Invisible Enemies
I’ve been reading Robert Greene’s ‘The 33 Strategies of War,’ and it’s helping me navigate around the abuse I receive from trolls in a big way. The only part of the book that doesn’t appeal or apply to me is the chapter on ‘Organisational (Team) Warfare,’ and I think this is in large part because I prefer dealing with things on my own as opposed to working in groups. I first came across Greene’s work like a lot of people — through ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ — and have been hooked on his stuff ever since. I even picked up ‘Mastery,’ which I enjoyed, for the most part. Ryan Holiday is another author I read intently, and he served as Greene’s research assistant for a time. And you can tell, due to the way Holiday structures his books, and draws from historical figures to make his point.
We live in an age where, if you’re not careful with what you put out on the Internet, cyberbullying is a very real threat; and an unpleasant matter to deal with on your own. I’d never humiliate another person online just for kicks — but that’s just me — certain individuals seem to make it their life’s purpose to spread misery and pain everywhere they go. Because they think it’s edgy or something…I guess. The trolls that I’ve encountered have dug into my personal life online and shared information of a private nature, things that just cross the line entirely, from fun and games, into outright libel. Granted, I’m not the type to report this kind of behaviour, because I believe in other’s freedoms more than they believe in mine.
I’m not exactly sure why it is that I’m such a soft target. Maybe it’s because I’m an open book, and it gives these losers glee to tear me down, for simply expressing myself. I can also be naïve to a degree, and perhaps too gregarious toward those with bad intentions. But it got me thinking, what must life be like for the neck beard? The Cheetos stained fingers of a basement dweller? What drives them, beyond getting a rise out of innocent people? Is it some kind of power trip, that makes them feel better about themselves? Because I just can’t believe it can. And isn’t it sad that we live in a world where we’re picking up the new version of ‘The Art of War’ to combat such individuals? Surely there’s better things to do with ones time than to stalk and harass.
It’s not the first time I’ve encountered pushback for my empathic nature. It seems to do unusual things to people. Either you become the dumping ground of their traumas, or they attack you because they know it inflicts pain deeper than it would a less sensitive person. The Internet is such a valuable tool, and to see it being misused is discouraging, but it’s not new. It provides us with countless ways to express ourselves, and I guess with that, bad actors come into play. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve laughed off some of the more ridiculous trolling, but there are particular parts that do hurt. This is the whole reason I picked up Greene’s modern day book on warfare. To combat the trolls, by applying some of his principles to my own life.
That’s not to say I don’t have my own coping mechanisms. I think all of us deal with trolls in one way or another today, the difference is usually in how we react to them. Some people fight fire with fire, get down to their level, and get real nasty. Others ignore them completely. Then there are those who learn to outsmart them. But engaging with a troll is a sure fire way to lose before you’ve even begun. See, they live for the recognition, of knowing their plan is working. I’d be fascinated to learn to psychology behind trolls, but then again, there might not be much to work with. I just can’t picture what it’d be like to conduct myself in such a fashion. And while I’ve certainly had my moments, I don’t think I’ve ever gone into any situation in my life wanting to deliberately hurt others.
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So, what have I learned from trolls and their behaviour? Well, if you don’t feed them, they starve. But then it comes back to letting them get away with their antisocial antics. One needs to ask themselves if it’s ever worth so much as acknowledging them. And I guess they’ll have their way now that I’ve gone as far as to write about it. Some would say they’ve won. I think I’m making lemons out of lemonade. Allow me to come clean for a moment, however. I’ve been where these trolls are, at a low point in my life. So I’m more familiar with their motives than you might think. I’d like to think I never hurt anyone deliberately, but perhaps I did. Here’s the thing though, bad behaviour, that of the self-proclaimed edge lord is normalised today, and in a big way. When somebody pulls a prank online it gets couched as just trolling.
But it goes deeper than that, for not everything is just trolling. Doxxing others and digging up their real life information, DDoS attacks and bread-crumbing people with a slow drip of information only you’d know is unfortunately commonplace. These individuals either have nothing better to do or they can’t function off the social graces that are the norm for most people. So they make it their goal to terrorise others online. Like I said prior, I don’t ever snitch on these types, and for a variety of reasons. I still believe in freedoms, regardless of bad actors. I think these trolls need to be given enough rope to eventually hang themselves. And I don’t think that monitoring others behaviour online or reporting them to authorities will solve the problem. Because they’ll devise other methods of getting under our skin. They’re like cockroaches and can never die.
So is it best to laugh off the troll, the doxxer, the real-lifer? I do think we need to learn how to discern between a gentle ribbing and an out-and-out attack on ones character. And you could argue that others freedoms are being trampled under the weight of trolls. Maybe you’d be right. But I have a particular affinity for the world wide web as the wild wild west. It kinda makes it fun, knowing you have obsessive trolls that feel like you’re important enough to be a target. In that statement I’m channelling Greene once again, by paraphrasing a line he included in ‘The 48 Laws of Power.’ The trolls that exist today will probably go on to become more sophisticated, especially unchecked. But that doesn’t fill me with dread or panic. It’s merely a fascinating study in a small subset of human psychology.
Before it was cool, or the thing to do, I was on Facebook trolling others through status updates and comments I’d leave. This has got to be twenty years ago now. Back then I didn’t even know what a troll was, nor was I aware that what I was doing was trolling. Of course I’ve sworn off Facebook in my later years, after coming to the realisation that they’re building profiles on everyone — even the stuff we delete — and there’s no real payoff for being on the platform. But back when social media first came out, starting with MySpace, it was new and exciting to express oneself freely. This was probably before the algorithm was even considered or spoken about in common parlance. So I’ll fess up to my misdeeds openly, because I’ve never been a liar. Even if I try lie, I’m terrible at it, so I decided a long while ago it’s always best to go with the truth, no matter how uncomfortable.
Now, applying war strategies to trolls might seem unusual, but I don’t think there’s a more appropriate way of dealing with them. We are dealing with war being waged on our person. I could’ve picked up any book, especially one which outlines how to navigate trolls explicitly, but I didn’t. This is because I recognise the dark side of trolls just trolling. People get hurt. And in turn, they need to feel the consequences of their actions. But I needed a strategy, a guide of some kind, and I found it in Greene. Therefore, the next time I get trolled, I’ve got artillery in my repertoire. I can meet them with the same energy — or even better, a reaction that’ll stump them — teaching a troll a lesson might help them grow up. We’re talking about human beings here, after all. No matter how twisted or broken. To find sympathy for them in my heart isn’t difficult. Because they’ve got to be hurting to inflict pain deliberately.
My takeaway after tackling this issue is a simple one. We’ve all got a little troll in us. And we’re all tempted to act out from time to time. We’d be fools to base our self-worth on strangers that are actively attempting to sabotage or derail us. Welcome the interaction, but be prepared for it. A lot of the people behind these accounts are highly disturbed, or else they wouldn’t be doing what they do. Therefore a level of compassion for how pathetic they are is necessary. A lot of us can’t imagine how hollow our lives would have to be to spew vitriol at others out of the blue. You might choose to block or report them, and that’s up to you. All I know is there are some key things that I can do in order to get under their skin, and put them on the spot. But maybe you aren’t interested in playing the game. It all depends on your demeanour. Pity the troll. For they are fighting a losing battle.
