Is it any wonder that our children cyber bully? Look at what is modeled for them.
Spike Lee was upset because a man he felt should be in jail was not. So what does he do? He retweets the man’s address to all his followers. He did this because he wanted to cause the man pain.
In other words, his intent was to cyber bully the man. Or at least, to get everybody who follows him to do the bullying for him. Because make no mistake, the intent was to bully, to cause harm.
He made an error and put in the wrong address, so a couple in Florida are receiving hate mail and death threats that are not really intended for them. At any moment a madman with a gun might break down their door and begin shooting, supposedly in the name of justice.
So Spike Lee apologizes to the couple for his mistake. As if his only crime was to type in the incorrect address.
Which shows that Spike Lee is clueless about the power of the Internet, and the responsibilities we all have while using it. EVERYTHING on the Web has the potential to go viral, which makes every ill thought posted a million times more powerful than if it were kept private.
The Web is a public place. The citizens of the Web are made up of good people, bad people, and quite a few crazies.
So all you celebrities out there who glory in your ability to sway your followers at will, watch what you say. If someone gets hurt because you don’t understand the difference between a phone call and a tweet, you are responsible.
So be responsible. Think of the possible consequences before you post.