Virtual Masks
Upstairs. Another one, destroyed.
The glow of the screen illuminates their smile. The harsh blue glare sinks into the corners of their mouth and hollows out their face. Their eyes are hidden by ghastly shadows.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Another one down. Even quicker this time. Snappy words, a well strung sentence, an insult carved out in text. Their smile grows wider so teeth show this time. They hunch over the keyboard. They don't need to plan. With each comment they bombard the net with barrage of ignorance.
They can say anything and someone will get upset. That was the idea. The point.
I hate cats, I love dogs, I hate dogs, I love cats, You're fat, you're too skinny, your argument is invalid, you’re pathetic., I never read it but I think… I never saw it but I know… I hate you. Hate. Hate. Hate.
It was harmless, wasn't it?
Except, here was this one girl that they had hounded for weeks. They liked everything of hers and sent her smiles. Then, they tore her down. Messages, photos,statuses, everything. They found her password and stuck fake nonsense on her wall, how she liked to do unspeakable things and fancied old men; on family photos and baby pictures. None of it was true, it was funny how everyone thought maybe it was. Why else would all these comments appear? Everyone could see. Everyone in the world. They gave out her phone and laughed when she cried online for them to stop calling. The world was calling to shout. Once they spilled her blood, they say back and all they had to do was watch. They wrote a blog, rating her, debating her. That was Liked over a thousand times. Others did their job for them.The girl went quite. She was in the news. Tragedy. Guilt. Anger.
They wriggle in the darkness at the memory of the headline. That wasn’t their fault. No need to take it so seriously. It’s just the internet.
Their pajamas are their armor. The keyboard a sword. They stab, stab, stab them all with words. It’s hilarious. It’s powerful. They feel invincible.
“GET DOWN HERE, NOW.”
They stop. They switch off. They cry. They know what’s down there. They know what will happen. They don't want to go. It hurts to go. They look at the screen as it shuts down.
But they will be back and soon, soon they will be powerful again.
No comments:
Post a Comment