On Trolls and Trumps

So this Sunday night, I was awake a lot longer than I am supposed to do before a dreaded Monday morning. I caught an episode of MTV Troll Police. It had old MTV hand Ranvijay, and a host of props, both electronic and human, that stood in for the process of tracing out a troll; in this case, a garden variety, unemployed and unemployable, bhaarateey sankriti with a dash of modernism-when-suits-me, Hindi heartland dwelling troll who had been harassing the actor Tapsee Pannu online, in badly spelled monologue, making up with parochial virtuosity for what was lacked in grammar. The most interesting part was where the team was playing with this guy; who was pretending, in the hindsight, only to himself, to be a progressive modernist, while everyone, including the audience, knew what he really was - a true reflection of a majority of the digitally empowered Indian youth. The chase was too tacky with all that computer imagery of "tracking", and the denouement was too hurried, and by far not what the show claimed - that is inducing a change in the "hearts and minds" of the troll. I guess, if it was not the, suddenly very real, possibility of getting prosecuted for sexual comments on a female, then surely it was the angry mustachioed visage of a six footer Ranvijay standing a foot away, which portended an equally unpalatable possibility of getting the sh*t kicked out of oneself on camera, which subdued the troll! Ah, the innocent late 90s, when trolls could be subdued by the flick of a wand, and "Wingardium Leviosa"! Anyway, the show was good, but it would be interesting to see what it offers when the novelty of it wears off.

However, if you are really looking for a "hearts and minds" story about a troll being transformed, you can follow this piece about Sarah Silvermann. Ohh, I am a huge fan of hers, since I saw her in 'School of Rock' or 'School for Scoundrels'. I can't recall which one I watched first. For someone who speaks sarcasm as her mother-tongue, what she did with her troll was a surprise comparable to the tigress that spared that neonate fawn on the viral Youtube video. Seriously, she responded to pure abuse with kind words, and pin pointed the "root cause", and even arranged pro bono Medicare for the destitute troll, converting him in the process and making the internet go a collective awwww! If I was a fan before reading that, now I positively worship her. For, not belittling the very good show the MTV people have put up, her feat was inestimably greater - for she actually brought an internal change, without the threat of draconian gender laws, or that of a menacing hulk!

Trolling is a part of the mass social media today. The feeling of impunity because of being a part of a ready made crowd commenting online, coupled with the anonymity that the web offers (more than anonymity, it is the lack of physical access between the participants) lowers the inhibitions people have against saying out aloud their worst thoughts. Plus, it is a part of the socially tolerated, if not accepted, online behaviour. A study of a contrast between various online fora is illustrative. A couple of years back, Quora used to be an exclusive preserve of the well read and articulate intellectual crowd. Present day, it has gained a sizeable chunk of whose educational and social-intellectual profile does not really match up to the standards. Still, Quora remains free from trolling. Yes, the troll-view point finds mention, and even up votes, but the language employed remains civil and courteous. Not so on facebook, or twitter. It is some how socially acceptable to abuse on facebook and not on Quora, just the way people would spit on and deface the DTC buses, but leave the Delhi Metro clean!

