mis·an·thrope (mĭs'ən-thrōp', mĭz'-)
n. One who hates or mistrusts humankind.
[French, from Greek mīsanthrōpos, hating mankind : mīso-, miso- + anthrōpos, man.]
Misanthrope; it's a word I've been using a lot lately, mainly in describing myself, more specifically in describing my attitude towards people on the Internet. Put simply: If you're an idiot, I'm a misanthropic bitch. I'd say that the definition above isn't quite the one I'd use to define the word 'misanthrope'; I'm not a hater of all humankind, just that rather-too-large portion of humankind that's ruddy ignorant. Even then, 'hates' isn't quite the best word. 'Mocks', perhaps, would be more appropriate.
So, what do you call this portion of humankind that's ruddy ignorant? Well, since this is the Internet we're talking about, let's call them n00bs. Also, let's be fair and say that a major part of the aforementioned portion of humankind is much too young to be on the Internet, often in terms of maturity and sometimes also in terms of the legal, you-must-be-over-13-or-we'll-tell-your-parents policies social networking websites and forums tend to have.mis·an·thrope (mĭs'ən-thrōp', mĭz'-)
n. One who mocks or mistrusts that large portion of humankind that's ruddy ignorant
When I was a n00b [arguably I still am one], and I still carried a knapsack full of happiness and hope and rainbows and glitter and love and all that shit children are born believing in, I ventured forth into the vast, dark, disorientating forest they call the Internet, and explored nooks and crannies I really shouldn't have been exploring. My knapsack got tangled in the forum bushes and tore, sending rainbows, glitter, love, happiness and all that shit flying everywhere; the misanthropes [every forum or any place where you can do so much as state your opinion has at least one] saw an opportunity to beat another idiot down, and the contents of my backpack were trampled.
That's when I learnt my lesson: The Internet is not a nice, warm, fluffy place where everything is painted a soothing tone of pastel or coated in sugar. The Internet is dangerous, the Internet breaks dreams; if the Internet were a person, it'd be a misanthrope. I'm not saying the Internet can't be a lovely place if circumstances are right, nor am I saying that it's not a fantastic source of information, but that's not the point of this article, so we'll pretend the internet's just a big, bad, collosal cruel.
Perhaps that's why I'm a misanthrope myself: I came to the Internet acting like an idiot, and was treated accordingly. Now I treat people who acted like I did in the same way that I was treated. Maybe it's because I'm a sadist. Maybe it's because I'm just messed up like that, and maybe it's because [and this is a stretch, here] I'm trying to help other little n00bs, like the one I used to be, understand just how evil the internet can be, how much its people can criticize you, how much hate you'll encounter, and how careful you need to be, in the hopes that they'll become misanthropes quickly, and that they'll learn to just be cold on the internet, because, when you're not with your friends, cold is the only thing you should be [but maybe I'm just trying to justify my cruelty to make myself seem less of a bitch.]
This week's assignment:
Two foreigners try to make sense of life in the U.S. in the aftermath of two very different wars. A young Iraqi ends up in America after fleeing Iraq and goes on a road trip full of questions for Americans about the War. And a Bulgarian man in Rhode Island realizes that an ongoing argument with his American wife has to do with the life he left behind 20 years ago, on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
Here's a clip from Act One, wherein Americans can "Talk to an Iraqi:"
The second season of This American Life began with episode one's theme, "Escape." Has there been a great escape you've made, be it as simple as going on a memorable vacation or a more elaborate prevention of harm?
This Week's Assignment:
This Week's Assignment:
This Week's Assignment:
Tell us your stories about working under pressure, when the stakes are high.
This American Life, Episode 348: Tough Room
This week on This American Life: Comedy writers at The Onion pitch 700 story ideas a week. 16 make the cut.
Also, a man on a mission of peace and understanding in a country that has
one more slogan for him to promote—nuclear energy.
These and other stories of people speaking their minds in very tough rooms. Broadcasting February 1st - 3rd, 2008 on This American Life.
