Technical Tidbits™

“If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” Malcolm X

While I do not agree with some of the methods Malcolm X used to get his point across, I do agree and admire the fact that he took a stand for what he believed in.

I have a tendency to lean towards the statement made by Mahatma Ghandi who said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

I’ve seen a lot of behavior on the Internet lately that is disturbing me and since MICE has rededicated its commitment to education, it’s time I stand for something.

I wrote a post today on my metaphysical blog about an incident that occurred in a chat room in MySpace Bingo.  And the more I thought about this incident throughout the morning, the more I started seeing some disturbing connections around me.

Specifically, the Internet is a global community of participants from all parts of the planet.

There are writer’s, websites, blogs, and shops with Christian’s, Jew’s, Gnostic’s, Muslim’s, Atheist’s, Buddhist’s, and on it goes until you have every religious belief – or lack thereof – represented.  There is a wealth of information and commentary about politics, news, food, conspiracy theory and everything in between.  And we have rants and opinions being broadcast on Internet radio, YouTube, blogs, and so on that cover everything from Fascism to Utopia with again – everything between.

The beauty of the Internet as this global community is that it offers people the venue to speak what is on their mind and find other like people with which to communicate with. And that’s important to keeping our Internet a place of Freedom and free speech!

However, with freedom comes responsibility.

Each and every one of us has a responsibility to the entire Internet Community to be responsible users of this resource.

Freedom is a two-edged sword. The same freedom that allows you to post a rant about President Obama’s speech also affords an Obama supporter to post a glowing review of the same.  To restrict or to call for censoring of any single opinion or view is a direct hit to your individual freedoms!

If some post or opinion doesn’t agree with yours, you have a choice. Click off the page! No one has a gun to your head making you read it! Click away.

I am appalled and sickened by some of the comments and posts I’ve seen from people lately. People extolling the virtues of their view while crushing another all in the name of Free Speech! Guess what? Those people have a right to express their views also! That very same freedom that gives you your right, gives them theirs!

We also have the responsibility of educating ourselves in discerning what is real news and what is opinion, commentary, or just plain out comic relief or satire.

Have you ever noticed how 3 people could be watching the same event, let’s just use an accident for example, and each person comes away seeing something totally different? You hear it repeatedly on the news when eye witnesses are interviewed after a major accident or event in their neighborhood.

If all these people are seeing the EXACT same event, yet describing it differently, who’s right?

The point is, they all are! They are seeing the accident and reporting on it from their view. We all bring our own slant, judgments, beliefs, prejudices, and past experiences into what we see. That’s science.

But what’s important is knowing that this is true! And knowing when you are seeing, reading, or hearing something from someone’s view and NOT taking it as the real truth.

Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one! And on the Internet you will find every single one of them – opinions and a**holes! (Pardon my use of language to get my point across.)

While even I point you to some of the news, my blog posts are opinions. My opinions based on how long I’ve been on the Internet, how long I’ve been in technology, how long I’ve been teaching, and how much I’ve seen in all those years. My opinions are shaded and clouded by my experiences with companies like Microsoft, McAfee, and the like. And my opinions are colored by my disillusionment with academia.

As human beings, we need to remember to question everything – even our leaders and teachers – and never take anything at face value! That’s just downright good common sense!

We’ve seen throughout history charismatic leaders who’ve become tyrants because of the blind faith of  their followers. We’ve seen science thwarted by the beliefs of religious leaders who also used tyranny to keep people in line despite the evidence to the contrary.  And we’ve seen genocide and oppression of our fellow human beings occur under our noses while the Internet community continues to declare its freedom and claims a watchful eye on the world.

The age of information has brought us an explosion of words, ideas, and beliefs. From doe-eyed political candidates to hate and fear mongers. But it is your responsibility to separate the wheat from the chaff.  (And for those who do not understand what that phrase means, I provided the link – to educate you not to look down on you! There’s a difference!)

People like Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh are not the mouth pieces of the Republican party nor are they news reporters.  And Democrats are not socialists! Socialists are socialists and if you don’t know the difference, you should really look that up!

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are not news reporters their shows are on Comedy Central! The same network that brings you the comedians on the Blue Collar Tour! (AKA Redneck Comedy)

Bill Maher is on HBO – not the nightly news!HBO is the same network that brought you Sex in the City and True Blood. If Bill Maher’s a news reporter, than there are vampires living among us!

And even the nightly news you watch is slanted based on the political opinions of the owners of the station. That is why you get so much disparity between television stations! Do your own experiment.  Record on your DVR Fox News and another major station like MSN, CNN, ABC, or CBS. Watch them both one right after the other. What’s the difference in the way two of the same stories are presented? Do you see their lean to the left, right, or down the middle? You’ll find the same thing in newspapers!

With freedom comes great responsibility. There is no greater responsibility you have than to yourself. You owe it to yourself and to the entire Internet community to educate yourself and afford the same freedom to other Internet users that you so aptly insist on affording yourself!

Debbie Mahler