Jesus hates the Interweb bloodlust

So, just to harp on this again, the Interwebs Blood Beast neither forgives, nor grasps scope.

Before I launch into the rant, some context. Ever see the old "Clash of the Titans"? Awesome line in there, where Calibos shouts "I demand justice!" And his goddess mother replies "Justice, or revenge?"

Most Americans, and quite possibly most humans, confuse the two. Most people really want revenge, even when they say justice. Most people count themselves as victims of a crime they only hear about, arrogant and stupid as that is.

I've been screwed several times in my life on false charges, or mistakenly, or just inappropriately.  There is no justice when someone throws you under the bus, "because there must appear that something was done," there is no fairness when a minor infraction that only warrants a private and uncomplicated warning results in a public dressing down.  I know what it means to be shamed, screwed and treated badly for no good - no justifiable - reason at all.

Imagine the most unjust treatment you've ever had. Now magnify that by a million screaming idiots sticking their nose into your business and making your humiliation worse.

Now, you may be ready to read this rant.

I'm appalled by the number of people who make remarks like "This wouldn't be an okay remark in person, why would they think it would be okay online," in reference to a story about a woman makes a poorly-worded tweet and gets on a plane for eleven hours. By the time the plane lands, thousands, tens of thousands, or possibly millions of people are clamoring for the bloodsport of watching her face when she gets off the plane – tired, cramped, looking forward to seeing her family – and watching her face as she realizes the world hates her, that her friends, family and co-workers are being attacked and shamed, and her life is destroyed. People clamored to see the confusion and pain on the face of this woman they knew nothing about, except what they had invented in their own minds.

So, let's clarify:

1) The remarks were taken out of context, and shoved into a different context, creating the illusion that a normal person, doing a normal thing, was somehow the next incarnation of the anti-Christ, Satan, and Barney the Dinosaur rolled into one;

2) If these comments had been said in person, then someone would have said "don't be a jerk," and that would have been the end of it, so you don't get to self-righteously - and foolishly - compare apples to a shit-ton of dung dumped by a million people being selfish tits;

3) The online world doesn't forget - ever. These "one time events" lead to public humiliation, loss of employment, loss of friends, loss of family, loss of homes, and literally having to run for their lives from death threats (yes, seriously, dear God I wish I was exaggerating).

Plus, this shit will be cyclical - every few years, an entirely new generation of arrogant self-righteous warriors, and blockheaded crusader-wannabes, and chest-thumping bullies, will find the memes all over again and decide they need to have their revenge against these people who have already been pilloried and crucified several times already for making one small, inconsequential decision.

This is NOT about the people who make these dumb choices. This is about the bullies who launch some assnine crusade against some person who made a dumb choice.

Or, how about the meme with the girl who was crying while holding an iPhone and someone captioned it "She wanted the other color; this is why we can't have nice things" - I bet she was crying because she was so fucking happy someone gave her an iPhone, but no - some asshole decides to make a joke, and now the girl is crucified for a crime she didn't commit. 

Crucified, I will remind you, by a million people who have no clue who she is, why she was crying, or if she is a wonderful person - and worse, they don't actually care, because the truth is that it's all about their own pissant anger, and the target is the real victim of this ignorant mindless animal bloodsport rage.

Interweb rage and crusading isn't about the victims at all. It's about the selfish assholes who decide to be angry about something they know nothing about. They decide to be bullies and lash out. They decide to hurt other people over imagined wrongs, on trumped up charges made up from nothing.

You know, rather like Jesus was crucified for crimes he didn't commit, on charges that were trumped up out of nothing.

Funny thing, though - Jesus knew that is what he was here for, and happened to be the son of God.

How about these people who have their tweet stolen, and spend a year (or years) running from mindless rabid Interweb mobs of selfish idiots, some of whom send threats involving rape with a crowbar.

Yeah, I rather think Jesus would disapprove of the Interweb Blood Beast.

#IAmIcarus