whenever people want to supposedly engage with me, what they really want to do is share their pet

perspective and tell me that I'm wrong. And that's actually not engagement. So feel free to tell me

that I'm wrong, but you're not really looking for a conversation. You're looking for affirmation

of your point of view and acknowledgement. And I don't think, actually, I know it's not my job

to do that for you. You have to figure that out on your own. And so I, you know, it's the internet

is a mess. It's just a mess. I'm John Favreau. Welcome to Offline.

Hey everyone, my guest this week is Roxanne Gay, a New York Times bestselling author, writer,

professor, and social commentator who's been especially vocal about the topic of this series.

A while back, Roxanne wrote a Timespiece titled, Why People Are So Offal Online.

I've always been a fan of Roxanne's writing, but this piece caught my attention for obvious reasons.

And I thought that one part in particular was especially sharp and worth talking more about.

Quote, lately I've been thinking that what drives so much of the anger and antagonism online

is our helplessness offline. Online we want to be good, to do good, but despite these lofty moral

aspirations, there is little generosity or patience, let alone humankindness. There is a desperate

yearning for emotional safety. There is a desperate hope that if we all become perfect enough and

demand the same perfection from others, there will be no more harm or suffering. It is infuriating.

It is also entirely understandable. Some days, as I am reading the news, I feel as if I am drowning.

I think most of us do. At least online, we can use our voices and know they can be heard by someone.

End quote. Roxanne is someone who has certainly used her voice online to great effect.

She currently has nearly 900,000 followers on Twitter. She's been in her share of arguments

and debates, but as a queer black woman, she's also endured more than her share of online harassment

from all kinds of trollish assholes. And so over the last several months, she's been trying to spend

...