A rape video goes viral. How Social Media can be a tool for great evil.

reply to post by Juston


Well, this is the first I've heard of it, and I'm quite sure I wouldn't have heard about if not for you posting a thread about it.

Seems most other people replying are in the same boat, having not heard of it until you posted it here on ATS.

Read into that however you like, but I would suggest that Twitter and Facebook are only the tools, not the handyman.

Is it evil to spread the word about evil deeds? Could it be that most people who shared this viral vid did it in a human act of shared revulsion? We love to share fear, that's why horror movies are so popular.

reply to post by earthdude


First of all, this isn't about the word of an evil act being shared.
Second, evil acts(in this case, rape) are committed worldwide every day, every minute.

The only reason this act is being shared more (viral being the phrase) is because the perpetrators taped themselves.

The perpetrators aren't the reason this "went viral".

What I don't get, is that downloading and viewing child pornography is a crime in most Western countries, yet downloading and viewing rape and sexual abuse of adults is, legally, hunky-dory ?

This isn't even a case of ''whatever floats your boat'', because anybody who intentionally watches footage of rape, torture or murder are clearly people who don't possess the necessarily attributes to be trusted to function freely in a civilised society.

Originally posted by Sherlock Holmes
What I don't get, is that downloading and viewing child pornography is a crime in most Western countries, yet downloading and viewing rape and sexual abuse of adults is, legally, hunky-dory ?

This isn't even a case of ''whatever floats your boat'', because anybody who intentionally watches footage of rape, torture or murder are clearly people who don't possess the necessarily attributes to be trusted to function freely in a civilised society.

You are talking about most of society. I know it is hard to admit, but humans like to be grossed out. I viewed the web browsing history of many "civilized" people and many of them viewed gore viral videos. I myself refused to watch the decapitation video of an American contractor in Iraq, but I bet millions watched it with excitement. We want to see how low people can go and it does not mean we are evil.

Originally posted by Oaktree
reply to post by earthdude

 

First of all, this isn't about the word of an evil act being shared.
Second, evil acts(in this case, rape) are committed worldwide every day, every minute.

The only reason this act is being shared more (viral being the phrase) is because the perpetrators taped themselves.

The perpetrators aren't the reason this "went viral".

One could come to the conclusion that some of the people who refused to watch the video did so because they were afraid it might turn them on, sickos.

It can be a tool for great evil and great good, so we have to be careful about restricting it, as we also restrict the good it can bring e.g. during the Toxic Swine Flu Vaccine Program, the Internet was used to wake people up as to what was going on, and make people think twice about the jabs

Originally posted by earthdude
You are talking about most of society. I know it is hard to admit, but humans like to be grossed out. I viewed the web browsing history of many "civilized" people and many of them viewed gore viral videos. I myself refused to watch the decapitation video of an American contractor in Iraq, but I bet millions watched it with excitement. We want to see how low people can go and it does not mean we are evil.

I don't understand the mentality of people who watch those kinds of videos. It really is sickening to think about the mental state those people must have to think that viewing it is justifiable. I don't think there is such a thing as "evil". There are mentally deranged people, and there are people who have been raised to become psychotic. It doesn't mean that they are "evil".

In my opinion, people who watch these things are mentally ill, they're basically on the verge of being a psychopath. Any truly moral, humane, sane individual would choose not to view another in pain and suffering, and the fact that people want to see these things suggests a very mentally ill section of society.

I can't watch films like Saw, because in my view they are void of any genuine story and are solely for those who enjoy watching the torture of others. It doesn't matter to me that it is fiction, the intention of media is to portray something, it is supposed to look real, that's the very intention of it. So to then justify enjoying something like that by saying "it's not real" is to deny the very reason for its existence.

I honestly believe that anyone who forwarded that video to someone else should be investigated and charged, and probably be forced to undergo psychological assessment too. By forwarding that video they are expressing support for a criminal offense, and one of the worst criminal acts too.

By passing that video around, they are implying that it should be shared, and therefore that they support it. They should all face charges. They should all also be exposed publicly, humiliated and shamed in their communities.

If I knew anyone who had watched something like that, they would never come within ten feet of me ever again. I don't care if they're friends or even family. I don't want that kind of sick individual anywhere near me, they make my skin crawl.

reply to post by earthdude


The only person that could come to such a conclusion would be a pervert needing justification for their personal need to see such a thing.

reply to post by Oaktree

I think other non perverted people could draw the same conclusion. Normal people are watching this stuff. Look around, see how people operate. They all have different motives.

reply to post by earthdude


Then we have very different ideas of "normal".

No "normal" person that I know of receives videos via twitter of teens being gang raped, nor would they forward them to others.

P.S. We are not talking about a simulated, "made for video" consensual gang bang type thing here.
This is actual gang rape (I assume) of a teen, which was video taped in progress.

Originally posted by earthdude
You are talking about most of society.

I disagree.

While, obviously, I have no reliable figures to base this on, and it's just my personal view, but I would wager that the majority of people do not actively seek out voyeuristic real-life footage involving the intimately personal suffering of others.

Originally posted by earthdude
I know it is hard to admit, but humans like to be grossed out.

It's not hard to admit. It's understandable that people may get some kind of thrill from being involved - whether by viewing or participating - in some kind of illicit, clandestine or taboo activity.

However, to most people who have a semblance of conscience and empathy, this ''participation'' will be nothing more than some dark, uncomfortable and guilt-ridden fantasy which is firmly entrenched in the mind, far away from reality.

To actually want to see something which involves real-life suffering to real people, suggests that the person who seeks out the footage lacks empathy, and is probably a sadist; ergo, not fit to freely inhabit a society which is based largely on amicable social interaction.

Originally posted by earthdude
I viewed the web browsing history of many "civilized" people and many of them viewed gore viral videos. I myself refused to watch the decapitation video of an American contractor in Iraq, but I bet millions watched it with excitement.

Sadly, you are correct that there are millions of these people - many of whom would ostensibly appear to be ''normal''. But these are the kind of people that I want to see taken out of society.

I can honestly and wholeheartedly say that I've never actively sought out images or video of someone being murdered, tortured, raped or humiliated, so I'm sure that the millions who do so are vastly outnumbered by people like me.

Originally posted by earthdude
We want to see how low people can go and it does not mean we are evil.

I don't think that people who seek out this material are ''evil''. They merely display characteristics - such as lack of empathy, compassion and respect - which makes their participation in society troublesome.

We know how low people can go. You don't need to physically see someone being beheaded to understand that one human being is capable of cutting off another's head.

During the civil war in the Congo, it was reported that some soldiers raped women with their rifles and pulled the trigger when it was inside them. How could viewing such an act possibly add anything to the non-visual understanding of the atrocity which was committed ?

The simple fact of the matter is that only a sadist would actively seek out footage of brutalisation, cruelty and suffering - and that's the bottom line.