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I do like Facebook. You stay in touch with nice people, share in their lives, meet long lost school mates and learn all the latest gossip about your town. Yes, there are embarrassing extroverts in gruesome poses but, in all honesty: There's an element of comedy even in their crude displays. Things take a turn for the worse when not so nice guys use Facebook to go off about anything that doesn't fit into their concept of the world. To prevent this and put an early stop to virtual mobs, Facebook has come up with community guidelines. They basically state that we should all be nice to each other and (important!) should not show too much naked skin. Too bad that doesn't work.
Because not everyone plays nice with others. That's nothing new, arguments will happen in every family - but not witch hunts and calls for violence. That's when things get ugly. And pretty nuts at least for a European. Believe you me, I'm trying hard to respect cultural and religious differences but every once in a while I fail miserably. We seem to take a very different view on what's intolerable on Facebook compared to US Americans. I don't know about you but my fear of bare breasts is fairly limited.
The female breast is one of the first things we get to see at the beginning of our lives and hopefully the last thing at its end (as a male). All the more surprising that the sight of Janet Jackson's bare breast send an entire nation into uproar, causing panic and trauma in 2004. Suits were filled in the millions which has led broadcasters to always add a delay to these broadcast to nib potential and epic catastrophes in the bud. Hard to imagine the civil war two breasts would have spawned. Maybe we would be marveling at a hole in the ground where the USA had been if that had happened.
Things are different with political and social views. This is where the United States allow a degree of personal freedom of speech that covers all possible extremes. It is believed that a healthy democracy can sustain group members with weird hoods, swastikas or similar accessories. Only when these individuals commit "hate crimes" will the judicial system spring into action.
Something similar is currently happening on Facebook. Once reported, anything that portraits nudity in any way shape or form is immediately taken offline. That's fine, since I'm not too keen on Facebook becoming a porn site and many visitors are under age. But something strange happens with posts that call for violence or are dripping with racism and sexism: nothing. That's not entirely correct since you are given something: a standard text block. They have reviewed the post in question and they are utterly against all forms of racism and violence but they were unable to find anything that goes against their community guidelines.
You may be wondering why calling for murder and spreading hatred isn't enough. Has Facebook simply hired three students that send out these text blocks without careful consideration? Are they really reading these posts? Do they require posts to satisfy a bunch of formal criteria ("I FIRST NAME LAST NAME, hereby confirm that I have called on others to hate / kill the following individuals" before they get deleted? Do they require a notarially certified signature to signal intent unmistakably? Facebook has, certainly without intent, created a legal vacuum, free of nudism but also devoid of humanity for some individuals.
This is not about contradictory opinions or heated discussions. We all have different views on current affairs, anything's open for debate and sometimes blatant stupidity sends us into a rage. This is about hatred, pure, threatening and infectious. Whenever humans are being denied their right to existence a line is crossed that must not be crossed. This must not remain without consequence.
What is discussed here is an end result of the lack of tuition from a very early age of a very simple attitude in life - MANNERS. A respect for another human being. Think about it
Facebook should ban all advertisements, because it is
85% blocking my other inputs, eg messages
I personally am not against freedom of speech but I believe that that hate messages are against the ethics and mores of humans, Perhaps the senders are not human?
The last two sentences of your commentary echo the cries of "man" to address the unreasonable and unreasoning attitudes and impulses that have plagued us for millennia. They reflect what is good in us and are essential elements of society. That said, it has been my observation (among many others smarter than I am) that greed, fear, mendacity, cruelty, and a desire to dominate are a part of the human condition. It can be the result of being consciously or unconsciously, taught these traits, having been a victim of them while growing up, as well as, physical abnormalities within the brain that make it difficult, or even impossible, for a person to behave in a socially acceptable manner.
As a result of the above, the crossing of a societally determined "line" will always be with us. That does not mean we should stop striving to better the way humans interact, but it does indicate that setting such a line may not deter a certain percentage of the population. Even "consequences" do not necessarily help to change behaviors in such people.
Speaking of "consequences", are they for the purpose of punishment or reform? You may have heard the phrase that "locked doors keep the 'honest' people honest". In other words, they remove the temptation for those who would accept rules, norms, and the possibility of punishment. Not so for those who, for whatever reason, are not influenced by those outside of their limited sphere.
Where is this going? Free speech is tricky. Presumably, we don't want to discourage the exchange of ideas, no matter how foreign or odious they may be to our sensibilities. Even demeaning others may have to be tolerated as long as it does not advocate "Action" that is contrary to civil law. We do have a moral and ethical responsibility to register our dissatisfaction with those views that express anti-humanistic opinion and rhetoric. At he same time, we must be able to define what is unacceptable under civil law and the consequences of its abrogation. In the end, it also means that we must accept that evil is in the world and it is our responsibility to expose it for what it is, while punishing horrendous and evil actions.
For what it is worth - The author is in my opinion correct. The puritanical stance by facebook and it's interventions result from harsh blanket rules.
This broad brush approach is little different from governments and 'catch all' legislation they develop.
The real worry isn't a bit of tinsel called Facebook, but when governments reach that same Valhalla. The solution will of course be repetition of history and it's violence in order to reset to liberty, if only for a short while!
I am a member of a small group of people who lived and worked in Papua New Guinea. Somebody in the Facebook police HQ removed some perfectly normal bare breasted images of women and girls doing normal things. Not content with that - they went further and blacklisted those who posted the images and comments - meant not as porn, but simply how PNG really is.
"Welcome to the Machine" for you are "Another Brick In The Wall".
I wholheartedly agree with everthind you have said I hate the way a person is intimidated by the words of others I wish the the world was a safe enviroment for everybody where people could get along with others and people wre safe wherever they lived.
Nicely put. I find it ironic that as Facebook IS supposed to be a place for friendly folks, that the community guidelines allow for pure hatred. Also a bit sad.
Good post!
Pax,
N.
Totally agree, you can't show a nipple but you can post a video of some extremist decapitating there wife.
Really says a lot about Facebook values.
With the average age of the Facebook user now being forty it's a dying fad with most youngsters now using snapchat and similar software for social media.
Facebook will be a victim of there own morality imposed on others around the world and sadly it makes us Europeans think all Americans are like this.
If you just want to keep in touch with family and friends then fine but the death of Facebook will be caused by
its own very distorted republican morals.
Just love this article, it says what I'm thinking.
It's to weird for words that a woman without breasts, due cancer, with a tatoo on her chest was banned from FB because she was "naked", nothing was showed but the beautifull tatoo.
Freedom if speech is a two edged sword, adding anonymity to the mix encourages those with weaker social skills to "act out." Some years ago when I first introduced inter-office electronic communications (e-mail) to my company I emphasized two basic rules of etiquette:
1 - Never use all capitals or large bold fonts because it implies shouting
2 - Never say anything in writing that you would not say to the recipient in person, while they were holding a club.
As far as anatomical display, as an octogenarian I find an occasional exhibition of natural youth and beauty better than any pharmaceutical that can be dispensed. A smile is the best medicine.
In conclusion, keep your voice down and bring back the "Ta-Ta"s.
Well stated, I wonder where it will go from here?
Maybe we could set up a system to post en block with thousands of messages to fill up their sites with standard notice of complaint . Maybe then people won't bother with them and maybe they'd get the message.
It's a shame that people are small minded and generally adopt a thug attitude to things they do not understand.
Face book has evolved, and sadly makes an intrusion into many people's lives. Not always for the good.
If the radicals have a drum to beat, is it possible that their low intellect can be taught to understand that by standing on the street corner shouting will achieve roughly the same low intellect recruits as by using the social media.
More sensorship is needed on social media sites
I'm not a political or social genius... in fact I'm a "regular, plain Jane" kind of person but the comments above are exactly how I feel. Thank you for posting this.
I agree. The stupidity that is perpetuating the hate posts in America is becoming intolerable. True, I can unfollow or delete these malcontents, but they continue spewing their venom to others. Facebook is selective in who/what they censor. Either censor all or censor none. Our biggest problem started 500 years ago when Europe threw out the crazies. America was the recipient of these radical hordes. The minority has managed to hijack sanity under the guise of political correctness. I, for one, would love to see an occasional breast. God must be laughing his butt off at America.
For these very reasons I have never used (nor do I have any intention to ever use) any of the so called social media; even if did I once, foolishly, register with Facebook.
I have used computers for many, many years but it is only recently that I joined the users of Internet. (2010)
I was fortunate enough to have a book published in 2012 but sales have been poor. My publisher tells me (only now) that the onus is on the author to use the social media to advertise his work. Seems like the wrong way around to me. I neither have the time nor the inclination to do this.
I use email and Skype to communicate because it is direct. Who needs more, as a normal busy, family person?
The monstrous misuse of the social media is no less than, by any description, frighteningly dangerous.
One is reminded of "emergent radio stations" in the mid twentieth century used to spread uncontrolled, radical propaganda. The stuff that led the world into destructive wars.
you make some great points and your style is strong but not strident. my greatest concern with Facebook is how I sells you, your likes, your comments, your uploads, your face, and your data to a corporation. the NSA is really not spying on us. they have targeted certain materials, the corporations that mine date like that on Facebook are more insidious. Big Brother has come with a smiley face.
There should be a thumbs down button so that the first ammendment rights are protected but a note that hate is being called for is present.
This is spot on. Here in Australia, I don't recall a single time a hate- based or violence-based post has been removed by facebook for violation of their standards.
Precisely! Add to that all the copy-cat crime that is committed simply because some idiots saw it on Facebook or the sensationalist media.
Well done, Sven. I agree with you 100%.
Here's a solution that has worked well for me--do not use Facebook...
Facebook is the mirror of stupid humanity!