“I Would Kill the Director and Teachers in the School” Cyberbullying of Hunters in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to focus on cyberbullying (Donegan in Elon J Undergrad Res Commun 3(1):33–42, 2012) affecting the community of hunters in Poland. The investigation reveals that linguistic aggression pervades more and more spheres of our lives and the Internet, which gives anonymity and physical distance, is the main forum of cyberbullying. The researchers investigate the material gathered from websites such as “Ludzie przeciw myśliwym” [Humans against hunters], hunting-related blogs and Facebook sites devoted to hunting and related to persons who are known to be hunters (e.g. spokesmen of the Polish Hunting Association). The problem of the stereotypical perception of hunting is also raised (Bartmiński and Chlebda in Etnolingwistyka 25:69–95, 2003. https://doi.org/10.17951/et.2013.25.69). The issues of prejudice, stereotyping and lack of knowledge result in the possibility of inciting people to cyberbully others. People brought up in cities, far away from nature, are easily convinced to attack other groups which they perceive as deviant (Bartmiński and Chlebda 2003). The verbal aggression deeply rooted in stereotypes and prejudice based on limited knowledge of nature, overly idealistic and naïve worldviews becomes more and more widespread. Therefore, the authors intend to provide some insight into the problem of cyberbullying of hunters in Poland in order to find the patterns of that activity from socio-semiotic perspective analyzing verbal signs and symbols used to justify that sort of behaviour as well as socio-linguistic perspective concerning the usage of emotion-loaded language. Additionally psycho-linguistic issues will be touched upon as well as the problem of shaping the image of hunters by media will be discussed.

Towards Descriptive Adequacy of Cyberbullying: Interdisciplinary Studies on Features, Cases and Legislative Concerns of Cyberbullying

“…).” Apparently, the necessity of legislating cyberbullying is under question. Nevertheless, the assumption may be correct as some researchers point out that bullies are minors [ 27 ] and therefore there are limits to their penalization resulting from the fact that they have not attained the age of majority and may not have full comprehension of their deeds.…”

In Quest of Genocide Understanding: Multiple Faces of Genocide

“…The increasing literature on hate speech e.g. [5,20] and cyberbullying [10,16,24,30,42,43] shows that modern media and infodemic spread via them may pave the way to new forms of extermination affecting smaller than ethnic groups of society members who are perceived as not compliant with the modern image of the "righteous human being". What we observe nowadays is the discourse of tolerance on the one hand, and the discourse of hate speech on the other.…”

Should Hunting as a Cultural Heritage Be Protected?

“…In public discourse one may encounter both speeches that build the image of hunting as bloody bestiality (the blood sport) and as an element of national cultural identity. This negative or even hostile message is widely present in social media, in which young activists are a very active group, the overwhelming majority of whom live in cities, far away from wild nature [46,47]. Hunting, on the other hand, has been a part of the national cultural identity, having been present in countless literary or artistic works for centuries, including the works of the greatest Polish poets and writers such as Adam Mickiewicz or Henryk Sienkiewicz, on the canvases of famous painters such as Julian Fałat, Juliusz Kossak, Wojciech Kossak, Jerzy Kossak or Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski and outstanding musicians such as Feliks Nowowiejski.…”

“…The same wolf had previously attacked a woman in the neighboring Wetlina village,. Due to the threat the animal posed to humans, it was shot by hunters [46] with a special permit.…”

“…They may kill the children of wild boars-the piglets from the moment they finish 1 day" [82]. In addition, cyberbullying directed at hunters is developing more and more, and over time it frequently escalates transforming into ecoterrorism [46]. An example would be the organization Poznań Against Hunters promoting the destruction of hunting equipment and facilities (Fig.…”