Parsers

[Araeya]

You realize clinical depression, and to a larger extent mental illnesses is as debilitating an illness as cancer or HIV is right?.

While I understand your point, I, for the most part disagree. Because I feel strongly that we are stripping our population of the essential strengths they need to get through life and not break under the pressure, does that mean I must know nothing about what it is to struggle with debilitating illness (be it mental or physical)? There are plenty of people who fit your description of mentally or physically ill who game on a regular basis and don't pay any mind at all to the people whose sole purpose in life seems to be spreading misery. I don't condone the poor treatment of others, by the way, especially without provocation. I also don't condone coddling. Coping skills outweigh coddling any day of the week.

We're talking school-yard nonsense here. There is a major difference between someone telling you that you're not doing well in a boss fight on a video game and them telling you that you're worthless and should go kill yourself (which even I agree is on the severe side and report when I see it). Yes, there IS a huge difference between being raped and being told you suck at a game. The bigger issue is just that - people are losing the ability to differentiate between what is truly a threat and what is just silliness. Coddling does not and will not remedy that issue.

So, no, I don't think that severe bullying is OK. I don't think the gay kid getting the shit kicked out of him every week is OK. I don't think the girl being touched inappropriately by her school mates is OK. I don't think a lot of things are OK. I think that we need to be teaching people how to cope with the things that are, in the grand scheme of things, minor... you know, like being asked if you're a troll because your dps is bad in a video game. And I maintain that unless someone has been violent toward you, or is threatening to be, most of that shit can be shrugged off. If someone over there beats the crap out of a random stranger for wearing an ugly hat, I will absolutely agree that repercussions for the aggressor are in order. If, instead, he just says, "Your hat is ugly, bro, lolwhateverstupiditypeoplespout", I'll just think to myself that the guy is an idiot and continue on my way.

The thing that stands out the most to me about this idea that people who are unstable enough to take drastic measures when they feel 'bullied' on the internet is that they are even putting themselves in that position to begin with. They don't need video games. They need medical treatment. Being 'bullied' (in this case, performing poorly and that being pointed out) in a video game is a pretty avoidable experience if a person lacks the basic social skills to cope with it. You wouldn't expect a person in a wheelchair to use train tracks as sidewalks, would you? Personal responsibility. In the end, it is always your responsibility to decide how to handle what life throws at you. Perhaps bullying is a relative term insofar as it is really a matter of personal perception, but I fear we are erring on the wrong side of it.

This conversation is certainly getting windy.