Comments by people on the internet, are they really that harmless?

I was viewing one of my favourite Vloggers video on Youtube, I was reading through the comments left by people and some of them were really bad and tasteless, where people criticized on the littlest of things in the video and etc, it made me feel really furious.

Why?

Here we have a vlogger choosing to upload his daily life about his family and life and we do know that when people comment on videos, some comment constructively, others comment using critcism and others are just downright nasty.

Many a times when I hear of my government wanting to censor the Internet, I would often feel they are right, they do have a point sometimes.

Its precisely because of people who post very negative/hateful stuff that the government is starting to take notice of it.

Free speech is a human right, but so is respecting others and giving others the same level of dignity you would to yourself. the Internet itself is no different.

Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinions but when the "opinion" is meant to attack or degrade another person's value or worth, is that really an entitlement?

Internet trolls are the worse of the lot, but how about everyone else? I think the age old quote of "Think before you speak" has been forgotten. Not everyone wants to know how they can do better because you "think you know better", it would be much better if there were less hurtful things said and more constructive things said instead.

I'm not advocating for restriction of Internet freedom, but I'm advocating for Responsible freedom. Its not saying or doing the right thing but saying or doing the thing you would want others to say or do to you.

Internet or no internet, life and society is like that. People can say the worse things and they think its just nothing but words do have the power to hurt deep down.

Before you leave that comment on a video, a forum, a social networking profile site, ask yourself first, is what you are going to say the very same thing you would want others to say to you?

The golden rule in life is still and always so true.

(C) 2006-2013 Daniel Yoleh Foo Chang wei.