Windsor Independent - January 2016

Saved by the Bell
with Andrew Bell
Cutting
through the BS
of social media
and our online
interactions
Remember the simple days of social media,
where we’d all spend our time bitching
about people who posted pictures of
everything they ate and updated us every time
they had a bowel movement? Ah, the glory days.
This year, we had to suffer through much worse
– Drake pretending to dance, friends pretending
to support social causes through a filter on
their profile pictures, and desperate Americans
pretending that Donald Trump and Kim Davis
had rational ideas. It was exhausting, but it’s
finally over, right?
Guess again. Over the past decade, we’ve watched
through rose-coloured glasses as most of our
social interaction shuffled into a flurry of 1’s
and 0’s, speeding across the world and back
in the blink of an eye. We have access to more
information than ever before, and a logical
person might conclude that we’ve become a
brighter, more educated and worldly population
across the board. That logical person would be
wrong, but a little dreaming never hurt anyone.
The sad truth is that there’s no aptitude test
required to use social media, so anyone with
an email address can instantly add themselves
to the two billion people who already have
profiles. And, just like real life, when you put a
bunch of people with different opinions into a
single room and hand them all megaphones, it’s
guaranteed to be a fucking disaster. If you have a
spare minute, take a scroll through that brainless
void affectionately known as the Windsor Star
comments section for prime examples.
But, since the Internet can’t be fixed, I’d like to
take a moment to draw attention to a rift that’s
been widening over the past year, and see if
we can’t come to some sort of logical, mature
conclusion on how to move forward.
This divide isn’t specifically based on one hotbutton
issue, but rather, on our responses to any
given issue on any given day. It’s a metaphorical,
inter-generational dick-swinging contest over
free speech on the Internet. On one end of the
spectrum, we find an ‘enlightened’ generation of
so-called ‘social justice warriors’, who are fighting
to rid the Internet of anything they perceive to
perpetuate racism, bigotry, homophobia, ‘shame’
and other forms of marginalization. And then,
on the other end, we find graduates of the School
of Hard Knocks, who are convinced that we’re all
too sensitive and are fed up with being shamed
out of speaking their minds for fear of offending
anyone.
In my mind, both sides have an argument
to make here. We’re in a time of masscustomization,
where people can build their own
social networks and choose what content they
want to see. We’re also a society in the midst of
a social revolution, redefining what it means
to be equal and safe in a free world. And while
the concept of making the Internet a ‘safe space’
sounds appealing in theory, it doesn’t work in
practice – it’s ludicrous to view social media as a
safe haven to avoid viewpoints you disagree with,
or as a judgment-free shelter where you won’t be
called out for the way you treat people who are
different.
To me, the most dangerous part of this Hard
Knocks uprising is that it fails to recognize an
important truth of social interaction: when we
offend someone, we don’t get to decide if their
outrage is wrong or right. Sure, there’s infuriating
examples of people losing their minds en masse
over the smallest, most inconsequential things,
but we don’t get to decide how people feel and
how they react. We roll with the punches, and we
work towards that elusive common goal of unity.
By and large, people who call you out on your
bullshit are attempting to explain that this better
world we’re working to build is tangible, and that
by recognizing the consequences of your words
and actions, you can make small changes to treat
everyone with respect and dignity. It takes almost
no effort to remove words like ‘gay’, ‘retarded’
or ‘slut’ from your lexicon. It takes even less to
stop judging people based on their appearance,
intelligence level or personal tastes. And I’d like
to think that the premise of a world without
cyber-bullying, depression and teen suicide far
outweighs your cosmetic sacrifice.
It’s possible that these people think they’re edgy
by “fighting against Generation Butthurt” but
to me, they look a lot more like a crying child
throwing a temper tantrum because they can’t get
their way. Losing your privilege is hard to cope
with, but the world isn’t about to throw you a pity
party or hand you a hot cookie. Welcome to the
marginalized perspective, we hope you enjoy it
here.
