5 ms·

An accusation today can ruin a person, more so than ever before.

mcphage 6y ago
> An accusation today can ruin a person, more so than ever before It probably can, but unfortunately the people usually held up as examples of this generally haven't actually been ruined. I mean, what are some actual examples of people who have been ruined by accusation?
- Alupis 6y ago
  George Zimmerman, for instance. The guy still receives death threats and worse, even though he was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Social Media continues to perpetuate falsehoods about the case, trial and outcome. There is no safe place for Zimmerman in America today... and regardless of what you think of him as an individual, that's a problem.
  - mcphage 6y ago
    I'm not sure if he's the best example. He wasn't ruined by accusation—whether or not he killed Trayvon Martin was never in question. The question was if it was justified.
rictic 6y ago
> more so than ever before This is ahistorical. In many societies throughout history, an accusation of heresy was a mortal threat, or worse.
- Alupis 6y ago
  However, unlike today with social media, mass communication, and the internet, one could pick up and move to another city and essentially "start fresh" with their reputation. Today, there is no hiding - forever - even if you've atoned your mistakes.
  - rfrey 6y ago
    Unless you were dead, which was a distinct possibility throughout most of history for one accused of heresy (political or religious).
  - davidgay 6y ago
    > one could pick up and move to another city and essentially "start fresh" with their reputation From the wikipedia article on exile: "In Roman law, exsilium denoted both voluntary exile and banishment as a capital punishment alternative to death." When something is an alternative to death, I think it's fair to say that it was not a trivial event. "Just" moving somewhere wasn't easy, historically.
    - Alupis 6y ago
      Easy has nothing to do with it. It was possible to move cities/towns/state/country, start fresh and have people judge you by your current actions and things you say... not something you said 10 years ago late one night on twitter after a few beers.

> An accusation today can ruin a person, more so than ever before It probably can, but unfortunately the people usually held up as examples of this generally haven't actually been ruined. I mean, what are some actual examples of people who have been ruined by accusation?

Alupis 6y ago
George Zimmerman, for instance. The guy still receives death threats and worse, even though he was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Social Media continues to perpetuate falsehoods about the case, trial and outcome. There is no safe place for Zimmerman in America today... and regardless of what you think of him as an individual, that's a problem.
- mcphage 6y ago
  I'm not sure if he's the best example. He wasn't ruined by accusation—whether or not he killed Trayvon Martin was never in question. The question was if it was justified.

rictic 6y ago

> more so than ever before This is ahistorical. In many societies throughout history, an accusation of heresy was a mortal threat, or worse.

Alupis 6y ago
However, unlike today with social media, mass communication, and the internet, one could pick up and move to another city and essentially "start fresh" with their reputation. Today, there is no hiding - forever - even if you've atoned your mistakes.
- rfrey 6y ago
  Unless you were dead, which was a distinct possibility throughout most of history for one accused of heresy (political or religious).
- davidgay 6y ago
  > one could pick up and move to another city and essentially "start fresh" with their reputation From the wikipedia article on exile: "In Roman law, exsilium denoted both voluntary exile and banishment as a capital punishment alternative to death." When something is an alternative to death, I think it's fair to say that it was not a trivial event. "Just" moving somewhere wasn't easy, historically.
  - Alupis 6y ago
    Easy has nothing to do with it. It was possible to move cities/towns/state/country, start fresh and have people judge you by your current actions and things you say... not something you said 10 years ago late one night on twitter after a few beers.