Accepting Internet abuse

The personal computer now serves as a unique link to the greater world and to millions of people. Which sounds entirely positive but is currently being re-examined because of the incalculable damage it can do. Whether we like it or not, we are linked to hatred and distortion.

Which is why politicians, academics, and experts are considering just how free the Internet should be. No such debate in authoritarian states such as China and Iran, where websites are harshly controlled. But in the free world? The arguments for some form of censorship are obvious. Put briefly, there is abuse. Even something as unimportant as my Wikipedia entry is a mild case in point.

While there are elements of truth in it, the bulk is obviously written by people who have a more than normal dislike of Michael Coren. Quotations are taken out of context, facts are purposely misinterpreted and downright lies told. Even dates and places are inaccurate — apparently I live in Oshawa and my wife is a college teacher; news to both of us. Equally perverse is that when supporters have tried to correct some of this nonsense, various zealots usually reverse the changes within hours. In other words, dedicated extremists with an agenda and too much time on their hands can spread lies about their enemies with impunity.

Not a huge problem. I’m a grown man with friends and resources and I can survive the bites of angry fleas. But public slander is never enjoyable and in some cases can be genuinely damaging. A friend of mine active in public life told me he has lost speaking engagements because of his distorted Wikipedia biography.

It’s even more of an issue for relatively powerless people or for groups that have historically faced discrimination and injustice. Which is why the leadership of the Jewish community in particular takes notice of websites that systematically deny the Holocaust and spread horrendous lies about Jews. Words have consequences and it's easier to physically harm people if they have been depicted as liars and killers.

Hatred always finds a way to rise through the cracks of a civilized society. But hatred comes in numerous forms. There are legions of sites dedicated to despising Catholics, conservatives, liberals, Muslims, anyone, everyone. In a perfect world they would not exist; but in a perfect world calories would be thinning and hair-loss avoidable. Not so, never will be.

So in the pursuit of the impossible, the Internet is not made clean but simply washed of certain insanities and inanities by groups and individuals that have influence at a particular time. We cannot remove all of the garbage, and in dealing with only some of it, we become part of the very discrimination that we claim to oppose.

So leave the link alone. Let the gutter breathe and ignore the stuff that smells. Occasionally being offended is the price we pay for the right to speak our minds, even to the point of tolerating those whose minds are as empty as their hearts.

Join friends of Michael Coren on Facebook. For more of his thoughts, visit www.michaelcoren.com.

Photo by aranarth. Courtesy of Creative Commons.