this seems to be a more recent development in culture, correct? i think this includes the Missouri woman who bullied that girl into hanging herself via a fake myspace page, and certainly includes this:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/girl-bullied-battling-terminal-disease-dies/story?id=15355512
it seems that it's not the same but comes from the same place as those "missing white girl" type stories or "dead 4 yr old" stories, where awful people are found and paraded before the public. it probably also comes from the same place as 'to catch a predator', wherein low-hanging fruit and obvious near-comically inept losers are exposed as being sketchy creeps. i feel like it comes not from anything resembling "justice" and is usually not news, it's something else.
anyway, just marinating away here.
― omar little, Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:34 (thirteen years ago)
intended as a moral corrective?
― dayo, Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:45 (thirteen years ago)
I can see where you're coming from on the 'not news' angle, but OTOH shitbags being publicly called out on their shitbag behaviour serves as a warning to other shitbags not to be such shitbags.
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:53 (thirteen years ago)
true shitbags do not heed warnings
― tunnel joe (harbl), Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:55 (thirteen years ago)
most of what passes for news isn't really news, tho
― mookieproof, Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:55 (thirteen years ago)
I was just going to post "sorry for posting like an undergraduate but this makes me think, 'what is news'"
― dayo, Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:59 (thirteen years ago)
i don't think this is just a recent thing
― buzza, Saturday, 14 January 2012 20:00 (thirteen years ago)
xxp Depends on how 'news' is defined. If it's strictly limited to 'stuff that can actually affect me', then that cruise ship sinking in Italy isn't news.
xxxp at least it gives the rest of us hope that shitbag behaviour is noted and remembered by the public, and theoretically that shitbags will get their comeuppance
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Saturday, 14 January 2012 20:00 (thirteen years ago)
i feel like it's not 100% recent, but perhaps more prevalent? maybe because such behavior is more prevalent in the "social networking era" in which we're living. stories about horrible people doing singularly awful things are usually easily satisfying, because the point of the story is the comeuppance at the end. see also: the light shed on the rash of teen suicides stemming from e-bullies.
― omar little, Saturday, 14 January 2012 23:06 (thirteen years ago)
I don't think it's more prevalent, just that people being mean to their neighbours has a semi-permanent record when it's done online.
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Saturday, 14 January 2012 23:16 (thirteen years ago)
these stories are basically american morality porn
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Sunday, 15 January 2012 00:06 (thirteen years ago)
i think they seem more prevalent because the moral dimensions of our everyday actions are becoming increasingly fragmented and difficult to comprehend. *shooting from hip*
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Sunday, 15 January 2012 00:11 (thirteen years ago)