#when they can pretend that they're ''punching up'' because their target is ostensibly higher up the social foodchain

[thevioletcaptain]

do fandom people realize that gleefully firing off mean little zingers at the socially accepted online target of the week for clicks is functionally identical to the way high school bullies use cruelty for clout, or do they lack that level of self awareness?

#i am TIRED #i have unfollowed/blocked so many fandom people lately #because the way they sling nasty comments around as soon as they think they can get away with it #tells me everything i need to know about the kinds of people they are #like it's always obvious when someone has cruel impulses they've just been waiting for the chance to indulge without consequences #when they can pretend that they're ''punching up'' because their target is ostensibly higher up the social foodchain #but the insults/comments/meanspirited jokes are all rooted in queerphobia or racism or ableism or misogyny or classism etc #and therefore do more harm to others than to the person they're theoretically aiming at #like... i see you #(this isn't about anything current or specific btw) #(wrote this post a month or two ago and just found it in my drafts) #(but the point stands because i've definitely continued to encounter the same shit) #fandom problems #wank adjacent