Opinion: Tweet A Mile In His Shoes

There was a time you could argue whether or not the world was indeed at war. Today I see that we are engaged in all kinds of wars in all kinds of places, but I never expected my workplace or my home as possible targets. In fact, I would have argued as a child of the 1980s, before mobile phones became smaller than a box of tissues, that there was very little chance that you couldn't find somewhere to be all by yourself, cushioned, safe somewhere. Today I realized that for a very long time, and without my full comprehension, some people can find no safe-zone, not in their worlds, and maybe not even in their minds. They walk among us, they are journalists and politicians, public figures and movie stars. They have families, they have children, they have loved ones, and they have one more thing, they have an opinion and a consumer base for that opinion.

Whether publicly chosen or accidentally acquired, a byproduct of the profession or an mere chance of birth, it has never been easier to get up right in the mind of someone you love to love, or love to hate. All you need is a name and a few social media accounts, and you too can become the target of adulation, nonchalance, or the kind of hatred that used to be reserved for someone who has grievously wronged your person either in a familial sense, financially, bodily, or all of the above. But the only crime I can see, is that they have an opinion unlike yours. That is allowed.

No matter how many times I have tried to imagine the kinds of slurs and open vile rhetoric aimed at political pundits, journalists, media presenters, or politically active celebrities this american presidential election season. I knew it would be awful stuff. I could imagine some of the more obvious hatred and bigotry regarding gender, religion, color, creed, and party affiliation or perceived allegiance. I could not believe how very much I underestimated how personal the attacked would be, how openly blatantly racist, the terminology, the images tacked along with a few choice words. I was wrong, I was biased, I will never take the issue for granted.

I may not agree with everyone's politics, their perceptions, their assertions, but I would be happy to 'agree to disagree' with someone's stance or message and just walk away and live my life (likely never to think of the author or journalist). What has changed, what has broken so terribly that we no longer can leave well enough alone, we often feel compelled to comment. Comments are part of being on social media. I am very guilty of my own replies to tweets and comments lately, those to political candidates that openly challenge them on their morals or lack thereof. But I rarely dissolve into swearing, let alone say anything so lacking of intellect that I would not say it in front of parents or family members.

This goes on from time to time, I never claimed to be a saint, I am a walking contradiction most days. But I am not a public figure, I write for a few blogs, I am a healthcare professional, I was not trained a journalist, I did not seek a public life. If after a glass of wine I decide to tell a presidential candidate or two that I think they are obtuse fact vacuums, I let that flag fly -- politely.

In the last few days I have heard a number of political pundits and 'news' presenters talk about the sheer volume, absolute vitriol, and threat content of their feedback lately. Some have needed to have a greater security presence as they leave or arrive at work. Some have said that they have been targeted based on the 'ethnicity' or perceived ethnicity of at least one of their names. Tonight I read a quick tweet from a journalist regarding a joke about waiting for the 'Trump' camp to respond to yet another endorsement from a former KKK grand wizard. The fact that the Mike Pence suddenly decided that his camp are above 'labeling' and therefore would not call said person a 'deplorable', has brought the issue back to the fore. I made a typical smart-ass comment and then decided to see what others were saying about the question as to whether Pence will cave and do the right thing or again do the 'Trump' thing. What I saw was horrifying.

The writer's last name stuck me as likely having a jewish origin, whether chosen or inherited, but it never occurred to me that it mattered. Most people guess my last name is either german or jewish in origin, it is a relatively rare jewish name, bu it's not something I feel necessary to conceal from anyone in my life. So I was maybe not entirely shocked to see not a few replies that painted the author as a typical 'liberal jew', that was almost too easy. But comments about Israel, about assumed collusion with the jewish state, about the holocaust, about nazis and Zyklon-B (the poisonous gas used in the gas chambers of Hitler's 'Final Solution') were everywhere. I mean seriously some of the most offensive things I have ever seen written, all written from the first few seconds the tweet went live.

This was not a link to an article, the was just a sharing of a public tweet to people who opt to follow this particular writer. The tweet, again, that of a current republican candidate who is also deeply anti-semitic. This means at some point, these replies and comments are being made by at least one person who closely follows this writer, and perhaps many that responded to his/her public call to attack. I just could not imagine what it would be like to have almost exclusively vile retorts to my boring little sarcastic tweets. I am lucky if one of my 50-plus followers even clicks like, never mind retweets me.

What has changed in people that makes so many of them feel it is a perfectly acceptable hobby to direct reams of hatred at people they are not forced to have any interaction with? Don't like a celebrity, say it once if you have to, try hard not to respond, better yet 'unfollow' and move on to bigger and better possibilities. I realize that this could not possibly refer to all Twitter users, many are just connecting with people, current events, news, or pop-culture. But if there are this many people participating in this new 'sport' where they can hide in chosen anonymity or be publicly openly utterly ignorant, what is going on outside of public view? What came first, the drive to behave badly with impudence or the ability to behave badly and face absolutely no personal risk for doing so? Perhaps they were a match made by our own inability to anticipate how complicated our relationship with technology could be.

To every journalist working their tail off trying to get important and relevant stories to their consumers, I am sorry that your world must seem dark and thankless most days. I am sorry that no matter what you write or say, you will face ignorance, insecurity, and hatred of untold volume. Please know that those of us who are interested in comparing, contrasting, and consuming a variety of different opinions and views are thankful for your work on the battlefields of social media. I may not agree with you, but I want to live in a work where all criticism is constructive, where we can pick the sources that we deem reliable or at least well know, and we can leave a sarcastic comment without seeing it alongside some of the most hateful speech on the internet.