No, I’m calling it like I see it. Do you really think online harassment and bullying is no big deal? Have you not heard of people harming themselves after being bullied online? Why would you tthink it’s any different here?
For all you know, the target of your latest hilarious pile-on could be someone who just lost their job and their wife left them, and they need to get away from their problems a bit so they go to the SDMB to talk a little politics and forget their troubles and run into a buzz saw of hateful people just looking for a new victim on the ‘other’ side.
You never know what people on the other side of the screen are going through. You don’t know them at all. That’s a really good reason to not tear them apart for yucks, just because you can. Maybe they won’t self-harm, but just drink more. Or maybe you enrage someone and they take it out on their family. Or they decide to hate your side even more, and the world gets a little worse.
You don’t get a pass on the consequences of your actions just because you can’t see them. And if you don’t think your actions have real consquences in the lives of your victims, I can tell you that’s not true.