GOLIKEHELLMACHINE: i am convinced that antisocial behavior is an actual, real, growing problem we should think more about

Well this all seems horrible dot gif

Seventh and eighth graders in Malvern, Pennsylvania, impersonating their teachers posted disparaging, lewd, racist and homophobic videos on TikTok. The incident is the first known mass attack of its kind by middle schoolers on their teachers in the U.S.

Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their Schoolnyti.ms Seventh and eighth graders in Malvern, Pa., impersonating their teachers posted disparaging, lewd, racist and homophobic videos in the first known mass attack of its kind in the U.S.

i am convinced that antisocial behavior is an actual, real, growing problem we should think more about

A low-trust society is the goal, and the right is working overtime to make it happen.

It’s sociopathy as civic and moral philosophy

absolutely. When you consider how conservative adults(conservative LEADERS!) act towards teachers, the slanders and lies they're willing to tell about people they've never even met because some post or pundit said they should, this behavior becomes less surprising.

This is a very good point.

Aye. If everyone is only ever out for themselves, it is significantly easier for broader population groups to be controlled. Post truth, me first, zero compassion, zero empathy… the right stands to financially benefit from all of it :/ the progression is sad and scary to watch 🫠

I'm not saying that we should put people in jail for being weird freaks online, but maybe we need to start thinking about fines and putting real faces and names in the newspaper.

How those kids callously disregard the consequences to the adult is the most frightening aspect. Almost sociopathic.

Sure but I mean their brains are not fully developed, including unfortunately empathy. Doesn’t mean a young person can’t have it. But to me it’s more normal that these vicious little shits (derogatory) wouldn’t put themselves in the shoes of their victims - the power goes the other way, at school.

These kids lack empathy that is an outgrowth of good parenting; they lack boundaries and enjoy too many "soft landings". They did a vicious thing that has real consequences and they should feel the full inpact of there actions. But I expect they will not grok- not learn.

An outgrowth of? Maybe “sometimes a happy result of” - the logical meaning of what you said is that bad kids can’t happen to good people who are their parents, and vice versa. I would never take that position. Bad parents do happen. Good kids can result. And some parents aren’t to blame etc

You may be reading too much into it. Thier reaction speak of a lack of comprehension of consequences for others. It does not hint to a very wholesome family life. I'm also thinking of 'swat'ers... Who claim 'it was just a joke' after someone's desperately hurt.

others.by

right. That’s terrible! And sometimes the parents are similarly monstrous. And sometimes, one sees, a kid will be a murderous twisted freak and the parents will be baffled and sad and have caused none of it. Not Only Nurture, that’s my point. Parents Matter, it’s so. But maybe less than we think

pop culture shows high school bullying the most, but i remember middle school being far worse. just the worst age

100%

I think what was done is far beyond bullying. But that's just me.

sorry if that word does not seem strong enough; i personally view bullying as part of a spectrum of aggressive dominance, a spectrum that includes hate crimes, torture and rape, so to me, it's a hugely bad thing, but i know it's generally viewed as a "soft" word

The point of being social is to maintain the approval of your community. We've built a machine that offers community, no matter how insane you are, as long as you keep escalating with fresh content. Stopping loses that group and the original is already lost, so you can't ever stop. See also: Qanon

We absolutely did not need the internet for the sociability of 13-year-olds to express itself as in-group viciousness toward those outside the group— or for that to have dynamics of status-seeking escalation of the viciousness.

absolutely true, though the internet has made it broadcast entertainment, which is a problem

I'm not so old that I don't remember how vicious kids could be when mocking teachers, but there was a recognition of "don't do it in front of anyone besides friends" that these kids don't seem to have processed. If you put it on the Internet, it's not going to stay between you & your friends.

Oh, definitely.

No, but these are veteran teachers who have been dealing with 13 year olds for years. That they are bewildered and horrified by this behavior indicates that it’s different from what we’ve seen in the past and is alarming.

Oh, for sure. The technology being different makes a difference! But it doesn't require a different underlying group psychology.

I think it’s more than technology. The content is disturbing, but even more is The reaction on getting caught. The “so what, learn to take a joke” is what one of my ed friends found the most worrisome. That and the widespread student participation is a five alarm yikes.

It used to be possible to go too far. There is no longer an outer limit, just a one-way ratchet of more and more extreme behavior as long as it plays well on TikTok.

Although I am not usually a hardliner, the cold fact is that this shit does not happen in a world where public schools are able to expel children, because literally the only thing parents respond to is the threat of having to be in charge of their own children all day indefinitely.

My friends who teach public school are in a dark fucking place. I don't think people understand how bad things are and how tuned out most parents are.

This is pathological callousness. Way past "kids these days" stuff.

There are a lot of folks who, for whatever reason, fail to see other people as PEOPLE.

seems like a pretty straightforward libel case and a good lesson for parents

IDK middle school and high school have ALWAYS had a share of horrible little sociopathic bullies The difference now is they can spread their bullying and manipulation much farther much faster thanks to the internet (and this has been a problem since the internet first became a thing, before TikTok)

There is something that we seem to have lost in discarding naming and shaming.

I call it The Trump Effect. He ginned this shit up and demonstrated that people can get away with being horrible.

Not excusing the kids but adults are doing a fucking shitty job of modeling good behavior

i can't say this behaviour surprises me when society threw kids into the meat grinder so brad can fuck his guns and karen can do brunch during a covid wave