325 years ago in Massachusetts, innocent people were rounded up and hanged for no reason whatsoever in what is infamously known as the Salem Witch Trials. Over 3 centuries later, this type of behavior still exists, except it has migrated to social media platforms.
Social media has given people the freedom to express themselves to the entire world within a matter of a few seconds, and with the click of a single button. Social media is an important medium for expression, socializing, learning, and entertainment. However, one positive can also be a negative, and that is its anonymity. Social media gives any average Joe guts and confidence to attack others without repercussions, and the amount of this going on in 2017 is out of control.
Just yesterday I was reading about Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald, an epileptic, who was mercilessly attacked on twitter with "strobe tweets" aimed at triggering seizures, simply because of his political beliefs. The anonymity and dangerous sense of security gave random users, who don't even know the reporter, the courage to attack him and try to jeopardize his health and well-being. This is not an isolated incident, this stuff is happening all around you everywhere you look, and has been going on for several years now.
At some point, a movement was created where whenever someone is discovered out there in the social media world you disagree with, it isn't enough to just disagree or scold that person. People have decided these people need to be destroyed. Their lives need to be ruined, their names dragged through the mud, and no one is satisfied until their entire livelihood is completely destroyed, and this movement has been steadily gaining momentum ever since. When did people become so hateful and vindictive? It exists in all forms, from sports to politics to entertainment. No one is safe from the jaws of 2017's Court of Oyer and Terminer.
Both extreme sides of the spectrum of all mediums are involved in this kind of behavior. Support Donald Trump? Don't even bother to listen to their argument, they're heartless conservatives! Support Hillary Clinton? Don't try talking to them, they're weak liberals! Disagree with a protest? You're what is wrong with the country! Support a protest? Don't even care what you have to say, you're a disgrace! Civil and meaningful discussions are no more. Open-mindedness is lost.
About a week ago, video game talking head and enthusiast of Kinda Funny Games(now formerly of), Colin Moriarty, put out a tweet on National Womens Day saying "Ah. Peace and Quiet #ADayWithoutAWoman" as a joke. The internet erupted and he was viciously attacked. He lost friends and respect across the industry for a simple tweet. He was labeled a racist by one publication, when the tweet had nothing to do with race whatsoever. Ultimately, Moriarty resigned from the company he co-founded, in part due to public backlash over the comment. Was it insensitive and in poor taste? Possibly, but it was ultimately harmless, attacked no one individually, and the amount of backlash and hate this caused was incredibly disproportionate to the tweet itself. The politically correct witch hunters of social media targeted him, turned him into a villain, and used him as the latest person to sink their blood-thirsty teeth into. These groups masquerade as seekers of justice, but in reality, they are simply bullies. You can disagree with someone and not turn them into a villain and try to ruin their careers and lives. For these people, this is not enough. They want blood and they want lots and lots of it.
Bullying today is typically recognized as beating up on little kids in schools or making fun of people on the internet. This new form of bullying needs to be recognized as exactly that - bullying. It's a "stealth" form of bullying and people use fraudulent noble motivations to cover up what it truly is. No one deserves the kind of backlash Colin received over a simple joke... even if you disagree with it and even if it was in poor taste. This is the equivalent of walking by someone on the street, farting in their general direction, and that person beating them to within an inch of their life as a form of vengeance.
I believe that 75% of the world are followers, and it's easy to just pile on a vulnerable target. That's the essence of group bullying, and these are the things we see everyday on social media. We see it with Kurt Eichenwald, Colin Moriarty, Pewdiepie, or anyone else with controversial opinions or senses of humor. Society today believes that the world around them is obligated to not offend them, but this isn't true. No one is obligated in life to not offend anybody, as people can be offended by anything they want. Me personally? I try to be the best person I can be and treat people well and with respect, and as long as I do or say something that I know in my heart was not meant to hurt people or be mean, I stand by what I say. Regardless of who it offends. The inflated sense of self-importance of society today has created a monster where people cannot tolerate not being catered to, and they lash out with unnecessary brutal force in return. They target the weak and vulnerable to make themselves feel better. It takes no guts to pile on another person when they're down, it's cowardly. Very seldom does someone deserve merciless hate, and it happens far more often than it is deserved in social media today.
Thankfully, Colin Moriarty refused to apologize, and I would have done exactly the same thing. You can't give bad people the power, and allow them to continue to oppress and control free thought and expression - the very thing social media is used for. People should feel free to express themselves in any way they choose, and of course, if they say something out of turn they should expect backlash, but the punishment has to fit the crime. Extreme forms of targeting are forms of suppression and oppression of opinions you don't agree with, and the thought of it is scary. These people cannot be allowed to win. I encourage everyone to stand up for their personal beliefs and to not be intimidated.
Why are people so mean on social media? I think it's complicated and I don't think I have all the anwers, but I think a lot of it has to do with the anonymity and the access of people who are available to you to target in one click. Put someone in a room with 100 loaded guns with a Metal Gear Solid esque cloaking suit with a bunch of people they dislike and they will be more motivated to go on a killing spree against those people. The means and opportunity are there. People on social media have an inflated sense of power... which brings me to where I will end this tangent.
I'm proud and want to commend Kurt Eichenwald for contacting the FBI and having at least one of the people who attacked him on twitter with seizure-inducing images arrested. More are currently under investigation. I support free speech and freedom of expression, however people go too far, and when they do, these people need to be brought to justice. People are starting to fight back, and that makes me feel good for the direction social media is heading. Bullies, in any form, cannot be tolerated, and they need the book thrown at them so an example is set to dissuade further aggression and progression of these attacks. No one should be afraid to say something they think is funny, if it isn't conceived out of hatred. No one should be afraid to speak their political opinions on social media platforms. And no one should be afraid to agree with those opinions out of fear they may be attacked or have their careers or lives ruined. Oppression and bullying are the things that need to be destroyed, not our personal freedoms and livelihoods.
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