The Internet: where awful people meet

Yesterday something happened to me that I don't think is supposed to happen with internet conversations. Though, on consideration, maybe it should.

See, St Andrews has this unofficial online message board for its students. It's called 'The Sinner' in reference to our student newspaper, 'The Saint', but the name is apt enough for its general contents. Besides hosting a few boards for practical things like finding accommodation or buying and selling kicknacks and appliances, its main purpose seems to be as an outlet for the pedantic misanthropy of our overly conservative, overly nerdy student population. I'm sure many of the people who post regularly there, even the more trollish ones, are lovely(ish) people in real life -- indeed, I know several of them personally -- but the standard modes of discourse on the main message board have a way of turning even the politest and most civil people into snide assholes. Myself included, apparently.

An acquaintaince, J, and I had both been posting on a very long and heated thread regarding the recent Gaza Solidarity occupation. I'd posted something in response to one of his posts, which had then progressed into a dialogue between me and another person. He had then made a snarky post reiterating his former points, and referencing the invervening dialogue only in such a way as to totally misconstrue it. I made a snide comment in response.

The next day, passing through the stairwell doors in the library, I saw him face to face. He looked hurt; he blanked me. Later that evening, looking at the thread again, and the timestamps, I saw that he'd made a reply to my snide comment only a few minutes before passing me on the stairs.

This is Class Warfare

A collection of St Andrews' richest, poshest students are organising an exclusive charity fashion show called 'Filthy Rich: Let Them Eat Cake!', for the benefit of the UN World Food Programme.

Let me repeat that.

A collection of St Andrews' richest, poshest students are organising an exclusive charity fashion show called 'Filthy Rich: Let Them Eat Cake!', for the benefit of the UN World Food Programme.

They are asking for a fucking revolution.

And this is by no means an isolated occasion -- it's just the worst of a very rotten bunch. Last year the 'FS:08' crowd made a documentary of themselves which showed them laughing -- laughing -- at an email I and some others had sent to them, asking if they had taken steps to ensure that they were not using sweatshop-made clothes in their 'charity' fashion show. (Shows whose budgets, incidentally, seem to be around 3 to 5 times what they actually raise for their purported 'causes'.)