MUCH MICHAEL MOORE, AND IT'S HARD TO YELL AT YOU THROUGH A COMPUTER SCREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This common hate mail characteristic is basically just a plea for attention.

6) Nazi! Fascist! Racist! Homophobe! Commie! Wingnut! Chickenhawk!

I don't mind these so much if there is at least an argument to go along with them, but more often than not, the names just stand alone as qualifiers of mindless hate speech. I once received an email from a hardcore Al Franken fan (maybe it was even Al Franken; who knows) who actually called me five of the above names within three sentences. It was truly priceless.

7) Burn in hell!!!

I've received this message a lot from liberals, and it always warms my heart. It's so good to see that there are still some liberals out there who aren't afraid to employ religious references in an increasingly secular world.

Anyway, I point these things out not to whine or lament, but to try and understand what makes such people tick. I'm fascinated by the psychology of it. Why isn't it enough to simply disagree? Why do we all need to die and BURN IN HELL like the stewpid, laughable, wingnut commies that we are? I enjoy nothing more than good political discussion, but what I'm illustrating here is not debate. Is it just venting? A necessary human behavior? Is it the ambiguity of knowing that you will probably never have to come face to face with the person you're smearing?

It's weird, you know?