So if you’re worried that what you’re posting is
going to rub people the wrong way, take three
deep breaths and try to wrap your head around
the fact that what you’re posting is probably
offensive. If you can’t justify a reason to post
something beyond getting a reaction, you’re
either a really good troll or a really bad person.
It’s still your choice, of course – it’s still a free
country, and an even freer Internet. Just accept
that people will probably think you’re an asshole,
and they’ll make sure you know that. If you can’t
come to terms with that, well, put a fucking sock
in it.
Hold off on those songs of victory, Social Justice
Warriors – if you think I’m behind you, you’ve
got another thing coming. Do I think that it’s
crucial that we continue to reframe global
thinking on issues of social justice and human
rights? Sure. But the way that so many of you go
about that monumental task makes it easy to see
why people are getting sick of you. It’s another
lesson in applied entitlement, and I hope you’re
paying attention.
When most of us respond to things we see
online, we have a very short reaction time, and
it often leads to hyperbolic black-and-white
declarations that have little to no basis in fact. We
lob judgment bombs at each other safely behind
our keyboards, and assign labels immediately
based on where we stand on any given topic.
Sometimes they’re merited, but it’s rare. Here are
a few examples:
You don’t think Caitlyn Jenner is a hero because
of the opportunities her wealth and privilege
afforded her? You’re a transphobic piece of shit.
You’re not sure we have the resources to support
an influx of refugees right now? You’re a
xenophobic douchebag who doesn’t belong in
this country.
You still laugh
at clips from
The Cosby
Show? You’re
a pro-rape
misogynist
and I hope you
break your
neck.
Are you picking up what I’m throwing down?
We find ourselves poised at all of these critical
junctures to discuss and reframe our thinking
on things like sexual assault, foreign policy
and gender identity, and instead of focusing on
issues and solutions, you’re wasting your time
drawing subjective lines in the sand between
‘good’ and ‘bad’ people. You don’t even have to
substantiate your decisions – just pick your side,
call a spade a spade (even if you don’t know what
a spade is) and spread your new perception like
wildfire. Assuming you never slip up and Tweet
something bigoted, you get to play judge, jury
and executioner in 160 characters or less.
The truth is that most people on social media
are fucking idiots. That’s why we enjoy it so
much, regardless of how we use it – and I’m just
as guilty on all fronts. We all share the same
shitty personality traits: we easily forget that
other peoples’ opinions are valid, we care very
little about substantiated fact, and we prioritize
the sound of our own voices over the value of
intellectual debate. And if we reach a point in
this social experiment where we can no longer
handle a free exchange of opposing ideas without
digging trenches and lobbing bombs until
one side wipes the other out, we’ll be willingly
marching ourselves backwards through history.
Indulge me for a minute, and imagine if the
Internet wasn’t an endless warehouse of invisible
binary data. Picture it as thousands of physical
message boards planted across town, where
every comment had to be written and posted.
Would we risk running into the people whose
character we’re trashing? Would we willingly
kill a thousand trees every day just so we could
all posts rambling paragraphs echoing the
exact same sentiment? Save the environment,
folks, and have the decency to use the passive
aggressive tools (see: the Like button) that social
media have to offer. If all you want is to be seen,
congratulations – you’re ruining the Internet.
We can’t shame each other into building a better
world. All that does is make people frightened
of each other, and fear can quickly manifest into
hate. By continuing to educate ourselves on the
changing world we live in; challenging each
other’s views with respectful disagreement and
verifiable facts; and striving to move the world
forward together – we might just have a chance
to save this floating piece of garbage before it
sinks.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m attempting to
explain to a grown man that advocating vigilante
justice in the form of raping and torturing
someone who taped a dog’s mouth shut makes
them a sociopath. No wonder the aliens haven’t
taken over yet – they’re patiently waiting for us to
destroy ourselves.
24 JANUARY 2016 Vol. 04 | Issue 01