All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report

Losing Faith

CromeDome on 2006-10-11T13:34:07

This makes me sick. Not the article, not the story, but the responses to it.

It's one thing to laugh at one's own tragedy as a way of coping. But for people to just go ahead and willy nilly make fun of this is disgusting. Truly.

I'm quickly losing faith in the good of humanity. Not like I had much left to begin with.

I'm embarassed to ever have viewed or participated in that site. Much like Slashdot. Another once-good site that I'll have to stop following now.

Is anyone else offended by this, or am I just being overly sensitive?

Why it happens, and how to cope

Alias on 2006-10-11T14:45:39

It happens because of the fucktard principle.

Namely, "Normal Person + Internet + Anonymity == Fucktard".

As for how to compensate, go listen to the Shaudenfraude song from the musical "Avenue Q".

Adam K

Re:Why it happens, and how to cope

Aristotle on 2006-10-11T16:49:41

To be precise, John Gabriel’s Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory states that Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total Fuckwad.

Reiser reactions

DAxelrod on 2006-10-11T18:48:29

If those comments made you uncomfortable, I suggest you do *not* read the latest "Everybody Loves Eric Raymond."

I'm guessing some of the humor is people who don't want to think about weighty issues like death. It's the same reason third graders giggle about the mention of anything remotely sexual. (At least, I did in third grade...)

The comments insinuating or assuming guilt are unfortunately part of people's tendency to jump to conclusions, especially when presented with sensationalism.

The other comments about the future of the filesystem also seem inappropriate, given the weight of the current circumstances, and that seems to be people's tendency to immediately think "How will this affect *me*?" Because, face it, would this have gotten your attention if you didn't already have some connection to Hans Reiser, even if only by using his software?

You're Not the Only One

chromatic on 2006-10-11T19:03:18

Software is replacable. A single human life is not -- how much more a family!

Re: Faith in humanity

DAxelrod on 2006-10-11T19:11:12

I've had similar reactions about humans being horrible. After looking at conflicts, and how horribly so many people deal with them, and thinking about how friends can turn on eachother. Modern Sudanese slavery, as well as the situation in Darfur, made me feel even more down. And then I read this article (WARNING: disturbing descriptions that may be NSFW), felt sick to my stomach, and wondered how humanity had any hope.

But.

I've had two experiences with car crashes. One in which no one was hurt, one in which, thankfully, I was the only one hurt, and not very badly.

In one of them, a man, after seeing the disabled vehicle I was in, stopped his car on the side of a major road, at night, in a not-well lit part, and risked being hit by traffic to see if everyone was OK.

In the other, several people again ran to the car I was in to make sure I was OK, offer to call for help, and provide assistance.

Both times, emergency services, when I called them, told me that several people had already called about the accident and that help had already been dispatched. This was within a minute or so of the accidents.

How could I possibly not have faith in humanity when so many people had shown me, someone they did not know and were never likely to meet again, compassion?

Since I had recieved some of the benefits of compassion, how could I do anything but show that same compassion to others?

Humans, as a group, are extraordinarily complex. It is ultimately useless to classify them as purely evil or purely good. Each individual is capable of horrible things and great things. Such is the human condition.

A child's sense of self.

brian_d_foy on 2006-10-11T19:49:50

Digg is infested with teenagers, actual or de facto. Having little perspective and watching too much sci-fi and being too geeky, all content, no matter the import, is just fodder for punning and other word play.

Instead of including them in humanity, look at them as you would a child: early in development and not mature enough to have the perspective that allows them to put their actions into the context of others. They are still developing a sense of self, and haven't moved onto the sense of others yet. It's just basic, childhood development phases.

Or, they're just wankers.

Truly, though, this shit gets more tiresome as I get older.