When it comes to someone saying something unfavourable online, it can be so easy to get caught up in the tsunami level wave of cyber-shaming. I admit that I have definitely gotten caught up in it myself at times. I have never justified using racism, sexism, etc. against the people that made a mistake, I have called out the people who have done this, but I have been unforgiving of the main person being cyber-shamed in the past. I have not posted many of these shaming thoughts as I mostly just kept them to myself or voiced them to friends. As I continue to grow and be a better person, I am mentally calling myself out whenever I get swept up in the tsunami.

I am someone that does believe in giving people chances to grow (i.e. second chances), because I am someone who needed those chances in order to learn that the biases I held previously were wrong and bigoted. I believe that people should absolutely be called out when they say or do something racist, for example, but, after some reflection following our last class, I really do not like the mass shaming and cyber-vigilantism that happens when people make mistakes. I would want to be given the grace to learn from that mistake rather than have that single moment defining my entire life for the foreseeable future and impacting all my future opportunities. In other words, give me the opportunity to show that I can learn, will continue to learn, and will always strive to be better. And if I want that opportunity to be given to me, I should definitely be giving it to others.

Pic from Tomas Kucera.

I do want to note that the people I am mentioning are making mistakes. The people that purposefully and actively spew hate on the internet for views, clicks, or for whatever other reason need to have their accounts deleted. If that person is in a profession like teaching and spewing that type of hate online, I would definitely want their employer to consider that person’s employment since they are likely in close contact with students belonging to the demographics they hate (those kids do not deserve to feel unsafe in school). There are so many voices spewing hate and bigotry on the internet right now, and social media companies need to be doing something about this. However, they won’t because the drop in engagement on their platforms would hurt their bottom line. (At least, that’s the pessimistic view I hold.)

The biggest question I am wrestling with is: “What is the line between mistake and purposeful hate?”. Further, “What punishments should be given to people who purposefully spew hate and how severe should they be?”.

Graphic from Fernanda.

Additionally: What is the line between genuine criticism and cyber-shaming? Social media platforms can’t seem to get it right, and their AIs often take down videos that call out things like corruption or mistreatment of certain groups of people. (Sometimes this feels like/seems to be a purposeful silencing, but that is another topic for another day.) Everyone seems to have a different line that they draw, and there really isn’t any line that seems to properly fit a majority of peoples’ vision. What metaphorical “line” would allow us to protect genuine criticism but crack down on cyber-shaming? There really is no good answer for this unfortunately.

I am sure that I have many more questions related to these topics that I can’t recall right now, and I will have to take the time to think over my views and opinions on them. Also, the internet changes fast, so my opinion on any of this could change as those shifts happen. My views will also shift as I experience and see more of the world. I am only 22 so there are still plenty of things for me to see, experience, and understand. To put it into other words, my views on/personal answers for these questions will never be fixed and will change with the times. However, I do believe I will stand firm on my belief that we all deserve second chances that will allow us to learn and be better in the future.