(This is a revised version of my Monday post)
We
all have private and often distasteful thoughts about the world.
Opinions about someone’s appearance, behavior, politics etc. but we
keep them to ourselves.
They
are not meant to be shared but now we have a way to vent our dark
nature.
It’s
called the internet.
An
EMT made a disparaging remark about Charlie Kirk after his shooting
and a conservative Christian--a total stranger --took upon himself to
locate where she worked and get her fired. She made an unkind remark
about someone’s death and he took it personally enough to wreck her
career. Neither should have done that and for what the purpose?
Social media
allows people to express private thoughts they would never say out
loud. On
the internet no
one
knows who you are (or that you are a dog as the joke goes). There is
no fear of reprisal for otherwise expressing revolting ideas behind
anonymity.
Sometimes
people
offer
stark,
hurtful comments
under their real names because they know, chances are, the person
they’re abusing won’t come after them, but when they do, like the
cited example, it’s ugly for everyone involved.
People
offer an unsolicited opinion, spout whatever justification they have,
and genuinely think they’re a good person because they did it. No
harm for the stone thrower and they never see the effect it has on
the victim so it goes on.
The
internet encourages this kind of behavior and it needs to stop if we
want to maintain a healthy society. What’s
missing is self restraint and critical thinking. Does this comment
contribute to the conversion, or is it just more fuel thrown on the
fire?
We
need
to be well mannered, mature adults in public. We
need to be safe expressing a
view
without threat of violence or being outcast. Everyone is entitled to
their opinion, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to agree to it.
We have become a nation where differences of opinion to any given
narrative is unforgivable. The division this creates is dangerous to
democracy and our mental well being. Be kind, it cost nothing and
pays in good karma. Ignore it, most of the time it’s just rage bait
to get you riled up anyway.
Miss
Manners tried to teach us. “One of the biggest sorrows in America
is that people want to retaliate against rudeness with rudeness. One
of my main missions is to say no, there is no excuse for rudeness.”
She’s right and this needs to be a commandment-- not just with real
life but on the internet. The next time you rush to the keyboard to
express disapproval or outrage, ask yourself, would you want someone
to say that out
loud to
your face?
