One bad apple
Mon, 2012-03-19 17:50
#1
One bad apple
I've just read the comments that 'top bloke' Liam Stacey made on his Twitter feed about Fabrice Muamba and I'm left amazed and depressed. Why would anyone even think these things let alone say them? And if you're going to say them, why say them where they can be repeated all round the world within minutes, complete with your name and a photo of you?
They're all here, just in case you missed it: http://chirpstory.com/li/5261(link is external).
My mind is truly boggled. I know there have been millions of genuinely heartfelt messages of support for Muamba, and that does make me happy. But this one idiot's words seem to outweigh that for me. I wish I could dismiss it and just focus on the good stuff but I always get like this - it only takes one person to pee on my parade. Why is that?
Ramble/rant over
alex_tomlin
I should really point out that the things he says are littered with swearing and very unpleasant sentiments, so if you're of a sensitive disposition... be warned...
blighters rock
Don't let him win, Alex. These people only draw attention to themselves because they're deeply unhappy.
By bringing it to us, you're unknowingly enabling his sickness to spread.
Just forget it.
blighters rock
Just watched the one show and there was a feature on trolls. The number one offending troll found was Colm 'the lettuce' Coss. Richard Bacon tried to interview him and you should have seen this guy, on a pushbike in Manchester getting some frozen crap from Farmfoods. He just looked like your average nobody/geek, and there was me thinking he'd be a serpentile estate agent in a swish car.
The thing is, these trolls are very sick folk who have massive intimacy issues (probably cos no one fancies people that post jokes about recently deceased babies on RIP sites).
DON'T FEED THE TROLLS! They just get sicker.
Richard L. Prov...
Some people take on an artificial persona when able to write anything they wish, and that is sad. All the 'sorry' words cannot erase the unpleasant words spewing about in outer space. All we can do is to ensure our own words do not inhabit hateful thoughts. Richard LP
alex_tomlin
I take the point about the oxygen of publicity. I do think this is slightly different from trolls as I understand them - internet users who gatecrash forums and just spout random abuse. In a strange sort of way I can understand why they do that, and if you ignore them they go away.
But this guy seems just like an average 'lad', like thousands of others, and I'm not sure his original tweet of "Ha ha, Muamba, you're dead" was intended to offend in the same way as a troll would say it. I think he genuinely just thought it. And then said it. All the following replies to people telling him off were clearly his delight at getting a response.
ItsSteveDave
I agree with your last comments Alex and Stan.
The guy clearly did not understand the magnitude of what he was saying. I mean, what are the chances of his tweet going viral, when so many people tweet the most disgusting rubbish without whipping up a moral storm? So he didn't think twice about saying it to spark controversy amongst the '50 followers' he boasts about. Big error Liam Stacey, and now he is paying for it by being treated with the derision he deserves. To me it's (negative) attention seeking gone out of hand.
The only issue is, is he enjoying his new found notoriety? or has he been successfully chastised? If he is enjoying it, then I agree with your original sentiment, Alex - it is hard to get past, and the parade has been doused in urine.
His squirming suggests, however, that he quite correctly feels like a tit - would you say that's punishment enough? After all, they are only words, and shouldn't affect anyone's sympathy for Muamba/his family. That is the true valuation of Stacey as a human being; 'You have affected nothing, but everybody now hates you. Great job.'
alex_tomlin
I agree he's got his comeuppance, and then some. What must his mother think?
It's just the fact that he said it in the first place that bugs me. I obviously need to get things in proportion though - logically I know that most people are basically good, or at least okay, and the true bastards are in the minority. They just infuriate me to a disproportionate extent.
I feel better for sharing though, so thanks everyone. Group hug?
shyrewode
I didn't click on the link to read what this guy has posted. I prefer to concentrate on the genuine outpouring of positive emotions from the vast majority of people who have heard of this story. Sometimes it takes a traumatic incident like this for us to appreciate the decency that the average person has inside them.
Steve