Be the Bigger Goat

Today, I want to discuss trolls.

I confess I know very little about trolls…actual trolls, that is. Most people first encounter the concept of a troll in the children’s story, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. This story features 3 goats who have eaten all the grass on their side of the river and must cross to the other side so that they won’t go hungry. Unfortunately for them, a menacing troll lives beneath the bridge and will attempt to eat anyone who crosses it. Deciding the risk was worth the reward, the three goats (ostensibly brothers of varying size) cross the bridge one-by-one to try and find more grass to eat. When the first goat encounters the troll who threatens to eat the goat, he persuades the troll to wait on the next goat who will be larger and make a more satisfying meal. The troll agrees and lets the first goat pass. The second troll uses a similar argument in order to secure his safe passing. The third goat is so large that he actually kicks the troll off the bridge and joins his brothers on the other side. And they all eat grass on both sides of the bridge happily ever after.

I also remember the troll doll craze when I was growing up. I can’t fathom the motivation behind these. Something akin to a pet rock, I suppose? Or maybe someone felt that the mythical creature had been maligned for centuries and sought to soften public opinion? In any case, they were benign-looking creatures with big eyes and fuzzy fair. They decorated work cubicles, retail counters, rear-view mirrors, and backpacks through several crazes between the 1960s and 1990s. This is what they looked like:

Pretty harmless looking…certainly not something that would pose a threat…unless nakedness and/or anatomical inaccuracy scares you.

More commonly today, if I say the word troll, you think Internet Troll. This is a term I hear thrown around and have always wondered why that particular mythical creature was chosen to describe these people. So, of course, I Googled it.

Googling the word troll produces 3 main categories of results (aside from pictures of troll dolls.) These categories are (a) supernatural beings from Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore, (b) references to Middle Earth and J.R.R. Tolkein, and (c) Internet Trolls.  I defaulted to the first of these categories as I believe they preceded the others and I discovered a few things. Though the specifics about a troll’s appearance, origin, or specific threat to people differ somewhat in each tradition, there are some things they share in common:

• They are primarily solitary beings.
• They are physically strong, but dim-witted and thus easy to overcome.
• They pose some sort of danger to humanity.
• They live in the dark.

Well there you go. Internet trolls are the people who sit alone behind the safety and anonymity of their computer screens. They search for virtual spaces where humanity might “gather” (comment sections on Facebook or news websites, pretty much all of Twitter), and they seek to spread their darkness and mayhem by slinging personal insults or discouraging civil discourse. We’ve all had an experience with an Internet troll and I'm sure you'll agree they fit all four of the above characteristics.

I’m no expert, but I believe that technology – and in particular the internet – is neither all good nor all bad. Even social media has a pretty amazing capacity to get some good things done. I think the internet can serve the greater good or it can erode society layer by layer…it’s all in how it is used. I’ve witnessed and participated in several very positive discussions with people via social media that I couldn’t have experienced otherwise because the parties were separated by great distance. These are valuable exchanges where people with different opinions share them in a forum of mutual respect.

Sadly, I have also witnessed and participated (as briefly as possible) in exchanges that started out that way and quickly deteriorated into a battle to the death between two fanatics which, according to George Santayana is "one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." These battles are almost always about the following topics:

Abortion

Gun Control

Gay Marriage

Racial or Gender Equality

Religion

And this is how it goes:

A slanted “news” story or opinion piece is posted about some event related to one of the flashpoint topics above accompanied by the poster’s comment…something like, “YES…THIS.”

Others pipe in with opposing or supporting views and while the discussion may get lively as each person expresses his/her heavily researched and fact-based opinions, there is actually civil discourse taking place which, I believe, is the way we build bridges and come together. The main thing is that nothing gets personal…nothing, that is, until a troll lumbers up the creek embankment from his or her dark hole and threatens to eat everyone on the bridge. It is generally a comment like this:

All you (anti-Christian, anti-intellectual, gun-loving, bleeding heart, racist – take your pick) people are (evil, stupid, irresponsible, violent, mentally ill, etc.)

Very often the comment is laced with profanity and supplemented with a cherry-picked quote or Bible verse that they believe defends their hateful statement. Next, one of the following things happens.

(1) It escalates when one or more parties takes the bait and tries to defend/tear apart the troll until the original poster takes down the article or, if it gets really bad, someone is reported to Facebook for violating community standards.

OR 

(2) Everyone just leaves the thread.

Either way, any good that may have come from the dialogue…any light that might have been shined…is snuffed out by the dim-witted troll who believes that the more darkness he/she can spread, the more places he/she can go, and the more damage he/she can ultimately do to humanity.

Now…I agree that the topics I listed above are likely to illicit strong views from almost everyone and it’s one reason many people avoid bringing up or engaging in controversial topics on the Internet. I understand this…it’s the 21^st century equivalent of not discussing those topics at a social engagement and – let’s face it, that’s what social media feels like sometimes...a really awkward dinner party that is extremely hard to leave. I often avoid these topics on Facebook or Twitter for fear of inviting an unwelcome troll to the party.

I would argue, however, that equally strong opinions could be held on any topic -- from capital punishment to the plight of Tom Brady – and you never know when a troll is going to show up to ignite the discussion with a character attack on a defense attorney or a Patriots fan. Keeping the trolls away completely means disengaging altogether. Well, what if the Three Billy Goats had thought that way? They would have starved to death. Fear of the troll is what keeps us from surviving as a civilized society.

My thoughts on the best way to deal with internet trolls?

Don’t let the troll’s darkness overcome your light.
Don’t engage in a fanatical battle of the wits with a dim-witted troll.
Be the biggest goat and kick that troll off the bridge so you can get to the other side and share a meal with your brothers. 

I mean, if we don’t engage in discourse and explore opposing views in a civilized manner – on social media or face-to-face – how do we expect to keep getting better. There’s a place where people go when they stop listening to their opposition…

It’s called Congress and I believe we can do better than a 16% approval rating. I need to believe that humanity is at least 50% good.

And one more thing about those goats and the troll…

I think it’s significant to point out that after the 3^rd Billy Goat kicks the troll off the bridge, the troll doesn’t die, he just stays under the bridge…in the dark…and never bothers anyone again. From here he can hear other goats crossing the bridge so he’s never left completely alone -- just powerless. I'd like to believe that each time someone crosses the bridge and the wooden slats shift up and down and side to side...that just enough space is created to let in small beams of light so that on a really bright day, sunlight reaches that troll.

That’s a hopeful ending…for fairy tale and internet trolls alike.