TED演讲:网络暴力的失控(7)
So why did we do it? I think some people were genuinely upset,
我们为什么会做出这样的行为的呢？依我之见，有的人确实是因为被冒犯了，
but I think for other people, it’s because Twitter is basically a mutual approval machine.
但更多的人是因为推特本是个互相恭维的工具。
We surround ourselves with people who feel the same way we do,
我们只允许志同道合的人在周围出现，
and we approve each other, and that’s a really good feeling.
我们互相恭维，感觉好极了。
And if somebody gets in the way, we screen them out.
遇到意见不一的，我们就轰走他们。
And do you know what that’s the opposite of? It’s the opposite of democracy.
知道这种行为与什么对立吗？与民主对立。
We wanted to show that we cared about people dying of AIDS in Africa.
我们想对非洲濒临死亡的艾滋病人表达关怀。
Our desire to be seen to be compassionate is what led us to commit this profoundly un-compassionate act.
我们太过急于表现自己的同情心，结果却导致了如此缺乏同情心的举动。
As Meghan O’Gieblyn wrote in the Boston Review, “This isn’t social justice. It’s a cathartic alternative.”
像梅根·奥吉布林在《波士顿评论》上写到：“这根本不是社会正义。这是一种宣泄。”
For the past three years, I’ve been going around the world meeting people like Justine Sacco
在过去的三年，我走遍世界，走访多位和贾丝婷·萨科有一样遭遇的人，
and believe me, there’s a lot of people like Justine Sacco. There’s more every day.
说实话，这样的人还真不少。每天都有更多同样遭遇的。
And we want to think they’re fine, but they’re not fine. The people I met were mangled.
我们都倾向于相信他们没事，但事实并非如此。每一个人都深受伤害。
They talked to me about depression, and anxiety and insomnia and suicidal thoughts.
他们说自己感到抑郁，焦虑、失眠，甚至想过自杀。
One woman I talked to, who also told a joke that landed badly, she stayed home for a year and a half.
其中一位女士，也是因为开了个玩笑，最后悲剧收场，她把自己关在家里足足一年半。
Before that, she worked with adults with learning difficulties, and was apparently really good at her job.
之前她的职业是帮助有学习障碍的成年人，并且是个相当称职的人。
Jon Ronson通过贾斯汀·萨科在推特上发布的一条被认为带有种族歧视主义的玩笑而掀起的轩然大波的事件，阐述了当今网络上网路暴力现象的严重性，以及对人造成的伤害。“滥用权力”这个词不应是我们在网络上肆无忌惮谴责别人时用来挡身的防具，我们也不应该成反过来为“滥用权力”的人。