Anti-LGBTQ hate thrives online, spurs fears of more violence

[icymist]

In the days after a gunman killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado last month, much of social media lit up with the now familiar expressions of grief, mourning and disbelief.

But on some online message boards and platforms, the tone was celebratory. “I love waking up to great news,” wrote one user on Gab, a platform popular with far-right groups. Other users on the site called for more violence.

The hate isn’t limited to fringe sites.

[...]“I don’t think people understand the state of danger that we’re living in right now,” said Jay Brown, senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign and a transgender man. “A lot of that is happening online, and online threats are turning into threats of real violence offline.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/anti-lgbtq-hate-thrives-online-spurs-fears-violence-rcna62295

[nightwing1240]

1. Yet another reminder

We have a long long way to go. This, racial injustice, anti-semitism and, others. It is nearly 2023 and we are still grasping with how to stop this madness. If something does not hurt anyone and is not against the law, what on earth is the problem? BTW, this and issues relating to this group should never have been considered illegal or immoral. That and other "laws" against groups were laws of fear by white men afraid of change. Simply nonsense and time to end this way of thinking.

[OldBaldy1701E]

2. The facts of the matter.

And I have a message for anyone who thinks that they can just threaten me at any time.

[Pete Ross Junior]

3. These people were always there ...

The internet makes them visible. That includes to each other. Consider the dynamic of that.

[OldBaldy1701E]

4. Oh I know.

Think how energized one of these crazies got when they learned that there were others that thought the same way!

The internet does make them visible but not visible enough. They run amok because they know they can hide from reality on there.