Awkward internet ettiquite problems

[conuly]

Here I was, about to upvote a funny comment in response to something totally innocuous when I glanced at the username. Blondeangel88.

Huh. Was I about to... upvote a comment by a NeoNazi? Or was this somebody who simply has blond hair, likes to be thought of as a nice/sweet/innocent person, and was born in 1988? There was no racist or fascist undertone to this particular comment... but did I really want to dredge into their comment history to find out for sure?

I didn't upvote her. I mean, the comment wasn't that funny, so it was all a non-event... but I still feel weird and awkward about it. I really wish I didn't know that NeoNazis have a thing about numerical symbolism where 88 = "Hi, I'm a Nazi!". Then I could be blissfully ignorant and not overthink this sort of thing.

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Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Cutting to the chase here, if anyone wants to know what's wrong with Connor's mind without having to slog through pages of tiresome human-interest details: the kid has Batten's disease (https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Batten-Disease-Fact-Sheet), a fatal hereditary disorder of the nervous system.

Very sorry the boy is going to die. The ONLY cure for autosomal recessive disorders such as Batten's disease and cystic fibrosis is genetic testing before having children. If this country was not ruled by the terminally stupid, racist and/or superstitious, we could have every baby's full genetic profile routinely taken at birth, and thus available to medical providers for the rest of the individual's life.

EDIT: BTW, good on you for not up-voting the Nazi bitch. '88' stands for 'Heil Hitler' - too bad for all the perfectly nice people born in 1988, but there it is. As for the 'blondeangel' part: what'll you bet the chick dyes her hair?

(My hair's more silver than gold these days, but my family is Danish, and I proudly uphold the Danish tradition of sneering at Nazi assholes who think they're oh-so-Aryan. That whole 'Aryan' thing is totally a myth anyway, and all those 'blonde jokes' are about people who erroneously thought that true blondeness could be achieved by soaking their heads in toxic chemicals once a month.)

[conuly]

Well, the kid is going to die, but there's hope that this new treatment will greatly improve not just his lifespan and quality of life but, more importantly, will improve those things for future generations.

Batten's seems like such a rare condition that it's no surprise most people do not automatically test for it.

If this country was not ruled by the terminally stupid, racist and/or superstitious, we could have every baby's full genetic profile routinely taken at birth, and thus available to medical providers for the rest of the individual's life.

Yeah, well, since we are I'd rather not do that at all, thanks. There is no way that can end well, not in our political climate.

BTW, good on you for not up-voting the Nazi bitch. '88' stands for 'Heil Hitler' - too bad for all the perfectly nice people born in 1988, but there it is. As for the 'blondeangel' part: what'll you bet the chick dyes her hair?

No joke, I have encountered at least one person who was utterly baffled at why they were getting ALL THE DOWNVOTES. Once somebody explained that they looked like a NeoNazi they were shocked and promptly changed their username. So, I mean, there's a slim chance she's just ignorant.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well, since we are I'd rather not do that at all, thanks. There is no way that can end well, not in our political climate."

Exactly, and that comes under the heading of 'Why We Can't Have Nice Things'. It's true; most autosomal recessive disorders are fairly rare; only routine genetic testing would identify the couples who ought not to have children together. But far too many people in this country are spooked by the specter of 'eugenics', and/or think the gov'mint/Antichrist is going to force them to have the Mark of the Beast Chip implanted, or whatever. Thus, future generations of kids with Batten's and other preventable genetic disorders are assured.

I dunno. It seems a bit cold to say that it's best if those who carry deadly recessive genes don't breed at all, since their children will still pass on the genes even if they don't get the disorders. On the other hand, it seems even colder to say that they shouldn't even get the chance to make that decision for themselves. The burden of caring for disabled/terminally ill children falls heaviest on poor families, and the poor are never going to pay for genetic testing, or get it at all unless it is routine for everyone.

[conuly]

Eugenics is something that has actually been tried in this nation within living memory, and you just know certain parties are itching to try it again, just as badly as the first time.

The burden of caring for disabled/terminally ill children falls heaviest on poor families

If we had a social system where they didn't have to shoulder the care themselves, then I'd be more in favor of really encouraging everybody to get tested even for unlikely conditions. But if everybody got tested, I'm afraid we'd withdraw what help we already provide.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know. Little as we may like it, this country is ruled by the terminally stupid, racist and/or superstitious, and that's why we have to live with a whole lot of problems to which there are simple, rational solutions that won't be tried.