The Afterword: Woke-scolding in the era of Internet trolls emboldens them

As a Twitter enthusiast, I’m unfortunately familiar with one of  the internet’s least favorite public figures: Kaitlin Bennett, otherwise known as “Kent State Gun Girl.” For those lucky enough to have avoided her this long, Bennett is a social media activist who proudly champions gun rights and the pro-life movement and caught the eye of the internet for open-carrying an AR-10 rifle at Kent State University after graduating. 

I normally do my best to ignore her provocative, polarizing content, but on the first day of the new year, she tweeted something that I couldn’t scroll past. Her post read: “My haters memed me into a lucrative career that lets me travel the country, do what I want and have a platform to be heard. Thanks so much to everyone that gave me free advertising in 2019. Let’s do it again this year. #GunGirl2020.”

What immediately came to mind was a piece of conventional wisdom I often heard as a child: When someone is picking on you on the playground, the best thing you can do is not give them the reaction they’re hoping for. Play into it and you only fuel the bullying. The same holds true for internet trolls: The harsh reality is that we have a hand in bringing these trolls to prominence. 

Bennett has always held radical views, but it was only when we gave her engagement in the form of knee-jerk social media outrage that she was rebranded as a polarizing public figure. It was only then that she was able to leverage her internet infamy into merchandise, a job with InfoWars and a YouTube channel with close to half a million subscribers. 

She’s not alone in reaping the benefits of this twisted business model. Remember Bagel Boss, the Long Island resident who went on a misogynistic rant about his height and dating in a viral video? Well, he went on to gain a substantial Twitter following and scored a gig to fight another viral star in an Atlantic City boxing match. 

Let’s break this down. I want to identify what is distinct about this phenomenon — why is it that, when it comes to internet trolls, our collective scolding of them is particularly shortsighted?

The thing is, retweeting and chastising Bennett’s online content is not the same as voicing your opinion on a controversial issue or participating in an educated discourse between two or more rational agents. Contentious social debates are often multi-faceted and, well, contended; they aren’t conducive to the knee-jerk, emotionally-fuelled responses that characterize public sentiment toward viral content. 

The content that goes viral and spurs overt outrage is often the content that is one-dimensional and overtly wrong. That’s precisely why it is able to elicit such a sweepingly negative response — whether it’s leaked footage, a soundbite or a tweet, the general moral conscience is on one side of it all. We become united in outrage and that can be gratifying, sure, but it is far more gratifying to the orchestrator of said outrage.

Our outcry is in vain. Neither Bennett, nor public figures like her nor her devout fanbase is interested in being convinced; They are interested in pissing you off and using your anger as leverage. And when we fall for it, we are letting toxic, divisive people profit off of negative attention. The court of public opinion has no real enforcement, and when it comes to internet trolls, it’s time we start being strategic. There is a fine line to toe between reasonable backlash and free engagement.

I’m not saying we should keep quiet on issues that impassion and move us. I’m definitely not saying we should be held fully accountable for the notoriety of internet trolls. I’m just acknowledging the very real relationship between the attention we give such trolls and the benefits they reap. Even with charitable intentions, the desired outcome of speaking out against trolls often misses its mark, and unfortunately, those who woke-scold end up accomplishing the opposite of what they intended. 

When you have a polarizing figure whose identity rests on their lack of substantive argument and dependence on provocation, when it becomes clear that the growth of their brand rests on our reactions, think twice before playing into it. In real life, you wouldn’t argue with someone wearing earplugs and you wouldn’t give the bully on the playground the attention they are so obviously seeking. Collectively, we have the power to manage what breaches the mainstream — we should start using it.

Rachel McKenzie is a junior  writing about pop culture. Her column, “The Afterword,” runs every other Tuesday.