Maybe people are just shitty. Or maybe it's the Internet's fault.

If Twitter is Internet purgatory, and Kiwi Farms the ninth circle of hell, then independent blogging must fall somewhere in the middle. I don't think that's what I was *supposed* to take away from this widely circulated interview with the now-shuttered Bookslut...? But since I don't have strong opinions on ~highbrow literature~ that's frankly all I got.

1. The definition of "bullying" has grown so broad it's basically meaningless. A bully isn't someone who trolls a powerful person -- it's a powerful person who menaces the powerless. As the word expands, however, its harms get abstracted out. And that's something advocates should really care about.

2. "Maybe people are just shitty. Or maybe it's the Internet's fault." Speaking of bullies, this v. good essay really breaks my heart. The author's brother died from a semi-high-profile overdose in 2014. Since then, trolls have repeatedly felt the need to disrupt the family's grieving.

3. On a lighter note, here's a precocious kid in a suit! He is, per one devotee, the "best food critic" on YouTube.

they see me rollin' ... they hatin
(link)

Postscripts: Burning Man for the 1%. "Obama girl" for 2016. Long before Twitter, calling someone an egg was still considered kinda mean. How chatbots grew up after all this time and why you can online-cry if you're moved. FYI: Sexting is still cheating, and "suggestions" will continue until morale is improved. r/todayilearned is A++ today! And hey, dystopia in Russia is doing quite well, too. Will Facebook hire me after its guts the media? Lol on second thought I probs don't want it to.

Until tomorrow,
@caitlindewey

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