I’m going to be thinking about this one for a minute, I think. Sang does a good job, imo, separating this question from its ages old moral panic nature. This is the third time, I think, I’ve seen someone mention Fantano’s review of Halsey’s The Great Impersonator, which, taken contextually, sucks. Real disappointing for a man who generally seems to be a good, funny, and intelligent dude.
Got to watching this, and yeah, I definitely agree with the issue being talked about especially being the result of how shitty conditions are for so many people due to the decades of neoliberal austerity. Like bouncing off even beyond “I don’t owe anyone anything” self-help, there is a certain part of the online left who also sees being mean as praxis, as if insulting a few more liberals will open up their leftist third eyes and ingratiate them into perfect servitors of [insert your preferred strain of leftism here].
I’ve like talked before about leaving Something Awful back in 2020 and I think the big thing that really drove me was that I was just tired of the constant meanness and bad faith that was not just tolerable, but expected and celebrated. And it’s funny to think because that culture there developed not because of the algorithm baiting us into increased engagement; it was just the evolution of the self-centered mindset that pervaded US culture both online and off during the 90s and 00s.
And I think that’s why, even if I miss how much sites like that could deliver me lively conversational entertainment at all hours of the day, as well as the illusion of connection with the wider world, I’m glad to stay away.
But anyway, thanks for sharing, this video finally got me to subscribe because I’ve been liking their other videos!
Hey, we left in the same year, high five 
Its not as strong as it was back in the 2010s, but there’s still very much a culture that media criticism is only valid if you’re distanced and pointing out flaws, and that extends to personal relations as well. If you believe that being constructive is your goal, and that emotions are unreliable, then you’ll apply that same logic to engaging with others, with the mindset that pushing them back will make them grow.
And, of course, there’s always just a little bit of “we’re better than everyone else” arrogance in every community. Even the lowest dregs of online spaces still believe they’re better than others - even if its from (falsely) realizing that everyone is trash, but at least they know they’re trash.