A boy who bullies other kids at school gets hit by a car. Under the pretence of helping him, one of his previous victims drags him roughly to the curb, and while ‘trying’ to get him into the recovery position keeps pushing his body around until he’s convinced that he’s broken his neck. The boy dies shortly afterwards. The previous victim gets away scott-free. Or does he? First things first, because the neck-breaker decides to brag about his actions on Kuro5hin.org, triggering debates on both Kuro5hin and Metafilter about what should be done should the story prove to be true. And in the process they’ve named the individual concerned and posted the local police department’s telephone number.
This situation brings all those fundamental weirdnesses of the internet right back to the fore in my mind – the freedom of expression presented gives you access into the minds of people that were previously completely invisible to you. And sometimes that’s unpleasant, scary even. But what’s the truth here? Who online can know? Is this a talented fantasist’s rantings or an error in judgment by a remorseless man who believes still in the myth of total online anonymity? Is he sitting at home in Cornwall cold-sweating like a pig, or is he ice-cold, suited and booted at work? It’s difficult to know what to think, except that either way it smacks slightly of sociopathy…