Herd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks, schools, demonstrations, riots and general strikes,[1] sporting events, religious gatherings, episodes of mob violence and everyday decision-making, judgment and opinion-forming.
- Wikipedia
Looking badass implies that you think that each individual who posted tried to post with the intention of seeming like a big badass. In other words, elevating themselves based on metrics of violence and apathy as a means to extend an intimidating image for others to observe. I don't think that this is the case since the internet badass tends to be singular, one person who tries to show off to many people in order to make himself seem intimidating. However, in this case the status quo of the tone is what intimidating things you would do to the person that killed a loved one. In this sense, there is no point in showing off how vicious you can be to another person because everyone else is doing the same. What would be more profound is if someone tried to be logical or rational in this hypothetical situation and criticizing others for playing into it.