So what do we do when all of this fails?

Recently a teacher was busted in a local paper for putting on a chatweb a remark that was intolerably rude and unforgiveable. Wasn't the first time and probably not the worst but this one was used to attack. So rather than establishing a debate with the man or deciding to charge him to the police a group of internet manipulators decided to use his workplace as leveridge. Very successfully. First the local paper, then a widely read blogger wrote an inspiring article and from there the thing snowballed.

Suddenly the school became a center of debate.

The school administration decided to get out of the line of fire and thus the teacher was left out in the storm.

I shall not take up the teachers case but I wonder about democracy and democratic debate.

For one thing there is the freedom of speech and censorship. Obviously, if I cross a line writing this blog by hammering something on your screen that is offensive you should inform the authorities. But my place of work?

Another is the manner of the debate. It becomes very single minded. In this case, anyone attempting to get other views in was shot down with sarcasm and ridicule that killed the debate instantly. One good example being a student who attempted to critisise the way one newspaper dealt with things. He was ridiculed and literally shut down by a much older superblogger who thus killed  any sensible attempts to discuss the matter.

That brings us to responsibility. If you run a widely read blogsite or a widely read newssite/paper, is it acceptable that it is used in such a manner? I agree that a teacher must watch his keyboard but the more widely one is read, the more effect one can have, the greater the responsibility. Or so one would think. A widely respected and read blogger must equally think how he uses his influence/power.

I can go on but having scanned and followed this rather vicious attack on a person, however bad that person may be, and followed the manner of the debate I feel that this venue, the internet, is not good for democracy or justice.
The manner of writing of those critisisng the teacher sank below his original crime. One person apparently phoned the school and offered staff members to be raped. People writing under pseudonyms spun the debate and seemingly not knowing anything about the original "crime" used phrases and words that were no better.

My conclusion is that this may be a venue for chatting, it certainly can be a venue for democracy but it isn't. Not while people attack viciously, ridicule, do not read the opposing arguments and generally appear to think that the net is a venue  for anonymous p*****g contests.

I´m sorry - did I offend you?