Information Rage?

Events occurring and how they relate/affect Anabaptist faith and culture.
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Bootstrap
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Re: Information Rage?

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MaxPC wrote:The news was on and there was this story about a college professor who was ranting that the first responders should have let the Republicans die on the ball field. The rant was full of expletives. Apparently there are also other professors doing the same thing as they cited each case.
Was there actually a video of these rants, as this seems to imply? If so, it should be easy to find on the Internet, but I couldn't. Could you help?

As far as I can tell, the Trinity College statement may clarify some of this. It seems to be saying: (1) the professor shared an article on Facebook and Twitter, and did so with an inflammatory hashtag, (2) he did not write the article, this was not his rant, it was someone else's, (3) the college is investigating, (4) the professor has already issued a public apology, (5) death threats have been directed to Professor Williams and to others on campus.
I’ve spoken with Johnny Williams, who has been a sociology professor at Trinity since 1996. I wanted to hear directly from him about the messages he posted and what has transpired since. It is important to clarify a few details. On June 16, a writer who goes by the name “Son of Baldwin”—and who is not Johnny Williams—wrote a piece for Medium.com that cited another writer’s perspective on the shooting that occurred at the Congressional baseball practice in Virginia last week. The Medium piece went on to explore broader issues concerning race and the relationship between “victims of bigotry” and “bigots.” The piece culminated with a call to show indifference to the lives of bigots. That call was reprehensible, and any such suggestion is abhorrent and wholly contrary to Trinity’s values.

While Professor Williams did not write that article, he did share it on his personal social media accounts this week, and he did so with the use of a hashtag that connected directly to the inflammatory conclusion of that article. Professor Williams, who teaches about race and racism, shared the article on his personal Twitter account using that hashtag; he also shared it on his personal Facebook page.
This is being investigated:
The Dean of the Faculty will review this matter and advise me on whether college procedures or policies were broken. I told Professor Williams that in my opinion his use of the hashtag was reprehensible and, at the very least, in poor judgment. No matter its intent, it goes against our fundamental values as an institution, and I believe its effect is to close minds rather than open them.

I want to underscore that what we seek is to build a diverse college community that is welcoming to all viewpoints and backgrounds and that engages in civil discourse on even the most vexing issues. That requires that we continue to uphold our fundamental belief in academic freedom and support our community members’ constitutional right to free speech. But our aspirations for the community we want to be also demand we take particular care with the words we use and the contexts in which we use them.
I think that's what we should want.
MaxPC wrote:I was shocked. If one of our faculty had said those things in my day, he would have been immediately terminated and even arrested for terroristic threats! Mass media is full of this vitriolic verbiage. I quickly asked the receptionist to turn to the weather channel. That seems to be the only real information source left.
I suspect in your day, there would have been a hearing before terminating a professor. That's what's happening now. So far, I have seen no evidence that Williams made anything like a terrorist threat.
MaxPC wrote:The Information Age has become the age of Narcissistic Rage. I've even noticed this verbal violence enter the speech of people around us as they bash their neighbor. Mass media does impact our behaviors The message of Christ and the example of authentic Christian discipleship is sorely needed.
If Williams actually did anything resembling making terrorist threats, I'm sure that will come out in the hearing. I suspect letting the hearing proceed may be the most Christlike thing we can do. They have the information we don't have. They have the authority and the responsibility.
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Re: Information Rage?

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MaxPC wrote:It's a very sad way to avoid an honest discussion through blaming and shaming, as well as obtuse distractions to derail the central concern. Others see this and recognize it for what it is: persecution of others.
Isn't this whole thread an example of blaming and shaming, while avoiding an honest discussion?

You said this professor was making terrorist threats and should be immediately terminated. You did this based on hearsay evidence. According to what the college has said so far, this accusation is false. So far you have provided no evidence that it is true. But you want to blame and shame the guy, stirring up outrage against him, telling people he is making terrorist threats.

Making false accusations in public and pushing them over and over again is the kind of blaming and shaming you say you are against. Refusing to respond to what others are saying is avoiding an honest discussion.
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Valerie
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Re: Information Rage?

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Bootstrap wrote:
MaxPC wrote:It's a very sad way to avoid an honest discussion through blaming and shaming, as well as obtuse distractions to derail the central concern. Others see this and recognize it for what it is: persecution of others.
Isn't this whole thread an example of blaming and shaming, while avoiding an honest discussion?

You said this professor was making terrorist threats and should be immediately terminated. You did this based on hearsay evidence. According to what the college has said so far, this accusation is false. So far you have provided no evidence that it is true. But you want to blame and shame the guy, stirring up outrage against him, telling people he is making terrorist threats.

Making false accusations in public and pushing them over and over again is the kind of blaming and shaming you say you are against. Refusing to respond to what others are saying is avoiding an honest discussion.
I totally disagree with your assessment for the reason of this thread boot- just saying I think you missed his point altogether.
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Re: Information Rage?

Post by Valerie »

haithabu wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:
haithabu wrote:I first realized that extreme forms of thinking are taking root in regular peoples' minds when it started to leak through in Facebook repostings from family members. When your own sister publicly declares that people like you who support traditional marriage are guilty of the Orlando shootings, then you realize that there is something potentially dangerous going on in the general culture that you'd best be aware of.
I have been noticing this kind of thinking and complaining about it for years, often on MennoDiscuss. Years back, most of it came from the religious right, right wing nuts, etc. Recently, we're seeing a lot more of it on the left. With topics like gay marriage, vitriol and hostility against gays has been a long tradition. Now we are seeing vitriol and hostility toward people who agree with us on traditional marriage. What goes around comes around.....

