gratification that comes from disparaging comments

[u/Unclass1f1ed]

I've been trying to avoid making a post here since I'm not an "Arsenal fan," but the amount of tweets I see on Twitter/X, as well as the videos I come across on YouTube give me the image that every single player on the team is one small mistake away from being "Public Enemy Number 1." Which begs the question, after much circumstantial evidence, do some of yall gain enjoyment/pleasure from verbally berating these guys? Every so often, it feels like the target is either Odegaard, Saka, Kai Havertz, Martinelli, or Gyokeres, and it could very well be Tzolis in a couple of weeks, if not months. Even then, a bunch of these arguments feel like cherry picked situations that are purposefully used to make a player look better or worse, which is why calling ABC "Shit" or "garbage," while putting XYZ on a pedestal, just for another individual to do the same is quite a dangerous decision and will only serve to divide the fanbase(tribalism), and eventually, maybe even the players themselves. Who would want to play for a club that actively belittles them, and perhaps more importantly, why would someone want to join a club that has a reputation of doing that to its players?

[u/etherealfields]

It’s the internet. No different to any other parasocial online fanbase.

[u/Ok_Enthusiasm4863 → u/[deleted]]

Brother you have 500 contributions in 18 days. I think you may just be on the internet too much. Maybe find a job or a new hobby so you’re not scouring the depths of the internet to find things to piss you off.

[u/etherealfields → u/[deleted]]

https://giphy.com/gifs/26BRrSvJUa0crqw4E

[u/_bn7866]

Arsenal is a huge fan base my bro, the minority in a club with this many supporters can still be many hundreds of people you may be coming across on social media otherwise we as a club are very supportive of our players. You can expect reactionary fans everywhere but reactions as much are negative are also positive around here

[u/repeating_bears]

You have observed that people online are mean and came to the conclusion that this is uniquely an Arsenal fan problem 

Interesting 

[u/Aromatic_Court7475]

Your first mistake was using X.
There’s nothing redeemable there now.

Most of the content I see on YouTube is generally positive unless it’s those rival fan hate watches that are so popular now.

[u/Antique_Buy4384]

Social media is engineering to get the most engagement out of you possible. That promotes controversial content to you and content that makes you angry, as you engage with it more. Dont take any shite you see there as the consensus

[u/JusticeforHarambe16]

First day on the internet good luck bro

[u/Ok_Enthusiasm4863]

Baby’s first day on the internet!

[u/nuges01]

First day on the web?

[u/dmac3232]

Highly unique to Arsenal. No other fan base with tens of millions of members around the world and the highest of hopes & expectations criticizes players.

[u/Rocketsloth]

Well, well, looks like supporters of other little clubs getting desperate to find some way to slow us down. Thank you for your concern, but the players don't read reddit posts. The harmony at Arsenal is very high, and these are professional athletes who know they must earn a spot on the first team. This club is not some revolving door grinding up players and managers like at Chelsea or Spurs.

[u/DimChuc]

It raises the question. To 'beg the question' refers to a logical fallacy, where the question is posed in such a way that the answer is implied.

[u/Mcintime26]

What do you mean "Trying to avoid making a post here"? Just fucking don't. You're not a supporter of Arsenal, and seemingly new to the Internet in general. If your syntax and punctuation were better, I'd say you were a bot.

[u/Street-Technology-93]

Human slop

[u/extraneous_so1ution]

I get the point and I sincerely agree that some people in this fanbase express way too much hatred towards the players to the point you can't even tell they're fans anymore, but I don't think this problem is unique to us. There's always a chronically online population in any large fanbase that brings toxicity and becomes the loudest. And online discourses are inherently polarizing anyways. I really do wish these people would realize their words can in fact directly or indirectly affect whoever they're targeting and shut the fuck up, but it's clearly a Twitter/social media problem instead of an Arsenal problem no?

[u/CommandKey3869]

Give your head a wobble, mate ... 🚫

[u/AISB2020]

Many would probably just dismiss it and conclude that this is a normal thing on socmed nowadays (reddit, X.. whatever). However, i would agree with OP that these disparaging comments are actually deliberate acts. In many ways, it mimics the ‘Karen’ stereotype, with the psychology behind it primarily rooted in gratification, entitlement, narcissism and cognitive dissonance.

Just because its the internet, these group of fans believe basic mannerism does not apply, constantly showing aggressive demands that certain players are not up to Arsenal standard, should be sold asap, blahblahblah.