Memorial Page Trolling

http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3168/3115

After reading the above article by Whitney Phillips, the only way I can really describe my reaction is merely "not surprised."The article described the wonderfully cynical new trolling fad where people make crude comments and memes stemming from a tragic incident, like the Chelsea King rape and murder. People see these circumstances as a glorious opening to test out their wit in the hopes of getting likes or fame or whatever the hell is gained from using some one's nightmare for their own personal gain. Despite how grotesque and shameful these trolls' actions are, I say I'm not surprised because unfortunately I have come to expect people on the internet, and even in person, to act like this. People only ever seem to care about themselves and their own interests. I have, maybe unfortunately, developed a cynical view that there are no selfless acts. Everything people do is, at heart, in their own self interest. This complex is multiplied in these trolls who seem to think that degrading an innocent life that was taken away is somehow acceptable. Whitney Phillips is the well known author behind "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things." This book details many more instances of trolling taken to another level. This includes similar incidents as the one described in the Chelsea King case. There was a case of a boy who killed himself over something video game related and after the initial attempt to make memorial pages for him online, they were quickly outnumbered by pages dedicated to making memes out of it. Trolls had a field day with the fact that someone would kill themselves over something like a video game. They didn't care about the fact that a kid had lost his life due to a possible case of depression. They only cared about getting noticed and making a joke out of a terrible situation. The problem with these memorial trolls is that they take attention from real issues at hand, such as depression, suicide, and, in the case of Chelsea King, rape. Instead they pull the focus towards themselves and distract from a meaningful life that had been taken away. In my opinion it is shameful and needless. I understand comedy is needed in our lives but attacking victims and making a joke out of their lives is pretty tasteless in terms of how these trolls handle it. Memorial page trolling has no place online. But once again, I cannot say that I am surprised.