Internet meanies

Posted by Jesus on March 21, 2007

Although many of you prayed in asking for a story about the boy found in the woods, I want to talk about something else today. True, it’s very important that he was found alive, and I’m hearing no end to the thank you’s and appreciations for keeping him so (you’re welcome, by the way), but you’ve all kind of lost track of what’s really critical in the world. I don’t mind you praying for his safe return, and I definitely don’t mind you rejoicing after the fact, but I’ve had enough of your nastiness and ill will, especially at prayer time. Just because I chose to keep this young man alive doesn’t mean I should have done the same for James Kim, or those mountain climbers on Hood, or any of the other poor souls some of you have come to me complaining about. It’s perfectly alright to ask, and better to praise, but there is no room for criticism in your prayers.

And that brings us to our point tonight. According to this article you’re all turning into really cruel people because of the Internet.

From the article:

“The Internet really amplifies everything,” says Jeffrey Cole, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. “We have a lot of opinions out there. All of a sudden there’s a place we can go to share them.” Add to that the freedom that anonymity provides, he says, and it “can lead to a rowdy Wild West situation, with no one to filter it.”

Indeed, anonymity on the Internet is a problem. With no one to hold you all accountable you feel compelled to spew whatever comes to mind with no regard for the thoughts and feelings of everyone else. It’s too bad that it took anonymity for your real selves to come out, too. I guess the good news on that front is that with your newly found mean spiritedness on the Internet, such sentiment is also growing in the real world. If nothing else at least you’re starting to be a little bit honest with one another, which of course is important because it means you’re not flagrantly violating a Commandment. A bigger problem though is people who are getting upset at what’s being said anonymously on the Internet.

From the article:

When a California woman recently gave birth to a healthy baby just two days after learning she was pregnant, the sudden change to her life was challenging enough. What April Branum definitely didn’t need was a deluge of nasty Internet comments.

Postings on message boards made cracks about Branums weight (about 400 pounds one reason she says didn’t realize sooner she was pregnant). They also analyzed her housekeeping ability, based on a photo of her home. And they called her names. A pig is a pig, one person wrote. Another suggested that she go on the show The Biggest Loser.

While I’m saddened that my people would throw verbal stones in this case, honesty via cruelty is sometimes more useful than lies under the guise of being civil. The woman does weigh a lot, so much so that she wasn’t aware that she was pregnant. Do I really need to answer as to whether she maybe needs a little criticism in her life? If we’re not going to tolerate damage done to children through abortion and being raised in Christ-free or gay households, why would we allow an unborn child to be potentially hurt by a mother unable to determine whether or not she was carrying? I’m concerned that you’re being mean in the way you’re saying it, but I’m glad at least some of you see the importance of feedback in this matter.

You see, this openness and honesty on the Internet is what you all need if you’re going to convert the world. The meanness will have to be washed away, but I encourage you all to point out any sins you see to the person sinning. They may not be in the right frame of mind, and you could very well save their eternal soul just by leveling a little bit of criticism at the right person at the right time.

If you are the recipient of such criticism, or if someone says something you generally don’t agree with, please don’t take offense or lash out at the person trying to help you. This happens all too often today, and I wrote quite a bit about the topic only a couple of days back. Don’t get so easily offended, and don’t be afraid to accidentally offend others. When that day comes that there is no longer anonymity in anything on the planet, and that day is indeed coming, I want to see the same kind of openness being shown on the Internet currently.

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