Trolls. Disregard? Expose. Discuss.

Madaling i-label ang mga ito as “trolls” because they hide behind the shield of anonymity, at puro negative na lang ang lumalabas sa kanila. At dahil “trolls” sila kuno, ang immediate response dito ay i-disregard and move on. But whether regardless of what kind of “troll” they fall on the spectrum, we cannot fully invalidate these accounts, or the whole concept of anonymous accounts because it is also through anonymous accounts na na-expose ang sexual harassment cases in organizations at fraternity-related violence ng mga fraternities; na kung wala ang mga ito ay baka hanggang ngayon ay nakabaon pa rin ito, far away from public scrutiny. Even if it may seem outlandish to be engaging with someone (or something?) we do not even know kung sino o ano ba talaga sila, kung anong itsura nila, kung malapit ba sila sa atin, among many other questions that may rise on who is behind these anonymous accounts, we cannot deny the meaningful discourse that could spring out of them. Kahit ang anonymous accounts ay maaaring may ambag sa mga diskusyon.

Also, hindi ibig sabihin na “anonymous account” ay masama o walang kwento na ito. Sa Twitter ay madami namang anonymous accounts in the form of stan accounts. Ako personally, I hide behind a little Kpop icon in my stan account. Nobody knows who I am, but I have had a number of interactions in that account. The question now is why do people hide behind anonymous accounts, and how can we still engage in a healthy and fruitful discussion with them kahit anonymous accounts sila.