Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2010 (3215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Want to lose all hope for humanity? Don’t waste your time watching The Bachelor or listening to Justin Bieber. No need to travel to Darfur or the Burmese police state. Just read the comments section of every major news website, including ours.

With only the occasional exception, it is a moral wasteland of racism, small-mindedness, ignorance and slander.

The comments on this morning’s story about the 42-year-old man shot by police prove my point with twisted eloquence. They were shameful. Commenters openly celebrated the death of man in a back alley on Mother’s Day and convicted him of some vague crime based on a complete paucity of evidence. Here’s a sample of the comments, appalling grammar and spelling intact:

well if he was committing a crime and ended up getting killed i dont care. The citizens of winnipeg are tired of always the innocent getting hurt,its about time a criminal got what he deserved.