Was Just Ganged Up On By Friends
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:54 pm
This is my first post, but I've been coming here browsing for a little while now thanks to a friend introducing me.
Anyway, the real point of this post is that I was just on facebook and a couple of my friends along with some of their friends essentially belittled me over something as trivial as a website. The website is Reddit, which is an open forum with things called subreddits, which are certain sections (like this one). Now, normally it tends to be flooded with internet humor and inside jokes and whatnot, but I've taken to heading over to the Buddhism subreddit to discuss the dharma with people, seek or offer advice, interpretation, etc.
My one friend originally posted an article discussing the misogynistic tendencies of individuals that can be found on Reddit, along with a caption that read, "end reddit"
I equated this to how many Americans say things like, "Nuke the Middle East" because it's not about the results being the same, but rather the vacuum of understanding and the emotional kind of crusade that makes you want to "destroy every redditor" or "destroy reddit culture."
There was a recent scandal about underage threads being posted, and so Reddit took them down, but apparently others still exist and there are also threads about harming women/domestic violence/rape etc.
Needless to say I support none of these things, I do what I can to help spread more positivity throughout the community, and spend most of my time, like I said, in the Buddhism part.
However, I was basically relentlessly accused of being ignorant, with a sort of out of sight/out of mind philosophy, and of supporting a site that "supports" these kinds of abusive comments/threads. I find this difficult to deal with because Reddit is a huge forum, and I don't usually run into anything but positive people. When I see the opposite, I just don't feed into it or, if it's something over the line, I report it.
I'm not sure what I should be doing/feeling because I have my own virtues and morals, and those threads conflict with them inexplicably, but I also recognize the public setup of any forum and that it all opens up gates for trouble. One of the things my friend said to me was that I'd never experience misogyny so I basically just don't understand what she's talking about, but I find that to be similar to the misogyny she's criticizing herself. After all, we're friends and I quite obviously do not favor any attitude that lacks compassion and/or leads to harm.
Your input would be most appreciated, everybody. Thank you.
Om mani padme hum.
Anyway, the real point of this post is that I was just on facebook and a couple of my friends along with some of their friends essentially belittled me over something as trivial as a website. The website is Reddit, which is an open forum with things called subreddits, which are certain sections (like this one). Now, normally it tends to be flooded with internet humor and inside jokes and whatnot, but I've taken to heading over to the Buddhism subreddit to discuss the dharma with people, seek or offer advice, interpretation, etc.
My one friend originally posted an article discussing the misogynistic tendencies of individuals that can be found on Reddit, along with a caption that read, "end reddit"
I equated this to how many Americans say things like, "Nuke the Middle East" because it's not about the results being the same, but rather the vacuum of understanding and the emotional kind of crusade that makes you want to "destroy every redditor" or "destroy reddit culture."
There was a recent scandal about underage threads being posted, and so Reddit took them down, but apparently others still exist and there are also threads about harming women/domestic violence/rape etc.
Needless to say I support none of these things, I do what I can to help spread more positivity throughout the community, and spend most of my time, like I said, in the Buddhism part.
However, I was basically relentlessly accused of being ignorant, with a sort of out of sight/out of mind philosophy, and of supporting a site that "supports" these kinds of abusive comments/threads. I find this difficult to deal with because Reddit is a huge forum, and I don't usually run into anything but positive people. When I see the opposite, I just don't feed into it or, if it's something over the line, I report it.
I'm not sure what I should be doing/feeling because I have my own virtues and morals, and those threads conflict with them inexplicably, but I also recognize the public setup of any forum and that it all opens up gates for trouble. One of the things my friend said to me was that I'd never experience misogyny so I basically just don't understand what she's talking about, but I find that to be similar to the misogyny she's criticizing herself. After all, we're friends and I quite obviously do not favor any attitude that lacks compassion and/or leads to harm.
Your input would be most appreciated, everybody. Thank you.
Om mani padme hum.