Friday, June 19, 2015

Dylann "Reddit" Roof

Turns out Dylann Roof was an active member and contributor to Reddit.  Not that that means anything or somehow means Reddit is a "bad" thing.  But it does provide an additional little bit of evidence to a theory I've been unintentionally developing over time - that various discussion forums and social media outlets are serving not just as safe havens, but accelerants to cultists and psychopaths to form.

Imagine back in the day you were just your ordinary psychopath.  You were a loser, a loner, and aside from your job that barely kept you alive, you had no social circles.  But with the internet, and especially forums like reddit, you can actually find "like minded people" who only serve to confirm and validate your bias/psychosis. 

Sadly, as Davis Aurini pointed out, this means discussion boards or forums that once hosted new and advancing philosophical thought are taken over and democratized by its more radical elements (who are typically unemployed and have time during the day to obsess over these topics), driving people away and out of the forums.  The founders leave as cultists glom onto, and then overtake the "uniting principles" of the board, co-opting them for their own personal agendas and validation, rendering the discussion board nothing more than a bunch of extremists and cultists commiserating in each others misery.

Again, this isn't to say scouring Reddit forums is going to find the next serial killer, but if you were to ask me and I was in charge of the FBI I would be looking for two things;

1.  Discussion boards where
2. The majority of posts are made during the day as it indicates the participants have no job and no life, leaving them looking for agency and purpose, likely in the harm and destruction of other people.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

ROK?

Anonymous said...

Sad but true. Is this what all "safe spaces" must become - breeding grounds for hate and extremism?

grey enlightenment said...

We're talking 1 or 2 people out of a community of probably hundreds of thousands of members. this is no higher than the baseline rate . The FBI is already all over sites like stromfront, anyway

Unknown said...

I am on a couple forums that charge various entry fees. As a result, the people there are accomplished and serious about the topics. They take action on what they are talking about, and there are virtually no people that just spout BS from their mothers' basements. Not a big chance of having the next Isla Vista, Charleston shooter or similar on there.