When our psyches are down on the low rungs, consumed with this mix of exhilaration and fear, it’s easy to forget that something cruel is happening to a real human. The Primitive Mind specializes in dehumanizing members of its out-group,9 a delusion easier to sustain when the person is just an online avatar. This delusion is responsible for what Ronson calls “a disconnect between the severity of the crime and the gleeful savagery of the punishment.”
