violence isn’t normal

Most people wouldn’t tolerate violence if someone sat beside them on the train and said they thought rape is funny. So why is it tolerated online? Social networking site, Facebook, seems to be completely overrun by groups such as ‘Ravaging your girlfriend’s box until she regrets life’, ‘You know she’s playing hard to get when you’re chasing her down an alley way‘ and even ‘I decided to burn more calories today so I set a fat kid on fire’ , with some pages having over 100, 000 ‘likers’.

These are not isolated groups; there are pages against gay people, religious people, genders and many more that offend or discriminate against a group of people and yet all these pages remain un-edited, even after countless reports have been submitted.

Facebook is one of those marvelous online places where people are anonymous, tough and downright cruel. Many people, perhaps yourself, will share thoughts or comments that you otherwise mightn’t in a physical social setting. Yet, the world of online humour seems to have little to no morals.

Yes, I do understand that many of these groups are nothing more than that, just groups that people get a little chuckle out of and ‘like’ it for the sake of doing so. However, is it right that these tasteless pages are made with so many people ‘liking’ them at the expense of the dignity of the issues they mock? Why is it acceptable that humouring these issues is becoming normal and the use of language such as ‘rape’ is an acceptable term for daily conversation, and not used in its original context?

This isn’t a matter of not being able to take a joke, but the misrepresentation of serious issues that become jokes. And what happens to the real issues? Does this impact on the treatment of sufferers of violent acts?

So the aim for all you out there that don’t think that any of these groups are suitable comedic material, is to rethink the social standards of humour and to really think about the seriousness of the issues being mocked. I have to say that at the core of all these ill-tasted jokes and rude comments the biggest heart breaker for me is the fact that we can treat each other with such disrespect and lack of empathy. When justice can be given to victims of crime and when society takes seriously the issues that many people face, perhaps there will be a greater level of respect for those who have suffered or who may suffer in the future.

It’s really up to us to be the change we wish the see in the world. If you’re on facebook, help report some of these groups or think of some of your own ideas for changing the world and striving for equality in areas where others prefer to make fun.

(Image credit: 1.)