As I write this, one of the popular news stories is a case of thoughtless, homophobic and illegal cyber-bulllying, resulting in the suicide of the bully's target.
The roomate of the 18 year-old student placed a hidden WebCam in the victim's bedroom and broadcast live video of the victim engaged in gay sex.
Regardless of your opinions on gay issues, this kind of massively multi-perpertrator online persecution is unacceptable. What if it were your daughter and her fiancee, or your son and his girlfriend --- or you and ... ?
Shortly thereafter the victim announced on his Facebook⢠page that he was going to jump off of the GW Bridge. Shortly after that, he did so.
Wireless WebCams disguised as everything from radios and clocks to picture frames and smoke detectors are readily available and relatively inexpensive. Even inexpensive cell phones have the capability to upload pictures or videos directly to the Internet.
The nature and power of the Internet likens it to a kitchen knife -- a useful, indispensable tool, but also a deadly weapon. It might be more accurately compared to an ICBM because of its global reach.
In the past, rumors and scandal might have floated around the schoolyard, but today, reputations and lives are easily ruined on the global playground of cyberspace.
In 1970, if a no-name pastor from a no-name church with fewer than 30 members decided to burn a religious text in protest of something, how much national or international coverage do you think he would have received?
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| 11th Century North African Qur’an in the British Museum (Wikipedia) |
He might have been mentioned on page 3 of the Podunk Journal, (next to the obituaries and quilting bee schedule) but it's almost inconceivable that there could be global consequences of a negative nature because of some wing-nut nit-wit nobody from nowhere without the foresight to see the consequences of his actions.
In today's world of political correctness and instant global communications, a single extremist nut-job with a copy of the Qur'an, a Bic™ lighter and a Twitter™ account not only can, but has been accused of "turning the entire nation of Islam into a powder keg," and "threatening the safety of our citizens and troops overseas" and even the "security of the entire world."
The fact that the aforementioned powder keg has been on that so-called verge for years is secondary. My primary consideration here is both the blessing and curse of universal access to instantaneous, global communication, coupled with extremism, stupidity and a lack of respect for its power and reach.
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| The seven verses of Al-Fatiha, the first sura of the Qur'an. (Wikipedia) |
In fewer than 48 hours the Secretaries of Defense and State, every high-ranking intelligence and security official and even the President himself knew this person by his first name and the news media was broadcasting his "threats" around the globe.
Most peoples and nations recognized this "below the fold" non-news item as the insignificant non-event that it was. Some countries and cultures, however, interpreted this isolated event as representative of our entire country.
In today's free society anyone may legally stand on a street corner and insult you and or your native country. They may legally disrespect your faith, belittle your sexuality impugn your relatives or doubt the legality of your parent's marriage.
This is actually very good, because short of physical violence, you have the same right to respond in kind, listen intently, or just walk away.
When we see that same argument caught on a cell-phone camera and finding its way to You-Tube™, however, the consequences, intended or otherwise could be, and often are grave.
What might once have been a localized vocal and perhaps "politically incorrect" or even racist disagreement between a few non-representative 'fringe' people turns into an out-of-context, instant, and, for whatever reasons, credible interpretation and commentary on life in America.
It's impossible to judge how many lives and/or careers have been or will be made, enhanced, damaged or ended by genuine, out-of context, modified or even completely fabricated tweets, Facebook posts, Photo-shopped images, Internet innuendo, viral videos and mistakenly or hastily sent e-mail.
Back when I was allegedly involved in the security and intelligence community I learned a couple of very valuable facts.
Fact Number 1: Percentage wise, there are so few dangerous sociopathic psychopaths in the world that their numbers are close to being statistically insignificant.
Fact Number 2: It only takes one!
Anyone wanting their 15 minutes of fame need only exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed right to publicly say and/or do something legal but irresponsible and/or stupid.
A radical disciple of the Church of the Holy Smurf merely has to 'blog' that he defecated on the flag of Whereisitstan. Whether he did or not is irrelevant. A few hours later a Photo-shopped cartoon of the alleged desecration goes viral and soon Tens of Thousands of Wheriststanians are marching in the streets of the world, burning Smurf embassies, killing innocent Smurfs and demanding the execution of the Smurf Priest.
Meanwhile, the psychopathic narcissistic blogger who started it all is getting book contracts, interviews on the networks and ends up being courted for a screenplay by the time the death threats start to arrive.
People do have the right to be extremely offensive, and there is no right to not be offended. This is a small price to pay for a free (for the moment) society.
Every right, however, comes with an equal responsibility not to abuse that right. If not a written, legal responsibility, we have at least a moral responsibility to exercise judgement when using dangerous tools.
Every time somone abuses a right, the forces who seek to limit, regulate or destroy that right use that abuse as an excuse to grab further control and limit the rights of everyone, not just the abusers.
You shouldn't hand a child a dangerous tool or weapon until you know that they will use it responsibly. Today we should add the Internet to the list of more traditional dangerous tools, along with chain saws, lawn mowers, knives, guns, automobiles and lawyers.
That's my opinion, and you're welcome to it!
Steve Eggleston
No disrespect was meant to Smurfs, regardless of their Purpleness, and no smurfs were harmed in the production of this article.
