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Unfortunately, it took the Littleton tragedy to make many people understand how much hate exists online (and off-line). & most of it is legal. Hate laws in the United States regulate hate speech only when a certain group or individual is targeted in a way that promotes violence against them in a legally protected environment. It's ironic that the one medium that should promote equality & tolerance is so often misused to promote the opposite. The Internet strips away everything but how well you communicate your ideas. The Internet is blind to gender, age, physical disability, race, & religion. When you meet people online, you don't know how old they are, whether they are male or female, what color their skin is, what accent they speak with, or how they pray. It's the most egalitarian environment in the world. No geographical borders-seamless global communication. That's the beauty of the Internet. Biases online can be pretty illuminating, though. For example, people are often surprised to learn I'm a woman, because I have an unusual name & because I'm a lawyer. I'm amazed that their tone online often changes after they find out I'm a woman. Why that should be the case, especially in this day & age, I don't know. But we all do it. We all treat people differently based on their gender, age, or where they're from. It's part of how we're trained. There are several sites that track hate, bigotry, & intolerance. One of my favorites, The Hate Directory (www.bcpl.net/~rfrankli/hatedir.htm), is run by Ray Franklin, a law-enforcement officer from Maryland. As of August 1999, he reports 290 different "hate" web sites, 6 FTP sites (where you can access & download files), 18 list servs (e-mail discussion group lists), 34 special hate chatrooms, & 13 bulletin board systems (discussion boards). Unfortunately, hate thrives online, where hatemongers, bigots, & kooks can feel safe & brave while hiding behind their monitors. |