201102687 Lee, Jun Ki / Sword, Not Keyboard / Argumentative Essay / Thurs 1-3pm

Sword, not Keyboard   Have you ever commented on new article or somebody else's wall? Twisting the question, have you ever left any negative comments on them? Hope not because it is certainly not a nice thing to do. Nowadays, internet is ubiquitous. You can get access to it everywhere you want. However, that does not mean it became lighter. Insulting comments on the internet is certainly against the law, destroys atmosphere of internet, and could drive victims into devastation.                As internet gains popularity, people are now in use of it every second of their life. However, anonymity of internet makes them 'too brave'. People tends to post more words that could hurt others as they do not have to 'face' them or the consequences, but it is clearly against the law. The law ensured that if the victim of posting or comment felt insulted, they could file a lawsuit against the comment writer. When the writer is sentences guilty, they have to pay huge fines. Posting insulting words is a crime, but people are simply not aware of it. Also the part that victim has to file a lawsuit in order to get the writer punished discourages many victims because of difficult process of lawsuit. Just because it is not punished, that does not mean that it is not a crime.                This commenting problem is also affecting the entire atmosphere is internet. I do admit that we all have freedom of speech, but some people are just going too far. Internet was a good place to express opinions, however it is now just a debate table of people who lacks logics. From some point, we could not see any positive comments on internet article. Irresponsible writers had made an atmosphere that suggestive comments draw all the attention. They ruined the nice and clean atmosphere of internet. They have created a world where insult is accepted. Taking a part in this process is destroying the internet ethics.                The victims of insulting comments are the foremost reason that why it should never happen. These victims are not just celebrities or character of public. They could be middle school student being bullied or normal salary man having hard time in their jobs. Recently a middle school student committed suicide after being bullied online though SNS. The one word you write could destroy entire life of a person. This is going below the belt. Just because you do not face victims that does not mean that they do not exist.                Internet was created to make our life happier. However due to some peoples' irresponsible habits, it is destroying lives. Some people do not realize the effect of internet commenting. They should be aware that it is against the law, worsens internet atmosphere, and hurts other people. It cannot be justified nor should be justified, and no one should ever agree on these actions.