# Worst example of mob mentality on the internet **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217 "2008-05-22T06:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/1 "2008-05-22T06:41:51Z")
Schadenfreude is pretty rampant on the internet. People divulge so much, so easily and it is so accessable to so many others. I’ve heard of situations where people really went overboard- for example a Korean woman whose dog defecated on a train; the video of her offense seemed to turn her into some kind of pariah in korea (at least for a while). In a way its kind of scary to think that _any_ of us could potentially have something embarassing/incriminating revealed on the internet and have a whole swarm of weirdos and oddballs 🆒_cough_ unload their disapproval through blogs, songs, photoshops and parody videos. What are some of the more notorious examples you’ve seen? ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/2 "2008-05-22T06:50:53Z")
The fat Star Wars kid springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/3 "2008-05-22T07:13:12Z")
Howard Dean. Tho’ that wasn’t strictly net only. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/4 "2008-05-22T07:17:01Z")
The reactions to the Katrina Looter guy, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/5 "2008-05-22T12:17:04Z")
Steve Bartman! (Headset guy at Wrigley Field) from Wiki: > [@](#): > > Bartman gained instant national attention, most of it negative or derogatory. Many websites spoofing him were created, and late-night shows such as the David Letterman and Jay Leno shows made him the subject of many jokes. (Letterman did state, in Bartman’s defense, that one play alone cannot account for two straight losses.) Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich went as far as telling the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper that “[Bartman] better join the witness protection program.” Multiple editorial cartoons showed Bartman in hiding with Osama bin-Laden and Saddam Hussein. … Bartman was also offered asylum by Florida Governor Jeb Bush where Marlin fans viewed Bartman in a more favorable light. Plus, they blew up the ball! (I also heard that down in Florida they named a street after him. “Bartman blvd.” or something. But I don’t know if that’s true or not.) ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-example-of-mob-mentality-on-the-internet/450217/6 "2008-05-22T13:26:40Z")
I think most everything on 4chan . org (link broken to preserve the sanity of potential clickers) could count. Obi Wan was wrong – _that_ is the most wretched hive of scum and villainy imaginable.