In light of President Barack Obama’s win in the presidential election (yes, there are people still talking about that), it turns out that the Youth of America have been very, very busy.

Busy doing what, you ask? Why, busy being racist little shits, of course.

Hello There, Racists is an anonymous Tumblr that was started which features screencaps of offensive tweets or Facebook posts made by some very stupid teenagers, while also posting their name and where they go to school alongside each entry. Essentially, the anonymous person running the website is mini-doxing each of these careless, ignorant and bigoted teens for the entire world to see. And it’s turning into a tricky situation.

On the one hand, the safety of the teenagers from death threats, threats of violence, and online bullying becomes a  major concern. Even though the information is public information, easily found with one simple Google search, should it all be conveniently piled together into one forum, making it easier for the masses to attack these kids? The author of the Tumblr has asked that people not make threatening remarks, saying that if the readers “want racists to be exposed, [then] do not be threatening or intimidating. They deserve to lose their jobs and scholarships, but not threats of any kind.” But will their readers actually listen to their plea for non-violence? These are teenagers after all.

On the other hand, can publicly humiliating these teens perhaps stop this cycle of flippant racism? Can emailing schools, employers, or military personnel (yes, one of the men was planning on enlisting in the Air Force), perhaps teach them an even harder life lesson that what you say on the internet stays forever and people will find that what you’ve said is true to your character? Is outing them to the general public and, henceforth, Google searches a good lesson in understanding the consequences of their very shitty actions?

There lies the precarious balance in attempting to punish bad behavior by way of the masses. Internet hivemind works no matter what the extreme you subscribe to. Is it too extreme to punish these children by ruining their potential for school/work/professional life or is it justified since this information was made public by them in the first place? Should we be held accountable in real life for the words that we write on the internet, especially when we use our real names behind our avatars?

Check out some of the posts on Hello There, Racists and decide for yourselves if the internet punishment fits the internet crime.