(As a warning, this post contains spoilers to the Episode 7 "The Majority Rule" of the TV series The Orville.)
I started watching The Orville a week or two ago. I have seen up to episode 7. In this episode, there is a planet with a culture that evolved to be very similar to Earth's. In fact, the dominant species on the planet looks identical to humans (partly, I believe, to save on budget costs for make-up etc). In this society, we learn that every person is given a badge at age 18 and they must wear this badge at all times. The badge has two buttons--one upward-pointing green arrow and one downward-pointing red arrow. When a person does a good thing, another person might press the green button as an "up-vote", to express approval. When a person does a bad thing, one might press the red button as a "down-vote." This is clearly inspired by sites such as Reddit that allow thumbs up and down voting on posts.
At one point, one of the crew members of the Orville dances lewdly with a statue, which turns out to be that of a heroine in this planet's history. Video footage of this dancing was recorded by people's mobile devices and uploaded to what is called "the master feed", which is similar to Twitter. This video is shared and shown on television and as it goes viral, people begin to remotely down-vote the man who did the act en masse. His down-vote count reaches 1 million, at which point we learn that this is cause for arrest in this society. He is taken to a PR advisor who informs him that he now needs to go on an "apology tour" to express his sorrow for the action he took. As his apology is not believed to be sincere, more people down-vote him. Upon reaching 10 million votes, a person is required to undergo a procedure called "correction", which turns out to be similar to a lobotomy.
As I was watching this episode, several things stuck out to me. It did show several examples of people pressing the down-vote button without any real thought, just basing it off their mood at the time or some bias. Many people pressed it with fervor, feeling personal vindication at doing so--exhibiting a righteous indignation, if you will. Another thing that stuck out is that no one in society actually thought about what happened to the people they down-voted. No one thought about people who were made to undergo correction. In fact, they did anything they could to ostracize them and distance themselves personally from them. At one point, a woman tries to make a purchase at a coffee shop and is turned away because that establishment has a policy that no one with over 500,000 down-votes is served. Thus, these members of society are essentially pariahs, cast to the side and forsaken. Trampled under the figurative feet of the disapproving masses.
A while back, I watched this Ted Talk, and I recommend it to anyone reading this post. It's about a woman who made a thoughtless post on Twitter and then was eviscerated for it. The glee with which people tore this poor woman's life to shreds is simply horrific. That so many people can find such sadistic pleasure in ruining the life of a total stranger is terrifying to me.
And then, I noticed my own friends doing the same thing. People that I interact with frequently on Facebook (and sometimes in real life as well). When the news of Kevin Spacey's statement broke, so many people turned to this passionate and gleeful destruction of the man's life because of the way they had chosen to interpret his words. As I'm reading all the posts that my friends are making, my primary thought is, "What if it were me?"
I ask myself, what if I were the person who had made the statement which maybe wasn't fully thought-through. Perhaps it came across as cold or thoughtless or malicious. Perhaps I said something which was taken to be dismissive of the victim of a crime, or of a class of persons who is in one way or another underprivileged. Would these same friends rush to tear me down, and destroy my life with the same happiness that they seem to get from tearing down Kevin Spacey's? Is the society we live in now not so different from that in the TV episode I had just watched? Do we have a mob rule? Don't do anything to piss off the public because if you do, they will come after you and they will destroy you. We may not have mobs which stone people or burn them, but we do have mobs which attack people digitally.
I read Spacey's words myself. When I did, to me it seemed like a sincere apology. I admit I know nothing of the context in which the statement was given. I know nothing of Kevin Spacey himself--what kind of person he is, who his friends are, how he treats people he is close to, etc. But as I read his words, I believed him. I can imagine what was going on in his mind when he wrote them, and I can imagine what is going on in his mind now. At the time he wrote his statement, I imagine he was feeling true sorrow--that he had no recollection of the event, but that he was truly sorry for the damage it had caused. I imagine that when he added the bit about being gay, he simply felt like it was finally time for him to come out of the closet when he wrote the statement. Maybe it was poor timing to address the two matters in the same statement, but I do not believe it was his intent to equate homosexuality with pedophilia, as so many people seem to be asserting.
I believe that part of the reason why I have been taking it so personally as I've seen people criticize Spacey for the way in which he chose to come out of the closet is because I was also criticized harshly for the way I chose to come out of the closet. I made many enemies when I chose to announce my sexuality. Many people told me that they were fine with it, but wish I had done so a different way. I received several harsh statements from friends and family. These words were hard for me to take--and it was only a handful of people making them. I can't imagine how mortifying it would be to have millions of people criticizing me.
I find it difficult to take joy in destroying a person's life. And it saddens me to see so many of my friends choose to do so themselves. As a pragmatist, I always ask "What good does it do?" The act that Spacey has been accused of committing took place 3 decades ago. What good will it do now to punish him for something he did back then? How will it help the world be a better place? What goal is to be accomplished in dragging him through the mud? Will it ease the pain of his victim? Will it correct Spacey's behavior? Will it deter others from engaging in similar behavior? I have little hope that it will do any of these things. It is my belief that it will only cause more pain.
I would like to take a moment to explain why I believe this situation is different from that of Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein had a pattern of abusive behavior. Many people who knew him knew of his behavior and did nothing (or not enough) to stop it. It was tolerated for decades. He was perpetually harassing people. He seemed to show no sign of changing. However, with Spacey, as far as I am aware, there seems to have been one incident that took place in the 80s. He doesn't seem to have a pattern of inappropriate behavior. He seems to be contrite about the act despite being unable to recall it. I would hope that my career would not be ended because of something I did 30 years ago. I would hope that my friends wouldn't rush to call for me being fired because I made a mistake when I was younger. I would hope that my friends would give me the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming the worst about me because of the way I chose to word something.
