On Those Who Do Not Think When They Tweet

I struggled to find a header which explains the interview Patterico did with the girl who tweeted that Andrew Breitbart should die. I believe the one I displayed is inadequate. But, then, I am not sure there are words which can explain the interview without completely representing the entire interview. So, the line above will do.

The state of intellect among those who favor sending death threats, like K.R. in this interview, is not acceptable. We used to be better.

I tried to take the issue out of the Internet context, asking: “Would you walk into a party and say to one of the guests that they should die, to see if the other guests reacted negatively?” She replied:

i see what youre doing and i understand that point of view and i admit i didnt think this through as much as i should’ve. i did it for the lols and to recreate what he did. mostly because i didnt believe people would say things like that. if one of my friends said “oh i said this stupid negative thing to this guy and people threw rotten apples at me” I would probably attempt it because it’s so un[b]elieva[bl]e.

I asked: “You did it for the ‘lols’? Could you elaborate on that for me?”

Like a very patient young person explaining something to an old codger, she said:

doing it for the lols” or “lulz” is an internet meme. it means doing it for fun for laughs

Yeah, I know. I was just trying to figure out why it should make someone “laugh out loud” to advocate the death of someone about whom they admittedly have not the slightest clue. I played along, relishing the role of doddering Internet know-nothing: “You think it’s fun to suggest someone should die?”

She responded with shame and remorse. OK, that’s actually not true. Actually, she said:

i think the reactions to such a statement are so ludicrous it’s entertaining

I patiently soldiered on, asking: “Would you walk up to someone in line at the supermarket and say they should die, to see if the other people in line would react negatively? If they did, would you find that entertaining?” She responded:

and as i stated earlier, i did not think this through as much as i should have

I hope that this little girl comes to a point in her life where she avoids those who encourage her to not think. And, I don't mean to offend her, I truly hope she is strong enough, or fortunate enough, to move away from the influences that led her to act for "lulz" at the risk of someone's life.

A carrot to: Instapundit