Talking Rage: pt. 1 of 2

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’d given a semi-formal chat on the topic of “wrath”–thanks to a kind invitation to join Christ Church’s beer-theology series Ockham’s Kegger–and that I would be posting the text soon.

The wait is over! (I know–I’m sure you’ve lost a lot of sleep in ecstatic anticipation).

Well, the wait is only partially over. Given the length of the talk, I’ve decided to cut it into two parts, the first of which is now live over at State of Formation. Expect the undoubtedly startling conclusion in the next few days.

Also, if you’re interested, here are some photos from the event itself.

Thus, I give you Rage in the Digital Age | Part 1, “The Tyranny of Opposites”:

We’re in a time where a lot of community and dialogue is happening online. The possibilities are endless. You can be talking to someone in Peoria and Beirut, and all be talking about the same thing. This is supposed to be awesome, but it hasn’t treated us as well as it could.

For starters, take the world of internet forum commentary. If you’re unfamiliar with what the tenor and tone of internet commentary looks like, I offer you two examples, one involving Justin Bieber’s 2011 haircut, and another being a commercial for macaroni & cheese, circa the early 1990s. Simply scroll below the article/video to view the comments section (for a real treat, look for comments by a user named “PunishedByJesus” on the mac&cheese video).

These are just pop culture’s permutation of online forums. You can imagine that when the blog or video moves into more serious territory, say politics or religion, the positive potential for these dialogic events can go awry fast. People have voices and they want to be heard—a lot of times it’s, “Let’s get angry, and say the most offensive thing we can because it’s 2 a.m., I’m a little woozy, and no one’s around—I can say whatever I want.” This anonymous mentality is problematic. Read More