Comment pages, and thier evil

COomment boards are dominant on the internet. It is as if people feel they are contributing to the internet by commenting on online news message boards. People become absolutely viscous on discussions and comment pages, insulting complete strangers using extremely vulgar language on every offensive topic imaginable. Religion, politics, gay rights, and abortion are easily the top four topics which inspire the most hateful language. It is interesting and horrifying to realize that if people were to say what they had writing out loud in public, there is a very good change that they would face dire consequences due to their language being offensive in hte highest degree. And yet people do not seem to notice how awful they are being, and indeed the feel completely justified in what they are spewing at people. It seems to me that internet commenting is a lot like what people always say about a drunk friend: they are saying things that they would only be thinking sober. Sure such hurtful and cruel opinions do crop up of their own accord, they must have always been there, unable to come out until the perfect anonymity of the internet made it possible to spew such venom without being beaten up for it. If you don't know your victim, and you don't know your attacker, whats to stop you from turning into a monster. Would we all become such monsters in the face of non existence consequences?