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  1. Weep for the future of our nation.
  2.  
  3. The real battle for the hearts and minds and souls of our next generation is not the one being waged between right and left, Democrat or GOP. It's the one being fought between the gentle, friendly, goofy users of 9gag.com and the dark, senseless, mocking evil of 4chan.org.
  4.  
  5. We were not aware of the existence of either of these groups until yesterday's "Dark Knight Massacre" in Aurora, Colorado. A photo appeared on 9gag claiming to have been posted within the past 24 hours by someone claiming to be the alleged shooter, James Holmes, claiming he would kill everyone in a Colorado movie theater "for the glory of the Le 9gag Army."
  6. View slideshow: Tha future batle for our souls?
  7.  
  8. For someone who was unaware of the existence and long standing acrimony between 9gag and 4chan, this seemed at first blush like a credible warning that may have been overlooked in the hours before the massacre. We, along with other writers, posted stories about it.
  9. Could this be the ultimate battle ground for the human spirit?
  10. Could this be the ultimate battle ground for the human spirit?
  11. Photo credit:
  12. Various screencaps
  13.  
  14. Our comment section lit up with defenders of 9gag claiming the whole thing was a hoax, perpetrated by the demon warriors at 4chan to discredit the less offensive, mostly safe for work 9gag, which claims on its front page logo to be "Just For Fun."
  15.  
  16. Our comment section devolved into a war between the 9gag supporters and the 4chan defenders and the next thing we knew our kitchen table was covered in the teeth and blood of these gang members as they waged their gory battle. Metaphorically. In the cyber world.
  17.  
  18. Now, if you are under 18 years old, this will probably sound like every old man who has ever shook his fist at a kid's Beatles album while shouting, "Why don't them crazy kids get a haircut and sing nice music, not this 'Yeah Yeah' crap?" If you're over 18 and you are aware (or worse, are involved) in the 9gag/4chan conflict, get help.
  19.  
  20. A review of the two sites
  21.  
  22. 9gag seems largely inoffensive. At the top of the front page today, one sees a note in a black box, apologizing for being the center of attention yesterday when someone posted the hoax warning, or made it seem like the hoax warning was posted on 9gag and got the info to the European news site Blottr.com. Most of the funny little photos and cartoons are daffy, moronic, harmless, and in some cases even mildly amusing.
  23.  
  24. 4chan.org? A different story. It seems to have a much meaner, snarkier, darker nature to it.
  25.  
  26. There's something of a Nazi tinge to the writing, and the imagery. Vile.
  27.  
  28. The website Gawker weighed in on the controversy yesterday (July 20), calling the "James Holmes warning" an old 4chan-style trick.
  29.  
  30. According to Gawker writer Adrian Chen:
  31.  
  32.     Often after a notable shooting happens, 4chan users spread fake screenshots that show the perpetrator was a 4chan user and had posted of his plans beforehand on 4chan. Recently, for example a 4chan user trolled the media by pretending to be posting from inside a home that was besieged by police. It's sort of an instant online urban legend. 9gag is basically a safe-for-work 4chan clone, where users share images and memes, and they've apparently picked up the same stupid prank.
  33.  
  34.     The user 9gagFTW does exist, but hasn't posted anything about a shooting and lists their location as Peru. It was probably a prank played by him, or by someone trying to smear him. Meanwhile, someone on 4chan is pretending to be one of the shooters who got away, according to this screenshot that's being passed around. That is just as legit.
  35.  
  36. We just have to ask ourselves, what possesses someone to sit in front of a computer screen for no other reason than to pound out disinformation and hatred?
  37.  
  38. Then, we recall the so-called adults Andrew Breitbart, Michelle Malkin, Patterico, R. Stacy McCain, Pajamas Media, TownHall, RedState, FreeRepublic and Stormfront where someone at each of these websites is making big bucks by fomenting hatred, doing their best to make us despise and fear each other, raking in the Benjamins while people... actual people... load guns, pack tear gas canisters, go into movie theaters and kill innocent people so the aforementioned millionaires, (or former millionaires in the case of Breitbart, his being dead now), can profit off of our hatred and fear of each other.
  39.  
  40. Perhaps the funny, dumb little cartoons on 9gag should give us hope that the mindless hatred displayed on 4chan will be ultimately defeated. Or, at the least, contained.
  41.  
  42. Given the current state of the blogosphere, however, that would seem to be a faint hope indeed.
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