Lox...levels of racism have always been dangerously high. I mean always...since the beginning of recorded history if not before.

The Internet simply allows people to anonymously express all the antisocial crap they wouldn't have dared to express directly to people face-to-face before or in print with their name on it before, that's all. That's why you see so much of it on Youtube and elsewhere on the Net. It isn't because there's more of it now than there used to be, it's because it's now safe for the most immature lunkheads among us to flaunt their gross immaturity for all to see, and so they do. They do not have to fear any consequences.

Similarly, it's safe for people now to access all the pornography they could possibly want to via the Internet, and they do. They can do it in complete anonymity, at no expense, with no consequences, so they do it, of course.

Whether this is bad or good remains to be seen. On the one hand, it gives frustrated people an outlet for whatever's bothering them. On the other hand, it may weaken them and damage their general character in various ways, as well as causing a lot of anger to other people.

I'm not sure how it balances out...on the positive or the negative side...but I'll say this: dealing with it and overcoming its negative possibilities can be a very useful exercise in personal growth. That is, if you can learn how to avoid getting hijacked and drawn into all the negativity, and learn how to control your own formerly out-of-control reactions to it....then you will have grown as a person.

I think that could be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat.