Two things trouble me even more than the lack of consequences.
One is the willingness with which we, as media consumers, seem to be willing to lap up accusations against unidentified (or unidentifiable) perpetrators. Falsely accusing identifiable perpetrators is messy and leads to all sorts of unpleasantness like pushback and defamation…
Two things trouble me even more than the lack of consequences.
One is the willingness with which we, as media consumers, seem to be willing to lap up accusations against unidentified (or unidentifiable) perpetrators. Falsely accusing identifiable perpetrators is messy and leads to all sorts of unpleasantness like pushback and defamation lawsuits. Nobodies can't defend themselves, and they can't sue. We should always be a bit more cautious here than we are.
The other is our newfound acceptance of collective punishment. We know it is wrong in elementary school when the teacher keeps the whole class after school because someone wrote a dirty word on the board. We know it is wrong when it happens in prison and in labor camps, and when it is perpetrated on minority populations (Uyghurs, Rohingya, Tutsis, just to name a few in my own lifetime). Yet here we are, and people who should know better - say, academics and political figures with big microphones - argue unashamedly in favor of it.
It would be helpful if those who falsely accuse others, real or imaginary, would face punishment. It would be more helpful if we stop pointing fingers and hold this behavior to account when we see it.
Two things trouble me even more than the lack of consequences.
One is the willingness with which we, as media consumers, seem to be willing to lap up accusations against unidentified (or unidentifiable) perpetrators. Falsely accusing identifiable perpetrators is messy and leads to all sorts of unpleasantness like pushback and defamation lawsuits. Nobodies can't defend themselves, and they can't sue. We should always be a bit more cautious here than we are.
The other is our newfound acceptance of collective punishment. We know it is wrong in elementary school when the teacher keeps the whole class after school because someone wrote a dirty word on the board. We know it is wrong when it happens in prison and in labor camps, and when it is perpetrated on minority populations (Uyghurs, Rohingya, Tutsis, just to name a few in my own lifetime). Yet here we are, and people who should know better - say, academics and political figures with big microphones - argue unashamedly in favor of it.
It would be helpful if those who falsely accuse others, real or imaginary, would face punishment. It would be more helpful if we stop pointing fingers and hold this behavior to account when we see it.