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Don't let social media think for you

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Re: Don't let social media think for you

#261

Post by dionidium »

betwixthewires wrote: post #247
dionidium wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the mob can literally set you on fire, then you should be worried about the mob, but, crucially, the mob on social media can't actually hurt you ; they can only convince other people to hurt you. It's those other people , the people who hold positions of responsibility and authority -- your boss, your dean, anybody with the power to hire or fire you -- who are really responsible here. The shame of cancel culture…

I see your point. I'd like to ask you just out of curiosity, what do you think of "cyber bullying?" Is it real? Are participants culpable?

This is a good response. I addressed it a bit in one of my other comments above, but basically, yes, you're right -- I'm wrong to say that the actions of the mob aren't themselves harmful. It's just that it's a different harm that has to be managed differently from the other harm that's incurred when people in positions of authority bow to the mob.

Crucially, if you can find a way to ignore the mob and/or manage the onslaught from an emotional point of view, then you've solved that problem, but if your boss fires you, then it doesn't really matter how well you personally handled it.

Re: Don't let social media think for you

#262

Post by brailsafe »

nszceta wrote: post #254
brailsafe wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is some liveleak shit I'm maybe glad I didn't see.

Too graphic for LiveLeak. It would be on documentingreality instead. Also, from the wiki, in 1986, Winnie Mandela, then-wife of the imprisoned Nelson Mandela, stated, "With our boxes of matches, and our necklaces, we shall liberate this country", which was widely seen as an explicit endorsement of necklacing. Lovely.

It definitely wouldn't have been too graphic for liveleak a few years ago. There was plenty of cartel videos for example.

Re: Don't let social media think for you

#263

Post by AndrewUnmuted »

Syonyk wrote: post #105
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's Vegas in your pocket, without any of the regulations and rules Vegas casinos have to abide by > I'm in favor of some regulation on this sort of stuff You really nailed the problem but I am not so sure about your solution. The gambling industry's regulations do not do very much to reduce the volume of lives ruined by the gambling industry. We've been gambling since the paleolithic period, and like other vices,…

> The gambling industry's regulations do not do very much to reduce the volume of lives ruined by the gambling industry. No, but if I walk into a casino, there's at least some chance I can come out with more money than I went in with. Consider a slot machine app. Not only do you have no idea what the payout is, you're guaranteed to lose money if you pay for any coins in that game, which I assure you, people do. For r…

A lot of people strike gold on social media, as well.

The list of people who had their 15 minutes of fame on social media platforms is endless and constantly growing.

Re: Don't let social media think for you

#264

Post by exporectomy »

jfengel wrote: post #257
SamBam wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nooses used to represent suicide or maybe western movie culture. The race thing seems to have been kind of resurrected by social media. I'm sorry, but this is just ignorant of American history. Lynchings were part of a reign of terror that whites, mostly in the South, inflicted on Blacks for over a hundred years. Between 1882 and 1968 over 3000 black men were lynched by mobs. Families would go and have picnics, bri…

The noose continues to be used as a symbol of terror: https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/29345568/nasca... It's disappointing how explicitly and consistently HN responds to discussions of slightly-subtle racism with a very explicit not-at-all-subtly-racist pretension that it doesn't exist. "It doesn't bother me therefore it shouldn't bother you" and "You should look at the context", as if being black isn't…

What an odd example to give. The symbolism was hyped up by the media in recent times, consistent with this noose=racism idea being modern. Also, it wasn't an actual symbol of terror because it turned out to be an innocent door pull rope.

Re: Don't let social media think for you

#265

Post by SamBam »

exporectomy wrote: post #264
jfengel wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The noose continues to be used as a symbol of terror: https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/29345568/nasca... It's disappointing how explicitly and consistently HN responds to discussions of slightly-subtle racism with a very explicit not-at-all-subtly-racist pretension that it doesn't exist. "It doesn't bother me therefore it shouldn't bother you" and "You should look at the context", as if being black isn't…

What an odd example to give. The symbolism was hyped up by the media in recent times, consistent with this noose=racism idea being modern. Also, it wasn't an actual symbol of terror because it turned out to be an innocent door pull rope.

Funny how you replied to that comment, and not my comment above it, which made it absolutely clear that the noose being a symbol of racist lynching is absolutely not modern. It was the reality for millions of black people living in the South for over a hundred years, where there were decades with an average of one lynching every four days.

And yes, it was a symbol as well as a reality. Here is a noose carried by a Klansman to threaten Black people and keep them from voting in 1939 [1]. Here is a mock lynching at the University of Mississippi in 1962, to scare off the university's first Black student [2]. Black men at work would find nooses at their stations [3]. Nooses were mailed to NAACP Secretary, and in 1956 a noose was hung in a schoolyard tree during a battle over desegregation [4].

You said yourself you're an "outside observer of American culture." Well, this is a history lesson. The noose has been an extremely potent symbol of terror for over a hundred years.

1. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/masked-ku-klux-klan...

2. https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200623111206-noose-do...

3. https://www.adl.org/media/10204/download

4. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-shuler-noose-hat...

Re: Don't let social media think for you

#266

Post by exporectomy »

SamBam wrote: post #265
exporectomy wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What an odd example to give. The symbolism was hyped up by the media in recent times, consistent with this noose=racism idea being modern. Also, it wasn't an actual symbol of terror because it turned out to be an innocent door pull rope.

Funny how you replied to that comment, and not my comment above it, which made it absolutely clear that the noose being a symbol of racist lynching is absolutely not modern. It was the reality for millions of black people living in the South for over a hundred years, where there were decades with an average of one lynching every four days. And yes, it was a symbol as well as a reality. Here is a noose carried by a Kl…

I didn't know all that. But it looks like it changed from a symbol of terror to a symbol of suicide in the subsequent decades. Resurrecting its old meaning still seems to be a modern invention created as a reason to be offended by dredging up the past.
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