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It's a good op-ed and I largely agree with Brooks but I find this point interesting: > I’d say civilization moves forward when we embrace rule of law, not when

by deeg 8y ago

It's a good op-ed and I largely agree with Brooks but I find this point interesting: > I’d say civilization moves forward when we embrace rule of law, not when we abandon it. What Emily did that got called out (cyber-bullying) isn't against the law, nor do I think we want it to be (for freedom-of-speech reasons). Shaming Emily for her prior abuse isn't necessarily a problem but social media knows no bounds and takes it way too far. Destroying Emily's life is probably not justice.

stcredzero 8y ago
Destroying Emily's life is probably not justice. People who destroy lives for political gain are not the people I think of as heroes in history. We need more discourse and more open discourse. We need less hysteria, shaming, and fear.
duxup 8y ago
I think what he is saying there is that the consequences of these call outs can be very severe, things we often associate with the consequences you get from the law. Accordingly with those kind of consequences possible we should be cautious about what steps we take and maybe take a legalistic-ish approach to these things and not just make assumptions and auto denounce when we really don't know what happened. Granted that's not to say you have to form up a judge and jury at home every time you tweet, but perhaps think twice about what we really know before we act.
MrMember 8y ago
It's an issue of scale. If someone acts against societal norms and is "called out" for it from within their social group, that can be a good thing. We all sometimes need a reminder that we're acting like a dick. Bring that to the scale of social media and it's a disaster. Suddenly thousands of anonymous strangers are piling on them and they're ostracized from their social group, out of a job, a home, etc.
- duxup 8y ago
  It is scary. I probabbly have done many things that someone could misunderstand or misrepresent and .... probabbly could get a lot of people angry at me. Not that I did it, but then once the wave starts I don't think it matters.

by deeg 8y ago

stcredzero 8y ago

Destroying Emily's life is probably not justice. People who destroy lives for political gain are not the people I think of as heroes in history. We need more discourse and more open discourse. We need less hysteria, shaming, and fear.

duxup 8y ago

I think what he is saying there is that the consequences of these call outs can be very severe, things we often associate with the consequences you get from the law. Accordingly with those kind of consequences possible we should be cautious about what steps we take and maybe take a legalistic-ish approach to these things and not just make assumptions and auto denounce when we really don't know what happened. Granted that's not to say you have to form up a judge and jury at home every time you tweet, but perhaps think twice about what we really know before we act.

MrMember 8y ago

It's an issue of scale. If someone acts against societal norms and is "called out" for it from within their social group, that can be a good thing. We all sometimes need a reminder that we're acting like a dick. Bring that to the scale of social media and it's a disaster. Suddenly thousands of anonymous strangers are piling on them and they're ostracized from their social group, out of a job, a home, etc.

duxup 8y ago
It is scary. I probabbly have done many things that someone could misunderstand or misrepresent and .... probabbly could get a lot of people angry at me. Not that I did it, but then once the wave starts I don't think it matters.