It's such an omnipresent aspect of our life that we sometimes forget it, but the internet is amazing. The fact that from almost any corner of the globe you can log on and find out everything from the score to the 1982 Super Bowl to the main exports of Thailand to thousands of opinions on basically any political issue to what your ex-boyfriend's new cat looks like in a Katy Perry outfit-it's stunning. The internet may be about as close to world peace as we'll get in my lifetime (or anyone's lifetime), considering that it's such a great equalizer and gives voice to so many.
And yet, it's also worth remembering that the internet is also a horrible place, particularly if you're a minority, where trolling and the ugliness of random comments sections have made it commonplace to see the cruelest and most vile of language. This, like the internet's crazy awesomeness, has become so commonplace that we just ignore it. We watch a YouTube video knowing that the comments section will be littered with profanity and bile for the creator of the clip. We see the most mundane of tweets from our favorite celebrities turn into a reason to write horrific messages and even dangerous-sounding threats.
So I first want to applaud Ashley Judd for saying, "enough is enough" here. Anti-bullying campaigns have become, in this author's opinion, a tad bit ridiculous in that they are too large in scope and because some of the people who espouse them (cough Perez Hilton cough Lady Gaga) end up bullying others just as frequently. However here we have a much more specific scope to look within, as Ms. Judd is specifically calling out those who threaten her with violence and with horrible language.
Under the law, it's worth noting, of course, that Ms. Judd has recourse only in a few of these cases. Threats or violent statements made against the actress should be followed up on and prosecuted. These sorts of things happen with haunting regularity on social media, and I think that sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube should take a more proactive stance against them, because they are not only illegal but extremely frightening. The CEO of Twitter himself has commented on how the company has done a poor job of addressing this, and they need to do a better job of partnering with law enforcement to prosecute people who say violent or threatening things online. Not only will this mean that these criminals (because that's what they are) are sentenced for their behavior, but it would hopefully decelerate such speech elsewhere online.
Because unfortunately, as heinous and horrible as some of the remaining speech is, it's technically under the umbrella of freedom of speech. This isn't to say that it's right, and it's a weird sort of conundrum, since if someone said some of these things in person to Ms. Judd, it would border certainly on harassment and perhaps they would be arrested, or at least subject to a restraining order. And that might be what happens here, because freedom of speech is something we value, but it's not something that should come without consequences. Political speech, for example, is something that frequently has consequences-you can say whatever you want, but that doesn't mean that other people shouldn't be able to react to you or forced to nod courteously with you. "I may not like what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it," is an argument frequently trotted out in arguments for Freedom of Speech, but it seems to imply that you simply turn the other cheek. If someone does something truly awful that is deeply prejudiced or insulting to a group of people or to a person, it's not just time to ignore or click unfriend, it's also the time to publicly deride such a person. People frequently talk about how trolls just want attention, but they also don't want any ramifications for their ridiculousness, and Freedom of Speech doesn't necessarily mean Freedom from Repercussions or Absolute Anonymity.
Perhaps that's the solution here, in fact, with someone of Ms. Judd's celebrity taking the reigns of the story. Inevitably some people are going to be exposed for the online hatemongers that they are, and while they may simply get a restraining order, the damage is going to be done, and I have a hard time feeling sympathy for them or worrying about freedom of expression taking a huge hit here. People frequently tell celebrities or public figures to suck it up and take it, that's what happens when you're famous, but that doesn't just apply to movie stars. Everyone has the right to say or hear anything they so choose, but when you decide to, in a public forum, publicly lambast, deride, and harass a public figure in a way that you wouldn't dream of doing in real life, you open yourself up for the ramifications of that speech. You won't be sent to jail if you call someone something ugly, but the court of public opinion has the right to weigh in as well.
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