Here comes the outrage hurricane! The dangerous trend of internet rage

One thing about society currently that is very disturbing is the rapid and uninformed outrage that happens when stories break.  Most are true or based in truth, but incomplete.  Doesn’t matter, time to rage.  I saw a story recently that should be the learning moment for these things: The Cubs baseball incident.  A video came out where a gentleman got a foul ball that a kid in front of him missed, he picked it up and handed it to a lady, who was very apathetically on a phone.  The internet exploded.  This heartless jerk stole a ball from a little kid.  He was found and harassed online, his job was threatened, his life was threatened, and even his lady was targeted.

The problem?  Turns out he had given the last three foul balls to kids around him…and the kid that missed that ball already had been handed a signed ball earlier in the game.  The Cubs team had to get involved to protect the fan from the onslaught.  What if they hadn’t?  What if the guy was fired and lost his job?  Maybe then loses his house?  Maybe gets divorced over financial strain?  No one would care, it’s time to destroy the next guy!

This is normal for politics, but it’s creeping into everything.  Reporters break stories, some one-sided, the internet gas can is tossed.  The irony is that if people just shut up for a couple days, the flash mob of tweeters and Facebook posters has already moved on to the next thing.  Everyone wants the moral bank account filled with likes and retweets more than learning the whole story.

As to the latest topic du jour, if Urban Meyer was covering up a violent abuser on his staff, he should be fired.  We don’t know if he was.  It looks bad, but “we” don’t know that currently.  I also would ask – is anyone to blame?  I heard the interview with the ex-wife of the fired coach and she mentioned her own parents and in-laws discouraged her from filing charges.  Is anyone upset with them?  Any other coaches to blame?  If someone is a wife abuser and is say, an accountant, do we fire their bosses?  Never.  Not once.  High profile person?  Hell yes, burn them down.  It make us feel better, whether it’s justified or not.

It’s very easy to run to a computer less than five hours after the first information leaks out and type a diatribe.  It’s much more prudent to find out more and let our weakening standard of innocent until proven guilty take its course.  Thomas Jefferson said it was better for 10 guilty men to go free than one innocent one to be wrongfully convicted.  I wonder if anyone agrees with that anymore.  Social media sure doesn’t.  Zach Smith never did one day in jail for abusing his wife, let’s not forget that.  Let’s also not determine guilt OR innocence by what team we root for or our desire to get some likes.  When more comes out, then we can build the guillotines.