The Internet and our Social Conscience

Cecil the African Lion

This week, the news has been dominated by public outrage. A dentist from Wisconsin went to Zimbabwe, hired a company of guides & trackers, and proceeded to track and shoot a male African Lion. Let me begin by stating that I am personally disgusted at the "sport" of trophy hunting. I don't understand the thrill of killing an animal for sport.

The story continues with the discovery that the lion has a name - Cecil. He was wearing a tracking collar that allowed a group of Oxford scientists to track and study the lion. He was not held captive in any way, and was free to roam the African plain - to the researchers, that was the point.

But the focus of my attention now is on how the world is reacting. As news of this horrible tragedy unfolds, the dentists has become the intense focus of a social media smear campaign. He and his family have received all manner of threats. People have shown up to protest at his dental clinic, which he has been forced to close.

Without due process, he is now at the centre of a trial in the Court of Public Opinion. There are no rules, no appeals. The Internet has become Judge, Jury and Executioner.

We have seen many instances of this, where the online group who calls themselves Anonymous threatens to leak stolen, potentially damaging documents to the public unless the victim (the RCMP in British Columbia, for example) capitulate to their demands.

What gives the Internet, where faceless cowards express outrage hidden behind the anonymity of an avatar, the right or privilege to judge other people so harshly ? It's one thing to draft a petition, gain signatures and ask a governing body to intervene. But it's entirely another to publicly shame and incite violence.

If this were a proper trial in the Courts, there would be mountains of evidence, a judge & jury, clear charges of what laws have been broken, and procedures to follow which insure a fair trial and due process. This man isn't getting any of that - his life is being destroyed, and he has no means to protect and defend himself.

Please, let me state again - I personally think his actions are despicable. I want to see him brought to Justice. But I also want to see him get a fair trial. Just because we don't like something doesn't mean we can skirt due process and exercise Internet Vigilatism.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy