CARLTON FLETCHER: Social media offers best, worst of users

I read the news today, oh boy.

— The Beatles

One of the best things about social media is that users have the freedom to say pretty much anything that comes to mind.

One of the worst things about social media is that users have the freedom to say pretty much anything that comes to mind.

We’ve all heard that old saying that “patriots” and politicians dig up every time they want to make themselves sound like benevolent and worthy Americans: “Freedom is not free.” Unfortunately, to so many who use social media to air gripes and take shots at things and people who do not fall in line with their world view, this little adage is forgotten once they log on.

In their minds, they have the freedom to unleash, to say whatever they want about things that offend them. Which they kind of do, since no one is monitoring the drivel that gets out into cyberspace. And while their freedom can be costly to the people they demean, there’s no evidence that these snipers intend to rein in their penchant for disseminating hurtful — and often absolutely false — information.

Which would be kinda OK if there weren’t so many people online who believe anything they read there.

I have been granted uninvited access to a number of supposedly double-secret, we-only-let-the-good-folks-in online chats that have done a lot to prove to me that unfettered access to the worldwide web is one of the reasons we have one of the most misinformed societies in the history of civilization. (For people who ask: How could we elect a Barack Obama or a Donald Trump? Go online.)

Native Americans were more accurate with their smoke signals and drumbeats than the most technically advanced nation in the history of the world. Hell, cave drawings told stories more accurately than the people who spend hours a day posting on social media.

Unfortunately, on these super-secret posts that I’ve read lately, it seems the well-intentioned airing of legitimate gripes on issues that should matter to people in this community usually devolve into childish name-calling and the passing on of rumors and just flat-out false information as fact. In the end, most of these posts and threads become sources of sad humor for people who have at least a little knowledge about what’s going on around them.

I’ve read stuff written about people in this community — particularly elected and appointed officials — that held not one shred of truth, yet the posts drew dozens of responses, most of which were inaccurate to the point of absurdity. And, no, these were not personal opinions that were open for discussion, but complete misinformation passed off as truths.

Public officials, of course, are open to public criticism … it comes with the job. And any who cannot take it should maybe start looking for another line of work. (Although it is a lot of fun to watch politicians embarrass themselves at formal meetings by ranting and raving about things they heard people say about them. Thin-skinned elected officials are one of my few pleasures in life.)

But what’s hard to stomach on these acid-laced posts are the attacks on “civilians,” people who are not public figures but who somehow stir up the ire of mean-spirited bloggers and the like. Because someone has an ax to grind with Person A — maybe it was a business deal that went wrong or some minor slight … hell, maybe the blogger was picked last by Person A when they were choosing sides for a neighborhood baseball game back in the day — they use their words to attack them online.

And maybe someone else also has a problem with Person A, or someone else doesn’t like Person A’s spouse, or Person A is a real d-bag who brings out the worst in people. Does that make these personal attacks on him via the Internet OK?

Yes, social media can be a wonderful thing because it grants immediate access to places and things that have in the past been limited to a select few. But when it unleashes the kind of meanness and misinformation that, unfortunately, is a stable of such sites, it diminishes both the subject of poison posts and those who post them.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher on Twitter.