Let Us Not Feed the Trolls

Posted on August 21st, 2012. Written by Rico.

The body of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo was found this morning off the shore of Masbate island, after an intensive search that started last Saturday afternoon. To honor the memory of such a great public servant, we should not feed the trolls.

On Facebook, people are spreading a screenshot of comments on an inquirer.net article (the discussion which has since been taken down by the website’s administrators). A woman named “trish” mocked the Robredo family in three successive comments:

Curious lang ako pano kaya nag dadasal ang family and friends ni Robredo ngayon? At back of their mind they know kinalaban nila ang mga bishops. Sa isang funeral rights, need basbasn ng pari ang isang katawan ng namayapa, mag pa misa. Paano ito gagawin sa isang pro RH? Sa isang anti life? How awkward naman na mag pabasbas sila sa mga pari at bishops ng kalaban nil a? Isang malaking AWKWARD.

Siguro habang lumulubog yung plane sa dagat hini sya makapag pray kay Hesus kasi kinalaban niya ito for being pro RH. Yan tuloy.

I read sa ibang forum sabi pray for robredo. Ehem, repent muna kinalaban nila ang Dyos sa RH bill ngayon hihingihingi sila ng tulong? Yan n nga ba sinasabi ko sa mga pro RH na to eh.

Another reader named “Gerry los banos” had enough of trish:

Wow. Such callousness and arrogance on your part, trish! I suppose you think your behavior is that of a good Christian’s?

To which she replied:

Ako pa ngayon ang masama? Eh sila ang kumalaban sa kagustuhan ni Hesus? I repeat! Hinding hindi pwede kalabanin ang Dyos!

Any reasonable person would consider trish’s statements idiotic, and it’s easy for those (myself included) who admired Robredo and what he has done as a public servant to respond in anger. But that’s exactly what people like trish want to happen.

She’s taking advantage of the anonymity made possible by the internet to piss people without direct repercussions. It’s clear from her relentless “argumentation” that she’s simply out to annoy people. For every person who responds to her, she wins. That’s because she’s not out to have a reasonable discussion. From an interaction perspective, “trish” is the Joker: She’s out just to see the world burn, so to speak.

Every reply, every share of her online idiocy is a chance for her disruption to spread, and will further fuel “trish”‘s twisted sense of accomplishment. As of this writing, said screenshot has been shared 693 times on Facebook.

If we really want to honor the memory of an intelligent, capable, and reasonable man like the late Jesse Robredo, we should act the same way. We should be intelligent enough to understand who “trish” is. We should be capable of suppressing a knee-jerk reaction and not further fan her flames. And we should be reasonable enough to understand that everyone involved tried their best, even if that wasn’t enough to save one of the best public servants in our country’s history.

(Photo by Rock Drilon)