It's obnoxious, right? Am I the only one who jumps into the fray out of mere annoyance? I doubt it. That doesn't excuse my actions, of course. I admit it; this is me debasing myself. But dammit, sometimes it's fun to screw with small-minded people that have to make everything about bashing someone else.
So I was watching the bashing unfold, not yet having joined the melee, when someone veered off into left field. To give a little context, this was in response to a call put in to a radio morning show. People were arguing whether the call was real or whether it was a bit. And then there were the people saying stuff like this:
Actually, I think this is precisely the sort of thing that got Obama elected. This is a hoax where the public perception was shaped by other people initially supporting the authenticity of the lie to shape public perception. Isn't that exactly what took place during Obama's election bid and election? What was presented in 2008 was a lie and an illusion, backed by the media, which helped shape social perception of Obama. Those who think this is real are more ones likely to be Obama voters.Pretty kooky, right? I thought so, but I rolled my eyes and let it slide. But then the same guy posted this in response to another's assessment that the call was indeed a hoax:
I go one further. This was so bad, I'd bet there was an expert in mass psychology with a clip board who came to the radio station and pitched this as part of a research experiment that they were conducting. I wouldn't be surprised if you see this in a documentary on the subject of groupthink. The comments here are probably being collected as data points.Jeepers, that's pretty out there. At this point, I felt the overpowering urge to chime in. And I have to admit, this isn't exactly the most shining moment in my life, but at this point I just thought the guy was a rabid right-winger. So my inelegant response was:
Wow dude, your tinfoil hat is showing. I think it's time to get back on the meds.Not attacking, per se. Just pointing out that his views were a bit like those of Mel Gibson's character in Conspiracy Theory. Or Mel Gibson's views in real life, for that matter. As in, "Ground control to Major Tom! You're needed back on Earth! Come back!"
Then came his response:
Wow dude. Your ignorance is showing. Didn't you know that tinfoil hat is used as a pejorative to describe people who complain about human rights abuses that are occurring inside the United States, whereby local law enforcement and community watch groups are participating in and running cover for military grade psychological operations against citizens in conjunction with torture with microwave weaponry and other electromagnetic frequencies? Didn't you know that death squads are operating here?This earned a hearty belly laugh from me. Clearly I'd misjudged this guy, and he was putting me (and everyone else) on. My response to this was the only one I could think of through my tears of laughter:
Or maybe not. Still rolling with my initial tinfoil hat comment, he then posted this:
Didn't you know that the standard operating procedure that is taken for someone who gets wise to the fact that they are a target is to use what is known as a psychiatric reprisal on them, a tool that was used by the repressive regimes that existed in the U.S.S.R. and in East Germany under the Stasi? Didn't you know that the DHS is eerily similar to the Gestapo and is torturing people inside their own homes, while violating their privacy through illegal and unconstitutional surveillance?Ok, he was taking this schtick a bit far, wasn't he? Was this second bit of nonsense really necessary for the joke? Maybe he just had a Kaufmanesque devotion to staying in character. He didn't actually believe this crap, did he?
Hard to say, but he finally noticed my "Best response ever" comment and replied to it:
I thought you'd find it amusing. It's probably almost as amusing to you as Polish partisans being forced to dig their own mass graves before being lined up and shot.I'm at a loss. This guy has left me speechless. I went from thinking he was a sorta-nuts right-winger to thinking he was a subversive wit to thinking he might actually just be certifiable. If he was joking, then his method acting was dizzyingly convincing. If not, then I've basically been making fun of someone who's literally mentally ill. Shit.
I slowly backed out of conversation, doing my best to save face if he was indeed joking (if so, he got me good), and yet trying not to be an unempathetic dick in case he wasn't:
Yeah, that's the ticket. A little humor, a little empathy, mixed and served. If he was putting me on, he'd likely enjoy that irradiated testicles comment, and if not, hey, he'd probably still like it. No one wants irradiated testicles, right? His response:
Well, once you have been targeted by it, then you know the realities of it all too well. It is not my job to help the sickos running the program keep it quiet. By the way, I find it interesting that you'd then refer to a very real aspect of the program, which is the attempted forced sterilization of members of the population at a distance by irradiating their sex organs. Since I have moved to a new location, no one has been able to hit my genitals, you compassionate soul.I...still don't know if he's joking. That last sentence alone could be taken in at least three ways:
1. He's fucking with me, and that's his *nudge nudge wink wink* to me.
2. He's serious, and he's genuinely thankful for my regard for his testicular welfare.
3. He's serious, and, worst of all, thinks that my testicles comment was condescending (which it wasn't meant to be), and this is his sarcastic response.
It's hard to say. There's a very real chance I've been screwing with an unmedicated schizophrenic. The fact that I've got a psych degree and should know better makes me feel extra shitty if that is indeed the case. I've got my own issues with depression and anxiety, so I know full well that laughing at someone else's mental health issues is the height of douchebaggery (although you've got to laugh at your own at some point, or they'll eat you alive--at least, that's how it feels to me). Granted, I wouldn't have laughed or poked fun if I'd genuinely thought this guy was mentally ill, but that doesn't change the fact that my schooling and personal experience should make me more attuned to this kind of thing.
Regardless of this guy's true mental state, I learned a thing or two today. First, I learned that the "crazy" people on the Internet may actually be crazy. It's probably best--for my conscience, if nothing else--to just assume that they are and treat them as such, not as the under-educated bigots that they sometimes appear to be.
Second, I really need to be less of an asshole.
