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Social Media Commentaries: The Easiest Way To Invite Ridicule By Raji Ridwan Adetunji

At a time, when the rest of the world has found the best and important use of the internet: a tool of socio-political engagement, it is surprising that democratic and moral values have not been surfacing in our own online community. To my chagrin, the proliferation of the so called “cyber-based activism” -being among the referable developments of the internet pervasiveness- is fueling indecorum and unfriendly interpersonal engagement.

At a time, when the rest of the world has found the best and important use of the internet: a tool of socio-political engagement, it is surprising that democratic and moral values have not been surfacing in our own online community. To my chagrin, the proliferation of the so called “cyber-based activism” -being among the referable developments of the internet pervasiveness- is fueling indecorum and unfriendly interpersonal engagement.



If you are a constant social/political writer or a voracious columns and online news reader, you will agree with me that one of the easiest and funniest ways of becoming ridiculed is being a public commentator among Nigerians’ online community.

You may want to know how, taking an unpopular stand regarding any public issue in Nigeria (either political or social), or relay your personal views in news columns or try to make comment underneath any write-up of any of the online news pages, you will be astounded by the level and number of scorns you will receive by those that did not agree with your opinion. They will viciously counter your possibly wrong opinion with their own seemingly wrong opinion. They will leave the bone of contention and attack your personality and lump your entire lineage to it.

These people would never hesitate to blast you vacuously for having a mind of your own. They have an abysmal amorality that earns them the gut to devalue your educational or professional portfolio. They will confront you with no civility using words like; you have no foresight, you are a fool, you are inexperienced, a nuisance and stupid. Your mockery will be a lot easier for them if you have bagged higher certificate like PhD, or you are a professor, they will emphasize the bloomer of your Alma-Mater to have bestowed you such prestigious degree, even if they are yet to be identified as a diploma holder. You have done nothing to deserve this complete brutishness other than the fact that your comment does not align with their thinking, therefore, you are detestable.

These irksome amoralities have become so alarming among the online social communities, to the extent that I began to wonder and question the moral values in these people’s culture. I wonder how these people could have good command of English grammar (in some cases not) and could not display simple civility in their public conducts. How could these people be so convenient to attack strangers’ personality publicly? Are those abusive reactions based on their personal idiocy and irrationality? Or it is the demonstration of arrogance and moral laxity that characterize their societal culture and virtues? I wonder how to instill/restore morality, civility and modesty in our social and political commentary gathering, particularly with our use of words.   

As much as I could not proffer answers to these puzzling questions, I believe that social commentaries itself is one of the major, and of course simplest form of exhibiting democratic norms. And democracy as said: is an institution that allows equal participation in all governmental, political or social settings. Democracy being our proclaimed system of life, and this democracy is what we keep on clamoring for, why then is diversity hard for us to accept? Why then can’t we accommodate our differences? Why then is it difficult to understand the differences in our thinking paradigms? Our faces, colors, natures and attitudes are not the same, why then are we expected to subscribe to similar thinking faculties or have a singular opinion? We often analyze the democratic features of our government and political leaders while we find it difficult to exhibit the simplest form of democracy through interpersonal interactions between ourselves. And why are we surprise our leaders are sinister tyrants?

I remember a relevant folklore story suitable to advocate for respect and accommodation of the differences of opinion in the public sphere. The story of an elephant kept in a deeply dark room and a few number of people are called to go into the room, to touch what is in the room, and come back to explain according to what they touch. The invited people enter from different doors, and there were able to touch different parts of the elephant's body. Those that enter from front, were able to touch the elephant trunk, and believe the room contain a round tall pole, those that enter the room from the side touch the elephant's stomach and the thighs, to them the room contain a rock and subsequently those that enter from back touch the elephant's tail and believe it is a tiny tall tree that is kept in the room.

Impliedly, it would be chaotic to be enforcing a different belief about the shape of an elephant in a dark room on a fellow who believed the result of his experimentation in the room is absolute. This signifies why our perception is too diverse to be monopolized. People see things the way it appears to them and things often appear differently to different people. We should therefore learn how to appreciate different opinion and how to accommodate disagreements, rather than gaging people by shattering their personalities and personalizing farcical issues.

Raji Ridwan Adetunji,
Department of Management and Humanities,
UniversitiTeknologi PETRONAS,
Perak, Malaysia

 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
 

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