Does Anonymity Breed Cruelty?

I just saw the very powerful You tube video posted a few days ago by a Jonah Mowry (already over 6 million people have watched it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg&feature=share

 

I don’t want to comment on the video – it speaks for itself. What I want to address are some of the comments that the video has received. 

 

It is difficult for me (and I am a psychiatrist and am supposed to understand these things) to read so many cruel comments (I will not dignify them by repeating them here). Why are so many people posting such cruel and vicious comments? Are so many people by nature so cruel and so vicious? Is this a phenomenon that is encouraged by the medium of electronic communication? Is this a reflection of levels of homophobia so deeply rooted in our society? Is this the result of anxiety aroused by seeing a young person in distress? Why the anger?

 

I have no answers to these questions. But I do know that such cruel and vicious comments are wrong. There is no place for such cruelty towards others in our society. Trying to understand why however does not excuse us from taking action to stop such cruelty. This is an obligation from all of us. From those who control the electronic world – there should be no e-space for such attack. From those who are teachers and coaches and parents – we have to stand firm and make it clear that there is no social space for such attack. For peer and friends and all young people – you have to stand up and make it clear that there is no teen space for such attack.

 

The sooner we get our sh*t together on this, the better for all of us.

-Stan

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