
Can Empathy Scale to the Internet? - fredfoobar42
https://medium.com/@sanspoint/can-empathy-scale-to-the-internet-3fd71acc917a
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cuckcuckspruce
My main problem with this article is the following:

>We’re all to blame at some level, and we’re all responsible for finding a
solution.

This seems to blow away the entire premise of the article. This is either
massive victim blaming or massively blaming everybody for the actions of a
few. It's victim blaming if you're saying that people who are harassed online
are responsible for their own harassment, and it's blaming everybody for the
actions of a few if you're saying that unconnected parties are responsible.

This is not a new problem. Harassing phone calls, hate mail, and insults have
existed long before the Internet, World Wide Web, and social media have
existed. Could Empathy Scale to the Telegraph? I don't know, but I have a
feeling that the answer to that is the same as the answer to this question.

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LesZedCB
Honestly, I see this internet counterculture as a mirror of what is happening
in the real world as a more mainstream reactionary shift to the right, due to
a number of recent progressive movements heading the opposite direction.

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dawnbreez
Article seems biased, but has a true point--it's easy to forget who you are,
and easier to forget who you're talking to.

Sometimes this helps, such as with criticism. It's a bit harder to give
criticism in person because of the social pressure of being nice; it's much
easier to criticise someone who can't slap you, and that means finding more
critiques.

More critiques, however, doesn't mean better ones. It's very easy to
dehumanize your partner in argument, which leads to a "they're evil, I'm good"
perspective, which leads to more extreme (and more wrong) viewpoints over
time.

In short, the article suffers from the very problem it complains about; that
anonymity, which is bemoaned for producing Gamergate, is in turn what makes it
possible to villainize Gamergate.

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JoshCole
Sure it can scale to the internet; it scales implicitly, some people just
don't realize it.

Jesus Christ calls his word truth. And in one of his sermons he says,
therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even
so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

And here is a prophet showing what that can look like; It looks to me like
empathy for another side with which you even have justification in disagreeing
with is fairly important:

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the
word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD,
behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as
soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote
him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised
himself with ashes upon his face.

And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant
went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and
brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing,
then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of
silver.

And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of
Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.

And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel
discerned him that he was of the prophets.

And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy
hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go
for his life, and thy people for his people.

And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to
Samaria.

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l33tbro
The emotional maturity of humans creeps at a sloths waddle, while
technological maturity moves like quicksilver. The virtuality roll-out will be
interesting.

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6d0debc071
The problem when you start throwing around empathy alongside such concepts as
'helping' abusers 'mend their ways' is that one rather feels that anyone whose
views do not rather closely match your own political angle, especially with
respect an issue you are deeply invested in, will be singled out for this
'help.' Being offended has become a weapon in popular debate - and I find
myself remarkably disinclined to further structure things to its advantage.

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anotherhacker
This person doesn't understand what empathy is.

Empathy is a slow process of analyzing someone's emotional state so you can
affect it. E.g. The Nazis were excellent empathizers. Rockets and dive bombers
(Stuka) had sirens to intimate. The battle of Britain was a psychological one-
and it almost worked. Prisoners were told to "remember your locker number" as
they were ushered into gas chambers.

Don't confuse empathy with responsiveness, sympathy or compassion. We already
have words for those.

Learn more:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ6Y3hoKI8U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ6Y3hoKI8U)
[http://www.selfpsychologypsychoanalysis.org/empathy-
mis.shtm...](http://www.selfpsychologypsychoanalysis.org/empathy-mis.shtml)

~~~
forgottenpass
_This person doesn 't understand what empathy is._

They might get it better than you do. "Empathy" is the liberal word for the
kinds of compassion that make people tolerant (for progressive values of
compassion and tolerance ofc).

For talking about "empathy" this article is oddly and conspicuously
broadcasting their political leaning. Why would OP choose to name the anti-
abuse organization and support group that they did? Neither of which are known
for their track record nor social work experts on staff. They're known solely
because of the internet personalities at their helms.

~~~
anotherhacker
You're wrong.

I can tell you didn't watch the video or read the link either.

Watch the video. Read the link. Get smarter.

~~~
dang
That's needlessly personal and breaks the HN guidelines, as does
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10926389](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10926389).
Please don't comment like this here.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html)

~~~
anotherhacker
Saying someone is wrong is not personal. If I say 2+2=5, someone should tell
me I'm wrong.

Your comment is also off topic, breaks the guidelines you just referenced, and
doesn't belong in this thread (unfortunately neither does this comment- I
apologize for that).

I will no longer comment on this thread.

~~~
dllthomas
Saying someone is wrong is not personal.

Saying you can tell what they did and didn't do, wrt source material, is more
personal.

Telling someone to "get smarter" is entirely personal.

