Behind the Masks

They say when someone picks on other people for something, it is really because they themselves are insecure about who they are, so they feel the need to take it out on other people. It could also be a result of a bad childhood or traumatic experience. This also applies to online bullying. Now, I am in no way defending the horrendous actions that people take on the Internet that can lead to an unfortunate outcome, but instead, I am simply viewing the issue from a different perspective. Those trolls out there are people, human beings, who have, for some reason or another, decided to spend their time on the Internet harassing people. Their minds are so messed up and warped that they find this behavior to be fine and even amusing. They need professional help to sort out the issues that they may have, and sadly, not everyone has an opportunity to. I think what Lindy West did about her own troll was a very effective thing to do. Not only did it get them to stop the harassment, but her words truly affected him and made him realize the error of his ways. This wouldn't be effective for every troll sadly, but I truly believe there is a way to reach out to these troubled individuals to get them to stop the harm they are doing before it is too late.