Image by John Hain from Pixabay
At the tail end of March 2021, News Break encouraged writers to contribute content that would throw cold water over the flames of hate burning across America.
The news app campaigned heavily for 'stop the hate' articles but it seems they didn't check in on their readers during the campaign. As with most movements attempting to curb hate and discrimination, it fell on deaf ears.
If people want to hate they're going to do it regardless of how a nation tries to stop it. And that is especially true of News Break readers.
During my time on News Break, I've written a few pieces that have exploded with reader hatred. I still don’t understand the rhyme or reason behind which articles will explode.
For example, writing about a hunk of fried dough covered in powdered sugar in New Orleans can net you several thousand sets of eyeballs, right out of the gate. I find this funny because it’s literally just about a Beignet that I paid $2.00 for.
Nobody will leave a comment about your Beignet though, because nobody hates a sugary pastry.
But if you write about something a little more controversial, something people can hate on, they certainly have no qualms about showcasing their blatant hostility toward humans.
If you write about white privilege, for example, your laptop will blow up with comments from readers who hate black people. They even use the N-word in public. Kind of ironic considering we writers aren’t allowed to drop an F-bomb in an article.
Or if you write about dinner in prison the commenters come out in full armies to proclaim that all prisoners should choke on the food and rot in hell. Their exact words.
These readers have zero filters and give zero f**ks about how they’re perceived. I can’t make this stuff up.
I could write about love, love, love on News Break until I’m blue in the face and not attract a single reader but when it’s time to hate? I’ll get 200,000 views and several thousand hateful comments.
News Breakers absolutely LOVE to hate the human race and they can’t wait to tell the world about it.
If any of those haters happen to be part of the many broken systems in America it’s no wonder the place feels like it is falling apart.
It’s mind-blowing for me, a person who believes in the human race with my whole heart. We’re fully capable of being sane and rational, tolerant, and even kind! Yet many make a conscious choice not to.
While I cannot confirm nor deny that all these hateful readers are American, this is an American app centered around American content so one could assume.
If it's true that all this hate originates in the USA it just reinforces the thought that the country seems okay with how outsiders perceive it.
A couple of months ago I wrote an article about an Asian-Canadian tourist who went to Las Vegas to celebrate his 21st birthday. His official 'welcome to America' consisted of getting knocked out in a public washroom because of his Asian appearance.
Do people really hold this much hate in their hearts that they feel it necessary to haul off and assault a random person based solely on their appearance?
Judging by the hateful readers on News Break, yes, they certainly do hold this much disdain in their hearts.
It's deplorable to think that the biggest protection human beings need is from our own species. I can’t help but wonder when we’re going to wake the hell up and realize that we’re all part of the same race.
Something is always on fire in America
Constructive communication around any marginalized group rarely occurs because there’s never enough of a break in the tension to have a calm conversation.
For all those readers who think prison inmates should choke, rot, and die - would they say the same if one of their loved ones were in prison? Or how about the wrongfully convicted? Innocent people should also just choke and die because the justice system got it wrong?
According to the LA Times, up to 230,000 innocent American citizens are sitting in prison. News Break readers should be careful what they wish for. The next wrongful conviction could be any one of them.
Are the hateful readers just internet trolls?
Today, someone asked me that question. Could the angry readers just be trolls? I would chalk it up to trolling if there were only a few of them but when a single article generates several thousand comments all spitting fire, one has to wonder.
We have a major problem
None of us know anything about each other and ignorance has created the massive pot we’re currently boiling in. We make quick judgments based on everything we don’t know, which brings us back to square one - hatred.
This mindset is apathetic and despicable. We’re talking about human lives, how can someone not know the behavior is wrong?
There will be no resolution until we choose to seek one and actively pursue it, but spewing hatred across the internet isn't opening any doors and it certainly isn't rolling out the welcome mat.