Interesting pattern in online comments

[Shloves89]

For background, I enjoy discussion on social media posts— Facebook, Instagram, and so on. I don’t do so because I’m looking to argue with somebody or even debate— just healthy and calm conversation about my own observations. My thoughts and opinions are not in any way hateful, bigoted, or meant to get a rise out of people in any way. However, I have gotten into a few “accidental debates” with a person who chose to interact directly with me, and it’s always the other person who gets very defensive and aggressive, resorting to name-calling or worse. I have had to stop for periods at a time, as some comments have hurt me a little too much. For example, a couple years ago, a young man in the Instagram comments section told me to “go sh00t myself” because my positive opinions on a movie differed from his negative ones.
Which brings me to this observation— when I went to his profile, one of the very first posts I saw by him was one about mental health. He opened up in his caption about living with PTSD and schizophrenia, and how mental health should never be a taboo subject.
This was not the only time when someone has told me to k1ll myself online, and I go to their profile and see posts about struggling with mental health. I was recently told to end my life by another young man, because he “had no respect for me—“ went to his profile, he had shared a few posts on anxiety and depression. So, if these people know what it’s like to struggle mentally, my ultimate question is, why would they ever take the risk of triggering someone else that could potentially be living with mental illness? What if I were dealing with suicidal ideation at those points in my life?
I was looking for added insight on this, and if anyone else had experienced the same. Thank you for reading!

 

[TheSkaFish]

My guess is they were bullied themselves, or otherwise made to feel weak and powerless, made to feel lower, and think they can feel strong by trying to bully someone else, or make someone else feel powerless and lower. Like they think it's normal to do that, that that's how you get power, that's how you be "cool", by picking on someone else, because that's what was done to them, that's what they saw around them "working".

Also I think it's a symptom of the times were living in. Everything is very broken today, despite "them" telling us about all the "progress" we're supposedly making. Instead of feeling like we're making progress, instead we're made to run faster and faster, not to get ahead but just to keep from falling behind. The difficulty from this situation, combined with being constantly fed the story that everything is "fine", and seeing that the people we appoint to solve our problems can barely be bothered to pretend to care, is pushing lots of people into constantly living on edge, ready to flip out at the smallest things, like differing opinions on a movie. It's not really about the movie, it's about a lot of people feeling angry all the time. The movie is just the excuse they use to take their bad feelings out on you.

Also what is the age of these people? They sound like teenagers to me, so it could be simple immaturity, attempting to be "cool" by acting "dark" and "edgy".

None of this is an excuse for their behavior, but that's my guess.

For what it's worth, this is part of the reason I've stopped debating people in places like Facebook and YouTube a long time ago.

 

[NoxApex(N/A)]

As a crazy man with those things and as a gun owner, yeah, never say that to someone. IDC how much you hate them, never say that to them.

Sad true story:
My ex was fighting with her father about 2 weeks before he died. Her last words to him were: "I hope you die." And then he died of heart failure two weeks later.
Due to trauma, she does not remember this.
And I may be bitter about her cheating on me and screwing up what was 2/3rds the length of my then-lifetime with her shenanigans, but at no point will I ever remind her of this.

And yes, she absolutely misses him, even though they really didn't have the greatest relationship.

 

[okidoke]

Could be they often consider killing themselves but can’t bring themselves to do it and hate themselves more for it, so telling you to do it is almost a way they can feel success. Does that make sense?

 

[Walnut]

.

 

[TropicalStarfish]

I think your line of inquiry was: "Why would some one who struggles with mental health issues, say things that are not only malicious, but could be particularly harmful to some one with mental health struggles."

There's this quote that really stuck out for me recently; let me find it.

This quote is from the Tamil Tradition (which I know next to nothing of, short of this quote.), according to Wikipedia:
Why does one hurt others knowing what it is to be hurt?

-Kural 318

So, it's a good question, in general. To be specific...

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From my observation, and experience; I don't think, a psychiatric/psychological diagnosis reflects upon one's character.

There are lots of teachers in this world. Some teachers are a**holes, some of them are wonderful. There are lots of homeless people. Some of them are nice people on hard times, some of them are not so nice people that make hard times for others. Ad Infinitum...

So, let's take the homeless for example. Some homeless will curse you for giving them a dollar bill, because they think they deserve more, and resent you for their perception of you having more, but refusing ot give more. This same person may also preach about the virtue of homelessness and how people should treat them better.

So, this sort of thing happens everywhere.

---

I encountered a fellow in cyberspace once, who often quoted a part of, "The True Gentleman" by John Walter Wayland; and then on at least one occasion I saw him tell some one, "You need help." (In a snide and snarky way, not out of concern another's well being).

---

So why do we hurt others when we know what it is to be hurt?

I don't know. My personal answer, is, I think it's a form of stupidity, ignorance. That's not quite the best way to put it; but for me, I think, if I was wiser, I would not make such a mistake so often.

Quite the question...

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I somewhat recently had some one tell me I should unalive myself. It felt like they knew me personally somehow and really wanted to dig into me good. It hurt quite a bit, to hear, I must say.

I think we both had something in common though. We both wanted to be liked/loved/accepted/admired by our peers.

What did I learn from this man? I'm not sure I've learned anything yet. But in retrospect, I experienced, what it feels like to feel small, ashamed, weak, and afraid. And it makes me sad to think, people out there feel like this, and have to go through it alone, and hurt, like that.

---

It's a profound question.

 

[MrLonely86]

People in comment section on internet are a$$e$ , that is all you need to know.

 

[Punisher]

I made a comment on a picture of a funny bird with no feathers. Looked like ****, but people were pretending it was cute, so I said "wtf is that monstrosity?" They went absolutely mad at me. Never had so much hate and death threats before

 

[user 150037]

I make it a personal rule not to say something to someone online that i wouldn't dare to say to their faces.

Only cowards attack people online.