IT'S CALLED FACEBOOK NOT HATEBOOK!

I mean is it FACEBOOK or HATEBOOK? This is a question that several others are also likely to be asking themselves, as they sit back and reflect on some of the recent responses to the discussions and controversies that are taking place on the web. In the US, the right to practice your freedom of speech is held at a particularly high status, and social networking sites such as Facebook have only made it easier.  Due to a number of conveniences that technology produces such as anonymity, widespread audiences, and time handiness; users have been able to exploit the internet, using it to promote their hatred and racially prejudiced agendas.  Radical users are the individuals who have been primarily taking advantage of the opportunity to get their messages out on a mass scale without having to protesting funerals, meetings, and stand on street corners screaming their ideology into the public ears that just happen to be passing by. From 2005 to 2008, researchers have discovered that white supremacist preferred to manifest their groups by way of recruiting other members through various conventional sites. All though it is unfortunate, it is not a shock and continues to be true as of 2014.  The real astonishment is the increase in participation by many young higher educated individuals who concur daily with their diverse colleagues. Yes, I am in fact referring to students.

On November 24, 2014 the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Mike Brown divided the country instantaneously. The case became particularly high profile, gaining the interest of the media, the government, the police force, the justice system, and the American people of various communities. The shooting that transpired happened to be between a Caucasian police officer, and an African American adolescent.  While many believe that the court’s decision was fair and the shooting was just, millions are protesting otherwise. The African American community has the highest number of supporters for Mike Brown, and are protesting that the incident was racially motivated. They claim to be tired of the unjust killings of their “Black men,” especially after the ruling in the Trayvon Martin case. The protest has become so immense with the help of hashtag activism or hashtagism and social media that is has spread to countless college campuses. Students have been actively participating in demonstrations to communicate their frustrations while demanding the changes they see as necessary to be made. They can simply be seen as groups of people looking to exercise the same freedom of speech discussed earlier in this blog.  Shockingly many of their fellow students that disagreed with their views and choice to protest quickly targeted them on various social networking sites. There were also several supporters outside of the Black community, and they were targeted as well. Yik Yak was amongst the most popular choice for hate slingers to offend and criticize all African Americans using racial slurs, insults, and bigoted imaging. Unlike Facebook, Yik Yak enables users to remain completely anonymous as they openly vocalized their feelings. Certainly you have to question if that has anything to do with their recent preferences of Yik Yak over Hatebook, I mean Facebook. I’d say OFCOURSE it does. Yik Yak is said to be “taking U.S. college campuses by storm.” The majority of the racial commentary on The Pennsylvania State University campus derives from such. The anonymity that the site provides gives users the confidence to openly express themselves as they freely attack others. This has become a major concern for college boards and students. Schools in Chicago, New Mexico, and Vermont have banned Yik Yak to prevent such activities. Computer mediated communication has yet again created a barrier between the senders and the receivers. At this point there is an advantage for them. Although there was a major shift from Facebook to Yik Yak for the users in question, it remains among some of the top sites of choice for people to share.  Comments that can be considered racial slander are being viewed by a world audience. Facebook can be anonymous as the user has complete control over self-disclosure. While some are wise and implement strict privacy settings to their pages, others are stress-free. The willingly leave their pages unprotected, and open for anyone to view, which has resulted in lost jobs, school expulsion, and removal from these websites as a result of someone reporting their malpractices. The president of Penn State Eric Barron did make a statement on behalf of the university venting their dismay in some of the practices of the students, while also offering support to those who need it.   The online actions that some students are undertaking is provoking fear amongst the community. As I have learned many things over the course of CAS 283, I was hopeful that we would have touched on the concepts I have provided in this blog a little deeper; racial commentary and threats online that is. The dehumanizing and devaluing acts that all types of groups and people have chosen to make public with internet use is, increasing as technology progresses. Despite the touchiness of the subject matter, I find that it is vital to address these issues. This would also provide an opportunity to come up with some effective solutions to put a stop to the war on hate, as students are often the ones in the midst of the online encounters.

P.s. It’s called Facebook so get a profile picture, then you can say it to my profiles pictures face!

By: Normani Marbury