Internet and Gangs

One statement I've heard one time too many is that the internet is an imaginary world. Oh yeah, so why do most businesses and all academic establishments use it? Internet is not an imaginary world. Internet is an extension of the real world. And it has found applications in just about everything. In many ways it is the greatest invention that has ever been achieved.

One major use for the internet is breaking the control of media and academic establishments. If the publishers decide to be jerks and publish nothing except politically correct propaganda, there is the Internet. If the academics turn poetry into trash and publish only poetry that is trash, there is the Internet as well.

Now for a long time Internet-based dating was discouraged; but we are now seeing the same done even by perfectly regular people. There was one situation in which a woman used the internet to run an affair. She came to the Internet saying that there are people to date, and that they are all “in the real world.” My response was, “Oh yeah, and being on the Internet prevents us from also being in the real world. We are nothing but disembodied robots who are nothing but words that come out from our keyboards. And to think that you are one of us.”

One problem that does happen on the Internet is that sometimes groups there start to act like gangsters. There was one situation in which a man had nearly beaten to death a woman for whom I had feelings, and the group supported him in his behavior. The community mindset takes over and thinks that it is more powerful than the law. This is exactly what happens in gangs. When something like that happens, it has to be checked through enforcement of the law that applies everywhere else.

Crimes on the Internet are actually quite common. I have seen many situations of slander and forgery. I have seen actions such as sending viruses to people's home computers and workplaces and posting slander about people on job networks. This happens in all closed communities, whether or not they are technological. In all these cases, it is the matter for the police.

The problem in this case is not with it being the Internet. The problem is something that happens in most communities, whether or not they be online. If people decide that someone is bad, they will do all sorts of nasty things, and some of them will be illegal. This is not the fault of the Internet. This is the fault of community mindset. The solution is not calling Internet the tool of Satan, but rather enforcing the law.

The Internet is in no way imaginary. The Internet is as real as Exxon Corporation and MIT. It is one of the greatest tools that have been ever invented. As such, it also lends itself to abuses. There are all sorts of crimes that get committed on the Internet; and then there are groups such as the Anonymous that fight these crimes.

All new things require experience in their use in order to avoid errors. The same is the case for the Internet. If gangs form on the Internet, they should be dealt with in the same way as gangs elsewhere. If someone uses the Internet to seduce 10-year-olds, then that should likewise be treated as any other crime. The Internet has had over two decades experience of use, and it has gained its place in society. Use it for rightful purposes; and if you do use it for wrongful purposes then be prepared to deal with consequences of such things as much as you would with anything else.