I’m sitting here today as it is wet and miserable outside.
I’m recovering from a sore wrist after getting a real close look at the pavement outside an Asian market in Portland, Maine. Yeah, not fun.
Anyway I’ve been kind of holding off on writing about a few things that have seemed to dominate a lot of social media, especially in the online reviewer/commentator community. Those being the ongoing issues in Ferguson, Missouri as well as Gamergate. Well, since I wanted to do something different than my stretch of pro wrestling articles lately I figure it was time to look at things.
Now I’m putting these two together because this isn’t so much about the events themselves, but the reactions to both events that quite frankly, I’ve found to be disturbing on BOTH sides of the arguments, and probably a commentator on online social justice as a whole.
First in the event surrounding Michael Brown’s death in Missouri. I’m not going to sit here and make a big spiel about how the truth is being covered up and go on and on about what is “Really going on” because you know what? I’m not there. I can’t tell you what is being covered up, what is transpiring, and what is really going on because I’m halfway across the country. But there seems to be a whole lot more people who seem to “know” what is going on there than there are actual people taking part in the protests or in the area.
Now this isn’t me accusing people of saying they are there when they are not. My point is that it seems people on such media sites like Tumblr and Twitter and such like to gather up posts and tweets supporting their mindset and present it in an unquestioned, gospel truth, and expect you to do the same without looking into anything yourself. These activists may not be doing things maliciously, in fact I would say a majority of them aren’t, but don’t seem to be helping things as much as they think they are.
I’m not discrediting any of the actual witnesses, residents of the town, or those taking part in the protests. What I am saying is that it is up to YOU as a person to decide what is what. Don’t just take random posts on the internet as fact and then shove it in everyone else’s faces to prove the point you are trying to make. Research this stuff on your own and find sources of information you find credible. It’s real easy to get swept up in the social and political issues of this whole thing. Not everyone out there is driven to show the truth, not everyone is AWARE that they aren’t interested in telling the whole truth. Question things. Don’t just jump on someone’s bandwagon blindly. Bad things happen when you do that, no matter what “side” you are on. You don’t have to be a private investigator, but know what you need to filter out, regardless if it in support of your opinion or not.
For me what brought this string of thoughts about was I remember very early on, posters on Tumblr were proclaiming that the news media was completely wrong and trying to distort the truth because Michael Brown wasn’t even in the store he allegedly stole from, that the police were never contacted about a robbery, and that he had nothing to do with anything. Since then the store security video has shown a lot of that wasn’t true, and even then there are some people who still deny everything that happens in that video. It was knee jerk reactions to ill-informed social media posts that did nothing but spread false information just to be on the right side of the argument. It did nothing to further either cause.
Even if you don’t trust national news media, that doesn’t mean that finding the first person you see post on Tumblr is a reliable source either. Look into things and don’t just take what you find at face value right from the beginning. Find sources you do trust, wherever that may be. There are a whole lot of knee jerk reactions that sometimes get made into more than they should in events like this.
The other big social media hoopla of course is the Gamgergate issue and just all the related issues with sexism in the video gaming industry. This has been commented on to no end, even by fellow online content producers and is a real hot button issue, even to the points of death threats made to people involved and even those that aren’t.
The other big social media hoopla of course is the Gamgergate issue and just all the related issues with sexism in the video gaming industry. This has been commented on to no end, even by fellow online content producers and is a real hot button issue, even to the points of death threats made to people involved and even those that aren’t.
Again, this article isn’t meant to take sides but to take a look at the reaction people have been having to it, which in itself has been part of the story. This goes beyond the death threats made to Anita Sarkeesian and others. I don’t need to sit here and write about how wrong that stuff is. It’s more then that. Since this has exploded, I’ve seen remarks for people online on both sides of the argument using sexists, racist, and just flat out threatening language against others. If your best argument against someone’s opinion contains anything about what gender you are, what your skin color is, or anything to that degree, congratulations you are not helping and just look like an ass. I read a conversation between the two viewpoints and one poster’s counter argument was just a cartoon with a line “Stop Everything! A white man has an opinion” said sarcastically. And the worst part was, was this was just accepted that this person had to sit down and shut up because the color of his skin and his gender.
Read that last sentence again. Doesn’t make much of a compelling argument does it?
Gang, remember that online, everyone has a voice and there isn’t a filter. As soon as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the like come into play to try and discredit someone else’s argument, then it’s a discussion that you should think twice about having. This is already a big enough deal in online communities without having hate speech through around by people trying to defend their points of view. EVERYONE needs to remember that there are better ways of making your point then using hate speech to discredit the opposing side.
I’m not a big fan of Online Social Justice, honestly. I commend those people in Missouri for actually going out and doing something instead of sitting hundreds of miles away using hashtags and Tumblr posts and thinking they are the ones making the difference. I’ve been a believer of actually doing something for change instead of making a tweet on your coffee break from work I’m a fan of trying to make real change instead of using viel hate speech labels like “Ableists” and the like. But Social media has done some good things when used right by people who know what they are doing. With situations such as these I’m an advocate for not making things into right or wrong, yes or no, black or white, all or nothing. Inform yourself. ASK questions, find reliable information to form your own opinions. You don’t have to take a side and accept EVERYTHING that is said on that side of the argument. The more you question and the more you find out for yourself, the more you realize that the truth isn’t always one side or the other, but usually somewhere in between.
But then again I’m just a guy at his computer.
You can find my books here
And support me on Patreon
RT Gomer Productions 