The Psychology Behind Social Media Hate: A Veteran Explains

Dehumanization of a person or group is the first step to genocide. History proves that over and over.
The Psychology Behind Social Media Hate: A Veteran Explains
Jacob Mosolf, U.S. Air Force
Battlefields Staff
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Commentary

One piece of advice I heard a while back was to never read the replies to your social media posts. I have found that input to be very valuable. But the problem is that I gain some sense of validation from seeing that people have enjoyed what I’ve written, or found some value from it. In all truthfulness, probably 95 percent of the comments are positive, but there are a few negative ones that can be discouraging.

It’s not that I’m particularly hurt by them, but being a keen observer of human behavior, I find myself wanting to understand what causes people to blurt out some of these hateful comments. At a basic level, they’re unnecessary and completely uncalled for.

Yes, I’m a proponent of free speech, but I sometimes wonder about the mindset leading people to make these often venomous responses. Please keep in mind that stating disagreement, in and of itself, is not hateful. There’s a big difference between, “I disagree with your point because ….” and “You’re an idiotic moron for thinking that.” Open discourse is good and builds a nation, insulting speech is just plain destructive.

Dave Chamberlin served 38 years in the USAF and Air National Guard as an aircraft crew chief, where he retired as a CMSgt. He has held a wide variety of technical, instructor, consultant, and leadership positions in his more than 40 years of civilian and military aviation experience. Dave holds an Airframe and Powerplant license from the FAA, as well as a master's degree in aeronautical science. He currently runs his own consulting and training company and has written for numerous trade publications. His true passion is exploring and writing about issues facing the military, and in particular, aircraft maintenance personnel.
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