I regularly encounter progressives who try to play this equivalency or karma game and it only makes sense if you subscribe to their ideas about collective guilt. Sometimes it can be taken to absurd lengths such as when one expresses concern about the churches burned in Mali and someone comes back with "...but the Crusades!" Sadly, the last time I heard that it was from fellow Christians. It seems that we can be prone to internalizing accusations against our own faith, some of which are slanderous and others if true are irrelevant to the case in hand.

I would find it refreshing if just once instead of "yes, but" or "backatcha" or "what about" someone would simply say, "Yes, I agree that's wrong and it bothers me too!"
Can totally identify with this- cannot "Amen" it (except for what you would find refreshing, as would I) because I am sorry it is true-
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Re: Information Rage?

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The situation is simple: God is calling all men everywhere to repent (including me), to love their enemies, and to do violence to no man. And to count to as being blessed when they are persecuted wrongly and accused falsely.
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Re: Information Rage?

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Josh wrote:The situation is simple: God is calling all men everywhere to repent (including me), to love their enemies, and to do violence to no man. And to count to as being blessed when they are persecuted wrongly and accused falsely.
Would it be loving our enemies to keep them in the dark about their own sin? As ambassadors for Christ, should we not be concerned for the 'influence' of those that spread the darkness and evil? They need truth as we all remember before we came to saving faith- and the 'minds' of those who are influenced by professors as the opening OP pointed out, who may not have Christ as of yet, need to be made aware of the danger of these influences. I see Max's concern as "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and also the encouragement of Jesus and the Apostles to 'discern the times'.
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Re: Information Rage?

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Valerie wrote:Would it be loving our enemies to keep them in the dark about their own sin?
Nobody here is proposing to talk to the professor. Nobody here has read his Facebook page. Nobody here is in a position to do anything useful. But we are in a position to do harm, amplifying a story that has already resulted in death threats. So yes, I think it would be loving our enemies to not spread false witness about them.

There is a hearing to determine the facts, and it looks like at least some of this has been exaggerated. The only thing we can do here on the forum is feel aggrieved together and expand our sense of outrage. Wouldn't it be loving each other to reflect together on our own sin in the way we spread rumors, and how that contributes to vitriol? That's something constructive we could do.

If we want to fight fake news, we have to stop getting offended by people who ask if something is true as reported. If we want to reduce vitriol, we have to stop being an echo chamber for outrage. What bad thing happens if we let the college sort this out?
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Re: Information Rage?

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Bootstrap wrote:
Valerie wrote:Would it be loving our enemies to keep them in the dark about their own sin?
Nobody here is proposing to talk to the professor. Nobody here has read his Facebook page. Nobody here is in a position to do anything useful. But we are in a position to do harm, amplifying a story that has already resulted in death threats. So yes, I think it would be loving our enemies to not spread false witness about them.

There is a hearing to determine the facts, and it looks like at least some of this has been exaggerated. The only thing we can do here on the forum is feel aggrieved together and expand our sense of outrage. Wouldn't it be loving each other to reflect together on our own sin in the way we spread rumors, and how that contributes to vitriol? That's something constructive we could do.

If we want to fight fake news, we have to stop getting offended by people who ask if something is true as reported. If we want to reduce vitriol, we have to stop being an echo chamber for outrage. What bad thing happens if we let the college sort this out?
Max started this by explaining what he saw on the news on t.v. in a doctor's office-- perhaps we should shut down the news altogether to avoid all of this?
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Re: Information Rage?

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Valerie wrote:Max started this by explaining what he saw on the news on t.v. in a doctor's office-- perhaps we should shut down the news altogether to avoid all of this?
Maybe we should start by asking, "oh, is this true?" See this.

We don't always accurately remember everything we hear on the news on the TV, and not everything you hear on the news is true. The first version of a story usually isn't true.

Surely you don't think we should (a) accept everything someone says they heard on the news as true, (b) report those things on Internet forums and social media without checking them first, (c) get outraged about them, and (d) issue a call to action before seeing what kinds of hearings are already underway. Surely you don't think that approach would reduce vitriol.

You can't say you distrust mainstream media but be offended if we question mainstream media. Or someone's memory of what they heard on mainstream media.
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Re: Information Rage?

Post by Valerie »

Bootstrap wrote:
Valerie wrote:Max started this by explaining what he saw on the news on t.v. in a doctor's office-- perhaps we should shut down the news altogether to avoid all of this?
Maybe we should start by asking, "oh, is this true?"

We don't always accurately remember everything we hear on the news on the TV, and not everything you hear on the news is true. The first version of a story usually isn't true.

Surely you don't think we should (a) accept everything someone says they heard on the news as true, (b) report those things on Internet forums and social media without checking them first, (c) get outraged about them, and (d) issue a call to action before seeing what kinds of hearings are already underway. Surely you don't think that approach would reduce vitriol.

You can't say you distrust mainstream media but be offended if we question mainstream media.
No, I don't, but his observation is accurate about 'information rage'- unfortunately I witness it on facebook constantly- I wouldn't even be on fb if it not for a few people I need to keep up with there as that is how most people share or message you these days- but the 'rage' is a very accurate word-

Kathy Griffen felt holding a bloody 'fake' head of President Trump would be well received for some reason-
And to have a famous actor recently imply assassination of the President-these are true stories-
People like this feel they have a supportive audience out there-discern the times-
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