4 ms·

The contrarian aspect of 4chan is important, but I think theres more to it than that. Contrarianism on 4chan during the Bush years wasn't nearly as violent and

The contrarian aspect of 4chan is important, but I think theres more to it than that. Contrarianism on 4chan during the Bush years wasn't nearly as violent and widespread as it's been lately, and I think it goes back to gamergate, which was the first time a lot of 4chan users experienced politics having an effect on something central to their culture. The only groups speaking out against "SJW culture" happened to be far right wing groups, so they listened and adopted the rest of the platform. There was also always an undercurrent of racism (spamming the n word goes back to the early days of /b/) and the alt right gave these people a community, and talking points for a bunch of other issues.

anon6778 9y ago
> There was also always an undercurrent of racism (spamming the n word goes back to the early days of /b/) You are conflating message with actual sentiment. Using racist language is simply a subset of inflammatory language and trolling. Calling people a retard or a faggot fulfills similar goals. It does not really tell you much whether the anonymous poster actually discriminates based on those attributes or just uses the language to maintain a vulgar atmosphere. Slur words will always exist, attempting to ban them will just make the political correctness treadmill spin faster. > which was the first time a lot of 4chan users experienced politics having an effect on something central to their culture. Not quite. cartoon child porn has always been seen as a canary in the coalmine. If they go after that, which other deviant thing will next be branded as a thought crime? 4chan is radically free speech. Any political movement that restricts free speech in any way at all will have that as a black mark on them. The philosophy is that only deeds matter, words are free. If you post on /b/ that you'll shoot up a school tomorrow nobody will give a fuck. If you then continue to actually shoot up a school tomorrow then a) that's the actual crime b) great lulz will be had.
- jeffry233 9y ago
  >You are conflating message with actual sentiment Yeah, thats a fair point. >cartoon child porn I think you're misunderstanding what i'm saying here. Gamergate was a massive controversy that played out over the course of many months, was covered on national news networks and ruined many careers. It was a galvanizing event that brought people together in defense of their hobby. Cartoon child porn is a symbol of the belief system that you've described, but I don't think its possible to say that defending it galvanized the 4chan user base like gamergate.
- tpush 9y ago
  "If you then continue to actually shoot up a school tomorrow then a) that's the actual crime b) great lulz will be head." Really? "Great lulz will be head(sic)"? I can't fathom what kind of person sees stuff like this and thinks to himself: "Yeah cool man! Exactly the type of community I want to be a part of!" Like, are these all just bored kids? Adults who never developed empathy and have nothing else to do with their life?
- TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
  > You are conflating message with actual sentiment. Whether or not people who act like racists are actually racist doesn't matter at the end of the day, they have the same effect.

anon6778 9y ago

> There was also always an undercurrent of racism (spamming the n word goes back to the early days of /b/) You are conflating message with actual sentiment. Using racist language is simply a subset of inflammatory language and trolling. Calling people a retard or a faggot fulfills similar goals. It does not really tell you much whether the anonymous poster actually discriminates based on those attributes or just uses the language to maintain a vulgar atmosphere. Slur words will always exist, attempting to ban them will just make the political correctness treadmill spin faster. > which was the first time a lot of 4chan users experienced politics having an effect on something central to their culture. Not quite. cartoon child porn has always been seen as a canary in the coalmine. If they go after that, which other deviant thing will next be branded as a thought crime? 4chan is radically free speech. Any political movement that restricts free speech in any way at all will have that as a black mark on them. The philosophy is that only deeds matter, words are free. If you post on /b/ that you'll shoot up a school tomorrow nobody will give a fuck. If you then continue to actually shoot up a school tomorrow then a) that's the actual crime b) great lulz will be had.

jeffry233 9y ago
>You are conflating message with actual sentiment Yeah, thats a fair point. >cartoon child porn I think you're misunderstanding what i'm saying here. Gamergate was a massive controversy that played out over the course of many months, was covered on national news networks and ruined many careers. It was a galvanizing event that brought people together in defense of their hobby. Cartoon child porn is a symbol of the belief system that you've described, but I don't think its possible to say that defending it galvanized the 4chan user base like gamergate.
tpush 9y ago
"If you then continue to actually shoot up a school tomorrow then a) that's the actual crime b) great lulz will be head." Really? "Great lulz will be head(sic)"? I can't fathom what kind of person sees stuff like this and thinks to himself: "Yeah cool man! Exactly the type of community I want to be a part of!" Like, are these all just bored kids? Adults who never developed empathy and have nothing else to do with their life?
TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
> You are conflating message with actual sentiment. Whether or not people who act like racists are actually racist doesn't matter at the end of the day, they have the same effect.