Trolling in itself is not an isolated phenomenon. It is a part of the deepening democratic tendency and empowerment of the masses, which has led to things like the election of the incumbent US President, the exit of Britain from the European Union - also known as Brexit, and, closer home, the hardlining of the political discourse. All these things are rather unpalatable to the 'intellectual brigade', but ironically, they are the products of things most valued by the brigade - democracy and human free will. Apparently, freedom of choice includes the choice to self destruct. While true intellectuals may wring their hands and despair, like the character Bruce, in Bruce Almighty, and say that free will cannot be controlled, and certain Indian intellectuals may opine that it is infact being controlled through electronic mechanisms(!), the fact remains that such anti intellectual and anti establishment trends are on the rise. If we had a measure of quantifying the subjective feeling of "shrillness" of the trolling we see, and we plotted it against time, it would directly correlate with the frequency and intensity of such events. In fact, we might be seeing the first worldwide revolution which is truly mass sourced. Think of it. Till now, in almost every revolution that happened, it was truly the cerebral clique taking advantage of the sheep crowd. The great religions and the political systems (usually  monarchies) supported by them were obviously in this mould. The Magna Carta, which is treated as the first step towards the rule of law, was basically a compromise between a monarch and his disgruntled aristocrats. Equally so, in the English Civil War, which first uprooted the monarchy and installed the Protectorate, the opposition wasn't the true commoner, but locally strong representatives with the requisite heft. The American Revolutionaries were big Estates Holders (and Slave holders!), and those who brought the Bourbons down in the French Revolution perpetuated a dictatorship of their own, no less tyrannical as far as the man at the bottom is concerned. The people's paradise promised by the Bolshevists remained a paradise for party cadres at most. Closer home, the whole leadership of the National Movement was basically the elite, although it was purveyed as grassroot inspired, a bluff which Churchill called very well in his 'seditious middle temple lawyer now posing as a half naked fakir' description!  In fact, till the recent boom in Web 2.0, with its social media portals and its army of trolls, even democracy was largely about the masses choosing within the pool of available establishment figures. The unspoken consensus was – you choose one of us to rule over you. It took some time to change that – different periods of time in different democracies – but in the end, it was quite synchronized. The realization dawned that they did not need someone from the establishment to run their affairs, and they were well within their rights to do so themselves. There was a transition period, where either the establishment people masqueraded as commoners to retain power, or demagogues from within the ranks were co-opted into the establishment. However, the social media revolution ensured that this charade does not continue for long – it was no longer possible to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. A major part of this was achieved by the resonance of the trolls. The social media served as a gigantic echo chamber cum tuning fork – and precluded any further proliferation of those who had a hidden agenda. Of course, demagogues may still emerge in this chaos, but they are just transient blips, and the mobs are not in their control, as in they cannot make the mob do their will. Unless their 'will' keeps coinciding with what the mob was already intent on doing. We shall no longer be witness to true leaders, like this scene from Invictus.The era of the truly popular has truly arrived.

Just because something is popular does not mean that it is good or beneficial. As has been previously argued on this very blog, popularization or pandering has led to dumbing down – not just of the political debate and public discourse, but also of the popular art such as music or cinema. This is what has made Discovery Channel turn to flash and bang shows or plain slap stick, and the History Channel turn to Aliens and Pawn Stars! Not only is it cool to be stupid, it is now even something that can be (and is) celebrated! What can be its implication? No one can predict, but it cannot be anything good, for sure. Throughout human history, as we have seen it above, smart, if not well meaning, people have led the rest of us. It was by the ear for the most part, and by “hearts and minds” for the small ‘democratic’ end. However, now there is no true leader, and no true path. The path is shaped by the momentary fluctuations that give some vague direction to the stagnated public discourse. Any conscious effort to channelize it; any loud voice of sanity is immediately shouted down by the trolls. Churchill had been prophetic in saying that the best argument against democracy was a five minute conversation with an average voter! 

Is there a way out of this? Well, for the well being of our future generations, I pray that we have a way. Even if there were a way, how do we make ourselves heard above the din of the trolls? Surely, the troll police way, even though it appears seductive on TV, is not a very effective way. Isolating a troll, extricating him from his natural habitat, and badgering him out of being a troll is not a cure. Devoid of his internet mask and his place in the crowd, he does not remain a troll, but a simple simpering idiot. It cannot be a practical solution when the majority of the population has turned into trolls. Is the Sarah Silvermann way of ‘killing with kindness’, the way to go then? There seems to be some hope there. At least the troll who has been converted harbours no resentment in such cases. It may also (if we may be extra optimistic), trigger a chain reaction. However, there is only so much of pro bono livelihood to go along in this world - a significant limiting factor when the ranks of the trolls are generally filled with citizens with some or the other deprivation.  However, before making any attempt in that direction, there is a need for introspection by those who claim to be out for curing the world of trolls. I would again like to point out to the works of Manu Joseph, where some efforts have been made to bring out the innate hypocrisy on the side of the ‘non-trolls’. There is a need to climb out of the ivory towers of liberalism, and engage, however slow and tiring the progress may be. There is the need to understand, that, from his own view point, the troll may be logically right. There is a need to find what additions to his world view would change his logical equations for the better, and then we must strive to add the same, very patiently. For that, we need empathy, and not the smug sense of entitlement which is being peddled as the liberal point of view. The physicians truly need to heal themselves first.