Hacker News Reader

HNHacker News

Top New Best Ask Show Jobs

Comment by vasaulys | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

vasaulys·

The internet also forms a sort of release valve.

People being bigots with words over the internet is better than lynching or public beatings imo.

View on HN

Is there evidence for this?

Probably. Is the evidence in an easy-to-consume form?

Probably not.

Please try and find anyone who'd rather be lynched or beaten than have their racial group spoken of negatively.

It sounds like the Catharsis Hypothesis, which states that the release of aggression in small ways prevents large expressions of aggression. This has been rather thoroughly discredited. Small displays of aggression (e.g. ranting online) train an individual that aggression is an appropriate response, and leads to larger displays of aggression (e.g. physical attacks).

Source: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbushman/PSPB02.pdf http://blog.uwgb.edu/alltherage/four-questions-on-the-cathar...

huh, I was not aware of this study. Thanks!

I provide an alternative hypothesis - most people are basically lazy. I don't mean that in a very negative sense, but that our brains are wired to take the path of lesser resistance whenever possible. I forget where I read this first, but I have seen it corroborated by academia. It is INFINITELY easier to type out a hateful message and be agreed with by your peers, than to do something violent and risk real repercussions.

That has nothing to do with laziness though, and everything with risk perception.

Still, if micro-aggressions aren't checked, it is easy to assume they are accepted. That will lead to an escalation of aggression like the GP described.

Very awkward day to make this claim.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com