Do you think it feels empowering or good to be a jerk/mean?

[Starbird]

Assuming you've ever been in that position or still are, I'd love to know your opinions.

For me personally, it depends.

I have a deep and almost pathological sense of fairness. If someone treats me unfairly, or someone else unfairly where I can see it it bothers me on a fundamental level, and I will absolutely be an utter jerk out of payback if the opportunity arises.

On the other hand, when it comes to my dealings with other people I tend to be perhaps overly nice and fair, even when it is to my detriment - and I am often shocked and saddened when it is turned around on me.

Then again, it makes me question the motives of most trolls. I've seen trolls keep mud-slinging YouTube comment threads awake and rolling for months on end, well past the average lifespan of most arguments. I mean, is there really a class of people out there who go "Aw yeah, I love seeing absolute strangers squirm; them calling me names is the best!"

It boggles the mind, honestly.

On a gaming forum, in my less scrupulous days I would maintain more than one alt account to troll threads I liked. Because far too many good suggestion threads would fade away unread, but a little dose of drama would keep them rolling for months !

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Nah. Even with people I'm diametrically opposed to, like Creationists, I feel like calmly and collectedly explaining why they're wrong is better for everyone involved than just 'you're stupid, God isn't real, lol'.

And of course, there's still the satisfaction of knowing that the explanation for why they're wrong can be very, very long and very, very thorough.

Edit: However there is a certain brand of pig headed idiot where you're wasting your time trying to explain anything. They're the type who completely ignore what you have to say and just spout bible verses, kinda like the textual equivalent of putting their fingers in their ears and singing lalala. Those ones are fun to be a dick to, because at that point you get to start pointing out how horrible a book the Bible is.

 

[DANEgerous]

That honestly depends exclusively on the target, it is empowering to fire back and typically shameful to fire first. I have been an absolutely horrible human being to a few people and it was exceptionally enjoyable and I do not regret doing it. That said both of these people at least in my mind and in time the minds of their victims deserved it. The people I attacked had been verbal, emotionally and physically abusive. The one of the worst was a woman who was dating and absolutely horrific man who was honestly on the verge of killing her. Her personality changed from was was almost sickeningly upbeat to sad then depressed then fearful and that would be one thing if this happened in her teens but it happen at about 23. Sevral of he friends knew the cause was her new "boyfriend" who was actually a just an evil prick that stole he identity and could control her finances. This woman another one of her friends and I had been let in to their apartment one day she expected an attack and when it came we scared the ever loving crap out of this man. He still has not recovered and I honestly do not care.

 

[Eddie the head]

Oh I know it feels good. Especially when you can convince yourself that they deserve it. But in the end I think it just leads to more bad behavior and no one wins in the end. Just look at the GamerGate thing. Two sides utterly convinced that the opposition deserves it. Who came out looking good after that shit storm? Yeah no one. I'm sure a lot of people felt some righteous fury by sticking it to some SJW or femanazi. But it just made everything worse.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Hmmm...Well, it's tangentially related, but...

Speaking as someone who went from "total doormat" to "I'm going to tell you to your face if what you're doing annoys me, screw your feelings, I'm not taking shit from anyone" in the past few months...

Mostly yes, partly no.

"Yes" in the sense that by focusing on yourself and not caring about other people's feelings, you really do feel stronger, more confident and less vulnerable. "No" in the sense that if you go too far and act like an asshole and actually really hurt someone, it shakes you and makes you feel guilty and horrible (fortunately, by keeping this possibility in mind, I have not yet crossed that line and hurt anyone).

Essentially, by acting more self-centered and uncaring, you get a shot of confidence, and that can be addictive and make you into an actual jerk.

 

[CaitSeith]

Assuming you've ever been in that position or still are, I'd love to know your opinions.

Well... it feels good to laugh. I used to make fun of other kids' names at the elementary school. It was just for laughs and not intended to be mean to those kids (I was making fun of the names, not the kids); but looking back now, I'm sure I looked like a jerk.