Wang Wusi | There is nothing more terrifying than cyber violence like arbitrarily deleting posts

I’ve never taken “cyber-bullies” seriously before, nor have I worried about being cyber-bullied. In my eyes, those online rabble-rousers are even more disadvantaged than I am in real life. At most, I’m just disgusted by some of their words. This is a matter of psychological resilience. Even if they say more intense things or potentially harm me in reality, I can just call the police. Furthermore, there’s only one situation that would make me worried or afraid, and that is if the “police” don’t care, or if the “police” themselves are among the perpetrators.

The power of cyberbullying is relative, mostly causing psychological pressure. It’s completely different from real-world violence. The so-called cyberbullying creators should of course be criticized, and those who break the law should be brought to justice based on the law and facts, but they shouldn’t be blamed for everything, nor should they bear all the blame. Such a simple and crude determination that it’s the fault of cyberbullying is even more cyberbullying than cyberbullying itself. The words and deeds of these cyberbullies are a selective venting in a large public opinion environment and social environment. They may have low quality, but they are not stupid at all. If you ask them to curse about something else, or even talk about something else, they wouldn’t dare. Therefore, if they are a problem, there are too many ways to solve them. The fact that they haven’t been solved shows that the relevant functional departments are derelict in their duties.

In addition, I think the so-called cyberbullying phenomenon is不可消除的 (不可消除的). Where there are more than two humans, there will be rumors and malicious slander. However, the full production and free flow of information, I think, will play a role in correcting the source. Where does the clear water come from? It comes from the living water of the source. I remember that in the internet of a few years ago, these low-level, brain-dead topics couldn’t even get on the table, let alone be widely discussed like they are now. Does this need discussion? The answer is clear, but now it seems very vague. Common sense is no longer common sense, but a very rare truth. Be a person, has long replaced being an excellent person, being an ideal person, being a good person… Why? Did the same group of people become less qualified overnight? Definitely not. Think about those things that happened during the three years of the pandemic, those inhumane behaviors, those ridiculous things that made people laugh and cry. Would these people and phenomena have appeared on such a large scale in our lives before? No, even if they did, the number would be very small, and it would be corrected quickly. The reason why they appeared on a large scale during the pandemic is because almost all functional departments were serving that grand anti-epidemic project. That atmosphere formed that kind of soil, and that kind of soil grew that kind of evil seedlings, just like the weeds that grew on the Bund Square or the Huangpu River at that time. This thing that shouldn’t have appeared, it just popped up, but there’s nothing terrible about it. It’s also very simple to clear them. What’s terrible is that no one has ever taken care of it, and the people and departments that should have taken care of it are busy with other things.

What I mean by “take care of” is, of course, not what Jackie Chan said, “Chinese people need to be taken care of.” What I’m talking about is the basic work, the behavior stipulated within the legal framework. The so-called cyberbullying behavior should of course be taken care of, and there are already relevant laws and regulations. You just need to operate and apply them normally, but the call for “take care of” online now is obviously a call for excessive power and excessive intervention under the emotion of panic. This is not a good thing, this is inviting wolves into the house, this is recognizing the thief as the father.

In my opinion, there is nothing more terrifying than arbitrarily deleting posts, arbitrarily banning accounts, cultivating a large number of water armies, and inciting nationalistic sentiments. This kind of online behavior that exceeds legal limits and arbitrarily intervenes with power is the real cyberbullying. Liu Shen’s articles are full of anger and also full of kindness. San Biao’s articles are more about thinking and helplessness. Sun Xuyang’s articles, as always, maintain independence, go against the mainstream, go against the minority, but are full of love and warmth. But, is it worth it? They are constantly being hurt. They want to use words to heal this society, but in the end, they are only covered in scars themselves. Perhaps we will eventually be sent to a mental hospital, in the name of the people, and the real estate industry will flourish again.