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The speed at which Twitter is amplifying and targeting public discontent is getting a little scary. It's becoming the digital equivalent of public stoning.

by dstein 15y ago

AndrewMoffat 15y ago
Twitter isn't really amplifying it, people are. It's the dynamics of an angry mob. Twitter just facilitates communication that's closer to a group of people in real-time than previously possible.
alexqgb 15y ago
That's a fairly good sign that the legal system has been co-opted to the point where reasonable settlements are no longer possible. In this case, it's worth noting that the troll (who is very VERY rich) was, himself, making absurd threats of ruinous financial violence. Indeed, that's what has infuriated so many people. The gag-order that Maisel tried (and failed) to attach to the settlement only underscored (a) his odious personal nature and (b) the sense that, shrill arguments aside, he was knowingly in the wrong. That is to say, nobody who wins a fair fight fairly feels any need to hush up the details. It's also worth noting that unlike, say, an actual witch-hunt, or a mob interested in keeping a marginalized group on the outs, the most well-known cases are focused - almost exclusively - on egregious bullies, this example being a case-in-point. It's almost as though the body politic is developing an autoimmune response after excessive exposure to a dangerous pathogen. The core of the issue is that we have a system of "public" law that has been transformed into a tool for private abuse by the rare few who can afford to use it. As such, it is no longer available for more widespread and lower-stake dispute resolution. This civic loss is considered "unacceptable collateral damage" by those few who'd restrict use of the courts to their own enrichment. The growing presence of justifiably angry mobs who are willing to target bullies suggests that isn't the case. A democracy is only as good as it's justice system. Ours, quite frankly, is a mess. If the street is the only source of protection for the majority of people, we've lurched a step closer to open class warfare, and that's a very sorry state indeed.

The speed at which Twitter is amplifying and targeting public discontent is getting a little scary. It's becoming the digital equivalent of public stoning.

by dstein 15y ago

The speed at which Twitter is amplifying and targeting public discontent is getting a little scary. It's becoming the digital equivalent of public stoning.

AndrewMoffat 15y ago

Twitter isn't really amplifying it, people are. It's the dynamics of an angry mob. Twitter just facilitates communication that's closer to a group of people in real-time than previously possible.

alexqgb 15y ago

That's a fairly good sign that the legal system has been co-opted to the point where reasonable settlements are no longer possible. In this case, it's worth noting that the troll (who is very VERY rich) was, himself, making absurd threats of ruinous financial violence. Indeed, that's what has infuriated so many people. The gag-order that Maisel tried (and failed) to attach to the settlement only underscored (a) his odious personal nature and (b) the sense that, shrill arguments aside, he was knowingly in the wrong. That is to say, nobody who wins a fair fight fairly feels any need to hush up the details. It's also worth noting that unlike, say, an actual witch-hunt, or a mob interested in keeping a marginalized group on the outs, the most well-known cases are focused - almost exclusively - on egregious bullies, this example being a case-in-point. It's almost as though the body politic is developing an autoimmune response after excessive exposure to a dangerous pathogen. The core of the issue is that we have a system of "public" law that has been transformed into a tool for private abuse by the rare few who can afford to use it. As such, it is no longer available for more widespread and lower-stake dispute resolution. This civic loss is considered "unacceptable collateral damage" by those few who'd restrict use of the courts to their own enrichment. The growing presence of justifiably angry mobs who are willing to target bullies suggests that isn't the case. A democracy is only as good as it's justice system. Ours, quite frankly, is a mess. If the street is the only source of protection for the majority of people, we've lurched a step closer to open class warfare, and that's a very sorry state indeed.