I started watching The Orville a week or two ago. I have seen up to episode 7. In this episode, there is a planet with a culture that evolved to be very similar to Earth's. In fact, the dominant species on the planet looks identical to humans (partly, I believe, to save on budget costs for make-up etc). In this society, we learn that every person is given a badge at age 18 and they must wear this badge at all times. The badge has two buttons--one upward-pointing green arrow and one downward-pointing red arrow. When a person does a good thing, another person might press the green button as an "up-vote", to express approval. When a person does a bad thing, one might press the red button as a "down-vote." This is clearly inspired by sites such as Reddit that allow thumbs up and down voting on posts.
At one point, one of the crew members of the Orville dances lewdly with a statue, which turns out to be that of a heroine in this planet's history. Video footage of this dancing was recorded by people's mobile devices and uploaded to what is called "the master feed", which is similar to Twitter. This video is shared and shown on television and as it goes viral, people begin to remotely down-vote the man who did the act en masse. His down-vote count reaches 1 million, at which point we learn that this is cause for arrest in this society. He is taken to a PR advisor who informs him that he now needs to go on an "apology tour" to express his sorrow for the action he took. As his apology is not believed to be sincere, more people down-vote him. Upon reaching 10 million votes, a person is required to undergo a procedure called "correction", which turns out to be similar to a lobotomy.
As I was watching this episode, several things stuck out to me. It did show several examples of people pressing the down-vote button without any real thought, just basing it off their mood at the time or some bias. Many people pressed it with fervor, feeling personal vindication at doing so--exhibiting a righteous indignation, if you will. Another thing that stuck out is that no one in society actually thought about what happened to the people they down-voted. No one thought about people who were made to undergo correction. In fact, they did anything they could to ostracize them and distance themselves personally from them. At one point, a woman tries to make a purchase at a coffee shop and is turned away because that establishment has a policy that no one with over 500,000 down-votes is served. Thus, these members of society are essentially pariahs, cast to the side and forsaken. Trampled under the figurative feet of the disapproving masses.
A while back, I watched this Ted Talk, and I recommend it to anyone reading this post. It's about a woman who made a thoughtless post on Twitter and then was eviscerated for it. The glee with which people tore this poor woman's life to shreds is simply horrific. That so many people can find such sadistic pleasure in ruining the life of a total stranger is terrifying to me.
And then, I noticed my own friends doing the same thing. People that I interact with frequently on Facebook (and sometimes in real life as well). When the news of Kevin Spacey's statement broke, so many people turned to this passionate and gleeful destruction of the man's life because of the way they had chosen to interpret his words. As I'm reading all the posts that my friends are making, my primary thought is, "What if it were me?"
I ask myself, what if I were the person who had made the statement which maybe wasn't fully thought-through. Perhaps it came across as cold or thoughtless or malicious. Perhaps I said something which was taken to be dismissive of the victim of a crime, or of a class of persons who is in one way or another underprivileged. Would these same friends rush to tear me down, and destroy my life with the same happiness that they seem to get from tearing down Kevin Spacey's? Is the society we live in now not so different from that in the TV episode I had just watched? Do we have a mob rule? Don't do anything to piss off the public because if you do, they will come after you and they will destroy you. We may not have mobs which stone people or burn them, but we do have mobs which attack people digitally.
I read Spacey's words myself. When I did, to me it seemed like a sincere apology. I admit I know nothing of the context in which the statement was given. I know nothing of Kevin Spacey himself--what kind of person he is, who his friends are, how he treats people he is close to, etc. But as I read his words, I believed him. I can imagine what was going on in his mind when he wrote them, and I can imagine what is going on in his mind now. At the time he wrote his statement, I imagine he was feeling true sorrow--that he had no recollection of the event, but that he was truly sorry for the damage it had caused. I imagine that when he added the bit about being gay, he simply felt like it was finally time for him to come out of the closet when he wrote the statement. Maybe it was poor timing to address the two matters in the same statement, but I do not believe it was his intent to equate homosexuality with pedophilia, as so many people seem to be asserting.
I believe that part of the reason why I have been taking it so personally as I've seen people criticize Spacey for the way in which he chose to come out of the closet is because I was also criticized harshly for the way I chose to come out of the closet. I made many enemies when I chose to announce my sexuality. Many people told me that they were fine with it, but wish I had done so a different way. I received several harsh statements from friends and family. These words were hard for me to take--and it was only a handful of people making them. I can't imagine how mortifying it would be to have millions of people criticizing me.
I find it difficult to take joy in destroying a person's life. And it saddens me to see so many of my friends choose to do so themselves. As a pragmatist, I always ask "What good does it do?" The act that Spacey has been accused of committing took place 3 decades ago. What good will it do now to punish him for something he did back then? How will it help the world be a better place? What goal is to be accomplished in dragging him through the mud? Will it ease the pain of his victim? Will it correct Spacey's behavior? Will it deter others from engaging in similar behavior? I have little hope that it will do any of these things. It is my belief that it will only cause more pain.
I would like to take a moment to explain why I believe this situation is different from that of Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein had a pattern of abusive behavior. Many people who knew him knew of his behavior and did nothing (or not enough) to stop it. It was tolerated for decades. He was perpetually harassing people. He seemed to show no sign of changing. However, with Spacey, as far as I am aware, there seems to have been one incident that took place in the 80s. He doesn't seem to have a pattern of inappropriate behavior. He seems to be contrite about the act despite being unable to recall it. I would hope that my career would not be ended because of something I did 30 years ago. I would hope that my friends wouldn't rush to call for me being fired because I made a mistake when I was younger. I would hope that my friends would give me the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming the worst about me because of the way I chose to word something.
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