Most of us have occasionally laughed at a politically incorrect joke in our time, even made some, but in the general sense of things, they’re relatively harmless observations on life that aren’t designed to hurt.
Over the past twelve months, and in particular the most recent few, my Facebook has been inundated with pages of hate groups that aren’t harmless observations on life, but cesspools of abhorrence aimed at the most vulnerable people in our society – the physically, mentally, terminally ill and the groups of people who don’t fit the mould in a society that demands conformity above the freedom of individuality.
These are groups created by and for keyboard warriors who are nothing more than vessels of hatred; useless members of society who undermine any good they may do in their real life, off-the-internet world by the atrocities they commit behind the relative anonymity of their computers.
Families set up memorial Facebook pages for their lost loved ones as a place to share their memories, or to communicate funeral details, to raise support or awareness of the bullying, disease or depression that claimed the life of their loved one(s). Even these pages, dripping with heartbreak, are a playground for the aforementioned useless members of society whose lives are so lacking that they get their kicks by torturing the vulnerable.
Many people rise up against these groups on the group pages, inadvertently feeding the trolls who have been sitting at home masturbating over their own hatespews, just waiting for someone else to come along, disturbed and outraged by the contents of the page; fresh meat for them to tear into.
Facebook has the means to shut these groups down.
If these groups clog my news feed, thanks to the many ways in which Facebook likes to inform me of every single piece of activity my friendslist indulges in, then the great Facebook Powers That Be are certainly also aware of these groups. The fact that they get reported for violation of the TOS would certainly bring them to their attention, right?
I’m not saying that you can stop every one of these pages being created, but Facebook certainly has the money to spend on a department whose sole purpose is to attend to pages and groups reported to them for violation of the TOS. They state that they have the right to remove these pages so that is exactly what they should be doing.
As the largest social networking site in the world, this needs to be a bigger priority than it is.
This group, 1,000,000 Normal People Against Sick Hate Pages has been created not as a platform to discuss moral or ethical issues, but as a place for people to unite against the proliferation of all hate pages collectively, rather than individual hate groups. Its main goal is to reach Facebook admins and force them to shut these groups down. This group will not tolerate any hatred or negativity. Comments along that vein will be deleted, as will the users who post them. Zero tolerance.
This group is fully aware that you’ll never stop people from creating these sick pages, but constant vigilance is required to protect Facebook’s users – the people who willingly give out the goldmine of information that Facebook sells to the people who give them their money. Without the users, Facebook has nothing and this is the internet – the new Facebook will arise to offer users a better experience someday, when people are too tired of wading through shit just so they can keep up with the lives of their friends.
For my part, I won’t go onto those hate pages and feed the trolls, but if any of my Facebook friends participate in any of the hatred that is spewed onto them, I will hold them accountable for it on their own personal page.
This might be the internet, the biggest argument-hall the world has ever known, but its lack of consequences also allows people to be someone they would never be in the face-to-face real world.
Words are the most powerful tool we have as a species. The written language is what has allowed civilization to excel, expand and to conquer the constraints laid down by nature.
Don’t waste them on hatred. Think about the things you are saying. Ask yourself, would you ever say this to someone in the real world? The answer is probably no, and while this message will be laughed at by those people whose only form of entertainment is hate-mongering, like all bullies, when they no longer have an audience to cheer them on, they’ll soon grow tired of it.
Use your voice to support a good cause instead of playing the sycophantic little sidekick. The internet is no longer this ethereal playground, separate to our day-to-day lives. The internet IS our day-to-day lives, and it’s our key to salvation. Treat it and the rest of its users with respect.
Freedom of speech regardless, It isn’t difficult to use manners.
Edit: 18/08/2012
I would just like to clarify that I am all for free speech – including opinions that I don’t agree with as that is the basic fundamental principle of having free speech.
My issue with these groups is that Facebook, The Great and Powerful, who are making infinity dollars out of the information gleaned from user habits, specifies in its Terms of Use at this address https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards that:
Hate Speech
Facebook does not permit hate speech. While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, it is a serious violation to attack a person based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.
The truth of the matter is, Facebook does permit hate speech, as all of the reports against the hate pages that I have made have been answered by Facebook admins stating that “After reviewing your report, we were not able to confirm that the specific page you reported violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.”
Wary, Contrary and no Virgin Mary 
Could not have put it any better myself, well done, I am sharing this and spreading the word!
Thanks Helen,
I appreciate it. The more people stand up against this, the better the world will be.
I clicked the like button on this post a couple of days ago but needed to think a little about leaving a comment. I hestitated, not because of your post which is very well said, but because if any of these people, these haters, actually did read this post, they’d love to see any abusive comments or descriptions of themselves. It’s a little difficult to comment without some reference to these mistakes of nature who love misery of others or even themselves. They are cowards and something is missing within them which prevents them from rising anywhere near to being a real person. I can’t help but wonder what sort of life these haters came from and what they think at night when they turn out the lights and are alone with their thoughts. It just might be too hard for them to do anything good. I suppose I should feel sorry for them.
As for Facebook, I think the owners can do more than what is being done now. They have the theory of their policies, they have the technology to put it into practice. Bruce
I don’t think the people who create the pages really think much at all on what they do.
I think they are lonely people who see the hundreds and thousands of likes and shares as validation of themselves and their popularity. It gives them a completely false sense of purpose in life.
It’s certainly true that there is a block/ignore option on Facebook and nobody is actually forcing us to use Facebook to begin with, but I think the time for “ignoring” and “blocking” is over now.
Society is in for a lot of trouble as a result of Internet and Social Media use, and not just with the kiddies. We need to remember that behind our screens lie other human beings.
It’s a slippery slope for me. I believe freedom of speech is the most important thing we can have in this world, so it’s quite a conflict for me to want to see these pages shut down, however, the reason I do want them shut down is the reason I’ve specified above: Facebook makes money off the community of people who use the service. Their policy states that they don’t tolerate pages of this kind, and that they have the right to shut them down.
Facebook is not Reddit, nor has it ever claimed to be.
They need to provide the service that they profess to provide (one in which hate speech is not tolerated).