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"They have to be monsters" - a suprising reason for hate on the Internet and in real life

2019-04-25, Prepared by Kuba Orlik

Reading Materials

Ważne! Jeżeli napotkacie jakieś słownictwo/wyrażenia które sprawiają Wam problem, zanotujcie je i przynieście na spotkanie!

Read the following article (reading articles linked by this article is optional):

1. Vocabulary and phrases

Translate the below words and phrases to English using the vocabulary from the article:

2. Complete the sentences

Complete the sentences with the words/phrases from Task 1

NOTE: “~” tutaj nic nie znaczy, jest tylko śladem po formatowaniu

  1. I am no ~________ to running - I’ve been doing it for 5 years now!
  2. I remember a ~_______ of attention in the news media after the controversial announcement.
  3. He was using very ~_______ language, and he hurt her feelings.
  4. We ~________ toward the lake, and then took a swim.
  5. He thinks he is ~______ to the flu, but eventually he did get an infection.
  6. It’s 2AM and the neighbours are so loud! I can’t ~____ it anymore!
  7. The attraction between them was ~________ - you could sense that love is in the air!
  8. It is easy to ~________ about how the world should change, but he should start with changing himself.
  9. He constructed an ~_________ plan to take over the country. It was very complex!
  10. You’re just taking my words out of ~_______ and make it seem like I’ve said something totally different!
  11. He’s very ~___________ to injury - he breaks his leg at least once a year!
  12. We should encourage the empowerment of all those who feel oppressed or ~___________. They need our help!
  13. I’ve heard in the news about a UFO sighting, but it turned out to be a ~____.
  14. This is an interesting ~___________ - thanks for your feedback!
  15. This diet not only makes me feel better, but also gives me more ~________ benefits - it helps me to save money!

3. Discussion

  1. Have you ever encountered hateful speech online?
  2. What does “They have to be monsters” mean in the context of the article? Who are those monsters?
  3. Why did the random person on the internet post the “Junkie” comment?
  4. What, according to the author, is the reason it’s easy to write hateful things online than in real life?
  5. What is a proper reaction when we see hatred online?

Bonus listening materials

The article mentions a group of people who claim that a brutal mass shooting is actually never took place and that the victims’ family members are lying. There are more cases where groups of people see truth as lies, and vice versa.

I highly recommend listening to TED Radio Hour’s podcast on this exact topic:

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