Are We Entering An Endless Cycle Of Irrelevant Stupidity?

[sp1814]

The Internet is a great place for exchanging views, and challenging viewpoints...but have we entered a period where we now have two tribes - one waiting to be offended by something, and the other waiting for the first to be offended to condemn them for being offended?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-fry-condemns-twitter-as-stalking-ground-for-the-sanctimoniously-self-righteous-after-a6875506.html

Is this the future? Do we no longer really care about the issue, but are more interested in sharing how offended we are on the 'rainbow of outrage'?

What's your take on this?

[Jackdaw33]

That Fry, of all people, should use the word 'sanctimonious' to describe his detractors, gives a new meaning to the word 'irony'.

[Peter Pedant]

// -Talbot- The rainbow of outrage is a term that has been bandied about in some tech forums I read. // sp

sp - dont - just dont go there - he aint worf it....

sp you are just gonna have to learn that the rainbow metaphor ( red hot at one end and rather cool at the other ) is just too rich a trope for some people - you will know I have the problem every day of my life .....

[Peter Pedant]

// That Fry, of all people, should use the word 'sanctimonious' ....//

sorry Jackie full names only or else Andie hughes will be after you ( see other AB threads on names ad infinitum )

anyway - an arteest craves publicity and this is
exact;u what he has got

[Jackdaw33]

LOL @ PP!

[jno]

nothing like a good flounce, PP. And unlike on Answerbank you don't even have to fill out a form.

[-Talbot-]

your write Willy Waffle ... am two thick to see the how genius the metafour is

http://images.clipartpanda.com/rainbow-with-clouds-clipart-jTxE6jrec.jpeg

I honestly carnt see the angry bit of the rainbow

[1ozzy]

Talbot, the angry bit of the rainbow is at the end, when people realise there is no "pot of gold" ;-)

[sandyRoe]

I confess, when I saw Jenny Bevan's picture I thought I was looking at a photograph of the original lady in the van.

[bazwillrun]

Just another luvvie drama queen with an overinflated ego who actually thinks hes important and throwing a hissy...who cares if hes on twitter or not ?

[Peter Pedant]

O fry will come back

or is that - re-enter stage left ?

hmm - hissy fits and flounces without filling out a paper form
such is the electronic age of white hot technology ! ( older readers will recognise the harold wilson in that )

[anotheoldgit]

I blame Tunbridge Wells, that was the breeding ground for all those who were 'disgusted', wasn't it?

[andy-hughes]

The upside and simultaneous downside of social media is that everyone has access to it.

That means that people with something of wit and relevance gets the same space as someone nasty and poisonous, and that makes it the most even-handed avenue of expression that we have, and more power to it.

Like most aspects of culture, a degree of filtering is required - a basic ability to simply skate over the garbage that is not worth the time it takes to read it, and a willingness to seek and find the good stuff that enhances the world a little with information, humour, and enlightenment.

High profile incidents like Mr Fry having his humour misunderstood is an occupational hazard of the medium - probably more worth skating over than dealing with in depth.

From what I understand, Mr Fry made a joke about a friend who understood and accepted his absence of malice - Mr Fry is many things, but cruel does not seem to be one of them.

The social media fascists have decided to be offended on the lady's behalf, which says far more about them than her, or indeed Mr Fry.

It will all blow over, these things always do.

[Peter Pedant]

you're not mimsy AOG
that is your trouble .....

combined with your propensity to referring to someone called the man Hughes.....

o dear this rather non mimsy post looks for the high jump .....

anyway to the post
i dont think we are ENTERING an endless cycle like a stray sock stuch in the laundromat of oblivion.....

I think we are already in it

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// there are some people who are constantly in a state of utter outrage (the red part of the rainbow), whereas others who will read the same stories and will just feel mildly upset (the blue range). ///

You read it on here first, sp1814 admitting that the Left (red part of the rainbow) are constantly in a state of utter outrage, whilst the Right (blue range of the rainbow) just feel mildly upset.

But then we all know this, judging by the large number of various protest groups we see.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - //You read it on here first, sp1814 admitting that the Left (red part of the rainbow) are constantly in a state of utter outrage, whilst the Right (blue range of the rainbow) just feel mildly upset. //

At the risk of being provocative - which has never stopped me before - I don't think Mr Robinson is 'mildly upset' about his view of 'Islamification' - do you?

[sp1814]

AOG

Your post at 09:57am was well delivered.

...although for obvious reasons, I officially refute your conclusions.

[sp1814]

If I were in the position to advise Mr Fry, I'd tell him to do what I do on AB...concentrate on responses that have value, or that you find interesting. Simply skip over the trolls. Simply not worth getting upset at pixels.

[ichkeria]

Outraged right wingers don't as a rule form protest groups. A bit too collectivist. They just come to Answerbank or write to the Mail or Express :-)