In the wake of Saturday's awful terrorist attack, I'm finding the politics of the aftermath quite difficult to handle. I'd like to first say that this incident was most definitely a terrorist attack perpetrated by white-nationalist neo-Nazis, and our President's inability to call it what it is was disgusting and telling of who he has aligned himself with. And his "clarification" today did nothing. His time for calling out the terrorists had passed. Today was just damage control - read clearly from a teleprompter to save what little face he has left.
My issue is with how this awful and heartbreaking attack is being handled online. Well-meaning people are researching the photos of the march, and are calling out members by name. In the internet world, it's known as doxxing. While I feel anyone who aligns themselves with the white power movement is morally bankrupt, I stop short of finding doxxing a good form of retaliation, because then, where does it end? We're horrified when good people like Felicia Day are doxxed online by misogynists who think she's "ruining gaming." But these same people that were horrified by this incident, are some of the ones that are releasing personal information of the white-power marchers.
I just feel that by releasing this information online, they're stooping to the same level of these hateful people. These white power marchers deserve the backlash that is coming to them. They're hateful, and believe in an ideal system that is morally reprehensible and unforgivable. But rising up and being the better people in the face of their hate, may be the more logical path to peace. I'm not naive enough to think that love is the only answer to this horrifying ordeal, but a little love, patience and restraint never hurt.
0 comments:
Post a Comment