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Let my online persona take the criticism? Yes. My offline persona too. Alan Watts used to point out that even the 'real' persona is only a mask (the word coming
by roceasta 9y ago
Let my online persona take the criticism? Yes. My offline persona too. Alan Watts used to point out that even the 'real' persona is only a mask (the word coming from the ancient greek πρόσωπον which originally referred to a theatrical mask).
>the “online disinhibition effect” is what enables your mild-mannered neighbour to become a hate-spewing bigot on social media
It's complicated. The fear of enemies keeps our 'ego persona' firmly in charge like a wartime leader. Because we identify with this persona we therefore unconsciously seek out people to hate in order to feel safe. Because open hatred isn't socially acceptable we designate the target group a 'hate group'. It's then OK to hate them because they're the real haters! And so these opposing groups create and sustain one another, making the participants feel safe and all the while making the world decidedly less safe.
- nicky0 9y agoI don't understand the part about having someone to hate making people feel safe. What's the mechanism there?
- ikeyany 9y agoWhen the world around us appears to be that way for good reason (and not because of happenstance), we feel secure and validated.
- roceasta 9y agoImagine you're a boxer and you get into fights all the time, outside as well as inside the ring. You only feel safe with your fists up, but you can't control your arms directly. They only go up when you're facing an opponent. Therefore you need to have an opponent at all times. This is a metaphor, because real boxers obviously do control their arms. But substitute certain emotions (e.g. anger, fear) for the arms, emotions with which one is strongly identified, the loss of which causes a greater fear (of disappearing, of death).