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Names have power

The names we use to describe right wing trolls have power.

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As someone who gets more than his share of Hindutva trolls, I learned some time ago the problem with calling Right Wing trolls names like monsters and maniacs.

The problem is that they like being referred to as monsters and maniacs.

They also like any epithets you might wish to bestow upon them that imply strength and/or ruthlessness. That is what they advertise themselves as to their base. Your despair and rage against their actions and intentions, when expressed in these terms, does little to dissuade them or indeed, to make them less palatable before the audience they are trying to cultivate.

This audience is often a young one — boys desperate to prove that they are men and men who never actually grew up to be anything other than insecure boys. So they too, subscribe to the view that being a bully is a good thing and that compassion and kindness are signs of weakness. They lap it up when you berate them for being aggressive or abrasive towards members of marginalised groups. The words you are using against them in hopes that it will give them pause are the same words that many of them will proudly use on their social media bios to describe themselves.

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Vijayendra Mohanty
Vijayendra Mohanty

Written by Vijayendra Mohanty

Storyteller and essayist. I share my opinions on culture and creativity. I wrote the Ravanayan series and Dehek issue 1. I also ran the YouTube channel Epified.

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