public meanness

"public meanness"... I heard this ascribed to YouTube and Facebook today and it just fit. I've said many times that for some, Facebook is a forum for being mean/snide/hateful without having to physically face the object(s) of their vehemence. It has seemingly become okay to attack persons/groups in the name of a "I refuse to be politically correct" stance. Political correctness is one thing, common courtesy and fairness are another.

But social media has its merits too; uniting people in a common goal - relief efforts for natural disasters, overthowing a corrupt government and disseminating news quickly are all worthy by-products. And it feels good sometimes to get things off your chest, but we have this notion that our words go out into cber-space and somehow disperse into thin air. They don't. And they can't be taken back.

“When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson." ~ Will Rogers