If you use the internet ever, you run into people like my “former self” all the time.
I say former because the person I was nearly a decade ago is no longer an accurate representation of the person I am today: I have learned, grown, and evolved into my current self, which is someone that I can look in the mirror and be satisfied with. But the person that I used to be is why I’m here – I know that explaining why people do what I used to do can help uplift spouses because when I say it’s not you, it’s them, I really mean it sincerely.
Getting the troll trophy
Imagine, being so miserable in your life that you not only look forward to posting mean-spirited comments on people’s posts, but you also make time for it and even go as far as to “make friends” with other mean people so you can together go engage with people that you don’t even know.
Behind closed groups, trolls network and coach each other on how to be the trolliest troll. These people often have more than one email address so that they can open more than one profile on whichever social media site they’re on. They will also use made up names instead of their own and most often will refuse to use images showing their faces in their profile photos.
In extreme cases, they’ve also been known to DOX people that they disagree with, which is a move inspired by hackers and involves posting someone’s personal information online, such as their address and phone number, and they also take photos of people that are in the store because they don’t approve of the way that they’re dressed or of their body type.
(Personally, I was never extreme, but I was a witness to others that were.)
Why trolls troll
Point blank, trolls are just miserable people going out of their way to make other people miserable. They’re like the crappy LPO or NCO that your spouse has – except we have no real authority (thank God) and once the line is crossed from trolling to harassment, what they do online actually becomes illegal, pursuing a troll that is going out of their way to harass an individual through legal means would be time consuming, expensive, and honestly, just not worth it, which is why these people see the internet as the “wild, wild west.”
If you look at our current military culture, it’s easy to see why so many trolls exist in the military community – Brandon Caserta was bullied to the point that he felt it was necessary to commit suicide, and afterwards, the Leading Petty Officer that bullied him was transferred to another command early because he was making offensive comments about Caserta’s death.
The toxic culture is literally seeping from commands and making its way online, and you can see it in just about any comment section related to the military – and I’m sure the comment section for this piece will be included in that statement. Misery loves company, and in the military we’re told to embrace the suck, and for some people, there is pride in being ‘the suck’ for others that others must embrace. (Perhaps that is the only embrace trolls receive?)
