Why do people get away with so much on the Internet?

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Well last night I was yet again reminded that there are plenty of racist, sexist, homophobic hate-mongers with nothing better to do but post messages filled with profanity and filth on the Internet.
I was up late as usual watching YouTube videos of classic video games and such. I noticed a picture of Elmo next to the logo. Curious, I clicked on it to reveal a channel for Sesame street where they had a video of an "interview" with Elmo where he was supposedly answering questions about things like his favorite food and junk. Now I know people either love or hate Elmo, so I decided that reading negative comments about a Muppet would be amusing and even I had a few harsh words to say. But I didn't expect to see literally dozens of comments filled with R-rated material that didn't even have anything to do with Sesame Street. Comments were peppered with the N word and profanities and sexually explicit filth!! ! ON A YT CHANNEL FOR A KID'S SHOW!! ! There were all kinds of Nazi threats made to Jewish people and of course there were lots of homophobic garbage about Bert and Ernie, Elmo and Sesame Street in general. (I say if you think B and E are more than "just friends" it takes one to know one. )
Why are people still able to say such things and get away with it on the Internet but not anywhere else? But what's really sad that it's obvious that the only place in the world where people of different races and backgrounds can co-exist happily and peacefully is Sesame Street... and it's not even real.

Well, in America you can say those things wherever.

It's up to youtube to police and remove offensive content. What else can they do besides ban accounts which I sure they do. Youtube is a huge site and it's impossible to moderate everything offensive out. I think you'll find the comment sections everywhere on the internet are not much different. This is how the internet works.

The alternative is that they censor everything and that's much worse.

i think the one good thing about people being able to say moronic and asinine things is that you know who to avoid more easily.

It's all a matter of taste. Most may find this sort of language with regards to Elmo offensive, but others may find it enjoyable. My son likes to watch the lego clips on you tube, but I have to prescreen anything he wants to watch because most (yes most) of it would be given an R, if not an X (do they even still have X?) rating. I was a little surprised at first, but also grateful that we even have such a free venue for expression. You can't legislate taste.

They get away with it because there are so many people who do it, monitoring and censoring all of them is practically impossible. Of course, there's no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to say such things.

I hope it stays that way

that is a WONDERFUL point and i wish i'd thought of it earlier. i shall have to keep this in mind from now on. it is a wonderful sanity-preservation tool, to remember that when people show their evil, it is a service they are performing for the rest of us, so as to know who to steer clear of.

On the Internet "you" are not a real person, just some lines on a page.

So on the Internet I can say things to you that I would never dare to say if we were face to face.

That is the way it is. Try not to take it too personally.

It's John Gabriel's Greater Internet F-wad Theory in action!

This.

The internet is where people can anonymously troll and show their true colors. This includes being remarkably racist, homophobic, misogynistic, whatever as much as humanly possible.

There are no filters as there is for an op-ed section of a newspaper or magazine.
So any yahoo can say anything.
But It is amazing how much hate is out there.

I thought of setting up a site called "axe grinders anonymous" where all of the angry hateful folks can vent their spleens and be as nasty as they wanna be --as a kind of public service to siphon off all of the venom on the net to one little cease pool.

YouTube commenters = idiots