Over the last 25 years of being on the Internet, I've seen a lot of people come and go, a lot of flame wars, and I've even seen those wars spill over into the physical world. People with behavioral issues getting banned from IRL events, when their bad behavior got too extreme.
But even 20 years ago, people had jobs that could still provide a halfway decent living. You were still able to put yourself through college, pay rent and buy groceries. And more importantly, you actually had free time.
You had the ability to go out to bars, restaurants, shows, games and other things. You could have football nights, game nights, parties and have fun.
And some of the people you would hang out with might have been somewhat troublesome, but you didn't have to actually live in the same house with them. You could still enjoy their company when they were sober, or not ranting about X, and were otherwise being cool. And so you kept them around. You didn't brush them off, ghost them, or otherwise cut off contact, because you actually had free time to gamble with. You could lose a few hours if they got too drunk, and not feel bad about it afterwards.
That's not the case anymore.
Nobody has any free time anymore. Everyone is working two, sometimes three jobs, just to keep their heads above water. And on those extremely rare moments where you actually have some spare time, people have become VERY selective about who they choose to spend it with.
Joey the Racist Magat who rants about BLM, Antifa and how great trump is, BUT puts on a really good spread at his parties, with lots of free beer? You were okay with laughing and nodding at their nonsense because you were stuffed with shrimp cocktail and imported beer. But Joey has felt the pinch too, and was forced to trim down to Crock Pot BBQ wiener dogs and Coors Light. Now it's no longer worth listening to his garbage, and you don't show up.
It's exactly the same online.
People no longer have any time, so they have absolutely zero interest in tolerating racists or other social garbage. There is absolutely zero value in listening to anything they have to say, anything they have to offer, because they aren't providing anything to offset the misery they cause. They aren't putting out shrimp cocktail and imported beer anymore.
This is all the more infuriating, because it would be so very easy for them to do the slightest bit of research, and learn that their PoV is misguided and harmful. But because their PoV makes them happy...
They don't.
They don't even try.
THAT is the "wake-up call" that this person isn't just ignorant, they are proud of it. And for most people out there, that's their cue to tell that person to piss off.
And finally...
I was thinking of the "free exchange of ideas" last night. You know, it's not like a market, it's like a potluck. Everyone brings their own ideas and you sample others and some are familiar with a twist, some are interesting but not to your taste, some are bad, some are life changing. You can get into a discussion about recipes or technique, or what have you as people talk about the food. If someone brings mashed potatoes, you can debate about the appropriateness for a potluck: It is too bland? Will it get cold on the table? Do potatoes make up too much of our diet? But if someone puts a streaming platter of dog shit on the table, we're not going to debate it. And when we tell them to take it off the table, it's not because we are afraid of eating their dog shit or we think that it's going to revolutionize lunch but we don't want to allow that to happen. We tell them to get it off the table because there is no debate to be had. It's dog shit. It's not an open question, it's not a matter of palates or picky eaters. That's why we don't engage with white supremacists and , and it's why we don't (or shouldn't)