why do you watch gore?

Ill allow myself to "copy/paste" part of an earlier answer to another discussion:

One of the main reasons i am here, is that these kinds of videos provide me with a speck of insight into the twisted reality that is our world. I, like most of us on here, have grown up in the upper middle class of one of the most stable and wealthy countries on this planet. It is insanely hard to realize just how brutal most of human existence actually is. It provides me with some perspective, whenever i am dealing with smalltime issues like a bad grade, or being unable to buy my own home in the current market. Some of the victims of these videos live miserable, short lives without ever owning half of the stuff that i already do. A life that is often, as these videos prove, ripped away in the most brutal and unforgiving way. So the first, and primary reason is to give myself some kind of reality check. Side note: Not until i started watching gore videos did i realize just how wrong Hollywood gets it. Even the gory films look fake, compared to the real deal.

My other primary reason for being here, is that the sheer "wrong place wrong time"-ness of some of the videos serve to remind me of the fragility of life. My first point mostly related to the videos where human beings intentionally do harm to each other. However the accidental videos provide me with something else entirely. It reminds me of a quote from a Reddit post i once saw, where the OP described humans as "A brain piloting a bone mech, using meat as armor". Life is insanely fragile, and in a stable and civilized community that is easy to forget.

If i cross the street absent-mindedly with music in my ears, my life could end. If i'm not careful what kind of people i surround myself with, my life may end. If i do stupid TikTok trends in the middle of the road, or i deliberately try to pass out while standing up, my life could end. Seeing what a fall from the 5th floor, or a car crash at 70 mph does to the human body reminds me that everything that i have could be taken away in an instant.

There is a third reason too, albeit one that is secondary to the other two: Seeing actual, real gore makes me hella frickin scared of death man. I dont wanna end up one of the mangled or mutilated corpses on this site one day. So part of my fascination with these videos is also that i get to see, and learn what real, unfiltered death looks like. And its scary as hell.

However, i most certainly am not here because i am a sociopath, an incel or any other kind of internet troll. And in my experience, gore sites tend to attract a fair amount of internet trolls. Many people in the gore community appear, at least in my opinion, to be not entirely well in the head. A lot of people seem to get some kind of kick out of watching people die. Of course they have as much right to be here as i have, but i have just never been able to empathize with that. There is not a single atom in my body that finds the content of this site funny. I also do not understand people who use gore videos to preach religious or political propaganda.

I will argue to my dying breath (pun not intended) that there is some real lessons to be learned from following sites as these. But we should always recognize the awfulness of what we are watching, and should never downplay the sheer horrible-ness of it, for the sake of racist fart-jokes in the comment section.

Thats just my reasoning and opinions anyway. I love the (relative) civility of WPD, and everyone here is welcome to have their own opinion :D