Dont Feed the Trolls

OK, this is just crappy reporting by Newsweek. It's fearmongering with little hard evidence. All the authors probably did was a quick websearch to find what they wanted.

However, what seems completely lost on them is that comments left on blogs or social sites often do not reflect real-life viewpoints. Extreme viewpoints will often be the most visible, and it's very common for idiots to mimic that kind of thing in order to gain attention. It's much like kids who emulate Jackass by hurting themselves pulling stupid stunts, then post it on YouTube.

As with the theory by Penny Arcade (profanity warning) I previously mentioned, people act like complete morons when they feel they have a certain level of anonimity and an audience.

So, back to the blog I referenced initially. The offending comment was quoted as,

“Koreans are the most hotheaded and macho of East Asians,” wrote one unnamed commentator on the Sepia Mutiny blog. “They are also sick and tired of losing their Korean girlfriends to white men with an Asian fetish.”

Note that this guy isn't targeting Koreans in general, but Korean men, and is making the effort at an extra over-the-top jab with the comment about their girlfriends. That's the point. It's a juvenile attention-getting device: the guy is emulating racist behavior so that people will attack him. He probably thought that last part was pretty darn clever.

So, congratulations, Newsweek. You gave some stupid kid more fame than he could have hoped for just for making an ass of himself.