December 4, 2007

Calling All Cowards

Look up "coward" in the dictionary, and the definition ought to read "anyone who expresses an opinion and hides behind anonymity." As an important and powerful form [and forum] of communication, the Internet is being corrupted by cowardly people who - through anonymity - either deceive others or express irresponsible views for which they are not at all accountable.

We all know the story of the head of Whole Foods. He ended up apologizing for hiding behind a pseudo identity while expressing views about his company and its competition.

Now we hear that Target was paying students to rave about the company on Facebook.

And here in Charleston, today's paper reports that the Solicitor (who's kind of like the local D.A.) has a press secretary who has been commenting on local newspaper stories (under a masked name, of course) with some pretty radical opinions and dispersions about his boss's political opponent.

Read what some of his opinions were and you'll no doubt be shocked. But what's most shocking to me was that he was outraged at being outed.

In other words, he - like so many who post opinions on newspaper sites - could rant and rave on whatever he wanted, make outrageous claims and not be accountable for them. I blame the newspapers who permit such anonymity as much as I blame the cowards who hide behind it.

We have a very good local paper. They try to write accurate balanced articles. It would be great to see a responsible dialogue about the issues they're covering. Instead, their comments page is filled with extremism - anonymous, often inaccurate, and almost always irresponsible.

These are just "grown-up" versions of the phony identities people create on MySpace or Facebook. I guess it's relatively harmless in a make-believe environment. But doesn't it risk making the validity and veracity of the Internet space suspect?

Why don't people dare to be themselves? And, if it's because they don't like "themselves," what then makes them think that hiding behind anonymity will make them any more likeable?

The world craves authenticity. It's the hottest currency going. And it starts with each individual.