Bullet Points on Trolling
By Piggybacking on the comments in my last post, here are some things I wanted to mention before I move on to a new subject:
- There is a spectrum of trolling; none of the trolling I’ve been the recipient of has even remotely been in the “death and rape” threats category. The minimal trolling I’ve experienced has been merely of the “I’m going to try to upset/frustrate/shut-up bspencer” variety.
- While some trolling is dangerous and some merely annoying, I’m uncomfortable dismissing the latter, as–as I say above–trolling directed at women has a specific aim– to shut women up. To annoy, frustrate, and enrage them to the point of giving up. To waste their time, to gaslight them. To wear down their self-esteem, to wear them down, full stop.
- Volume matters: one or two obnoxious comments can be easy to wave away, ten obnoxious comments can be significantly harder to dismiss. Trolls often count on mob action to achieve their aims.
- Any trolling that women of color receive will probably have a nice thick layer of racism on it. So in addition to suffering annoying/awful trolling, they can expect to be horribly degraded for their skin color and/or religion/creed. It’s pretty terrific!*
*No, not really.