In the pre-Facebook olden days, when someone went astray, they were condemned to wear a scarlet letter on their chest proclaiming their misdeeds for the world to see. For you young whippersnappers, read "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's a classic.
We don't need fancy embroidered letter "A"s anymore. We have Facebook.
Many of us may be familiar with another lesson from the really olden days: A woman is condemned to being stoned after being caught committing an offense considered highly inappropriate by her society, although it was one that was probably committed all the time. She just happened to get caught. A wise man who happened to be passing through was asked for his judgment on her, and he replied that the one without sin should go ahead and cast the first stone. Everyone skedaddled. Every potential stone-thrower there was guilty of something- maybe not what that woman was guilty of, but something.
I absolutely do not understand the need that some people have to publicly shame others on social media. An excellent example of this is the traffic violator. Someone will be driving down the road or in a parking lot, and they will spy another vehicle being operated in what they view to be an inappropriate manner, so they take a picture of it (hopefully while they are not driving) and put it on Facebook. Stand back and watch the fireworks! Like the rest of us have never in our lives committed a traffic violation.
Explain to me. Why do people do this? What are they expecting to happen? Are we all supposed to go hunt that driver down and flog them in the town square with a driving manual? Pain a big red "P" on their car for "Parking Violator"?
What is with the public social media shaming? None of us are perfect. Why do we feel the need to point out others' wrongdoings in public? Is it to stir the pot? Is it so that we can indulge in the Dana Carvey superior dance? Is it because we think that we're providing a benefit to society?
One of the things I've learned as a parent: there are always at least three sides of a story: Kid #1's version, Kid #2's version, and the truth, almost always somewhere in the middle.
Just maybe, there's more to the situation than what might be apparent at first.
For example, your neighbor's yard hasn't been mowed in four weeks? Maybe there was a death in the family. Maybe someone is struggling with chronic illness. You could ask them, if you know them. Or maybe you don't know them, but you're the angel they're waiting for. Hey, do you need help with your yard? Maybe they're just irresponsible homeowners who don't care- and that's what code enforcement is for.
But wow, wouldn't it suck to post that picture of the house on Facebook only to find out that homeowner just lost his wife to cancer?
I'm certainly not saying that people should get away with wrongdoing. Fortunately, we live in a place where systems exist to handle violators, lawbreakers and evildoers. Those systems do not involve public shaming of individuals on Facebook so that they can be tried and found guilty by anyone with a Facebook account.
When we judge people like this by publicly pointing out their perceived wrongdoings on a whim, we could potentially be affecting their lives in many ways- their relationships with others, their livelihoods, their reputations, their personal safety. That might be all fun and games.
Until it happens to you or to someone you hold dear.
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