beasts of twitter

     The New York Times yesterday had an article titled,

Artists and Writers Warn of an 'Intolerant Climate.'  Reaction Is Swift.

----------------------------------



...from the Reader Comments:

Oregon trail
Salem, Oregon
------->  It seems to me that the hostile reaction to this letter proves the letter-writers' point quite well.


TJ
United States
------->  A letter like this is long overdue - enough with the twitter mob mentality.  Let's leave that behind and begin winning hearts & minds with love, patience, intellect, open debate & compassion - understanding that everyone has their own biases, imperfections, strengths, weaknesses.  

Let's encourage each other to grow and assume the best intentions in people.  The biggest, most positive transformations in my own life came from love & thoughtfulness, never shame and anger.



John in Georgia
Atlanta
------->  Don't let the Right's caricature of the Left become truth.  The sentiments of this letter are the essentials of a free society.  Thousands should sign this letter.  

It's scary that people can't agree with this, and it's reminiscent of the early '50s and McCarthyism that people are being criticized for holding a view because of other (unfavored) people who hold the same view.




Emma
Monterey Bay
------->  I hesitantly joined Twitter recently for professional reasons despite a strong impression that it was a bitter hellscape.  

Boy was I correct.  

Twitter is a sad and depressing place that amplifies all our worst communication instincts.  


People who express even the slightest confusion or critique of complex issues can be shamed and deluged by hysterical, self righteous indignation from all corners of the political spectrum.  




Tweets made in moments of weakness or poor judgment haunt you forever.  Young adults pay a price for comments made years ago when they were literally children.  

It is shaming writ large -- a global mob serving as judge, jury and executioner.  

And yet journalists report on Twitter, validating what happens there as rational and important.  We go there for news and information, accepting the destruction of complex thought and open debate like it's no big deal.  



I think the structure of Twitter is itself the problem.  We have legal systems in place because humans are judgmental, cruel, group-thinking beasts.  Any technology that circumvents those systems & amplifies our worst qualities is inherently dangerous to civil society.


Zareen
Earth
------->  "An attack upon our ability to tell stories is not just censorship - it is a crime against our nature as human beings." -- Salman Rushdie

30-