No time for for trolls and keyboard warriors

On lockdown, I’ve been able to spend a little more time reading books I wouldn’t normally read. (Too heavy after a day at work perhaps? Me being too shallow to really want to know?) Anyway, I’m becoming ever-more amazed by what humans are capable of – in all directions and in all corners of the globe.

I started with The Beekeper of Aleppo, which is a very this-century story of oppression and cruel treatment of displaced people. With a brief hiatus for a cheesey whodunnit novel in between, I then compounded things by reading the true story of Witold Pilecki*, a Polish resistance fighter who deliberately infiltrated Auschwitz in 1940 to report on what was going on.

The thing is, the worst bits of both stories depend on many, many people turning a blind eye and doing nothing – when they were okay but they knew others were not.

Individual responsibility

So let’s bring it right up to date. 

Captain Tom is the nation’s darling at the moment, and rightly so. We all need those who inspire us in challenging times and he’s clearly tapped into the nation’s hearts.

So let this former tabloid journalist tell you, – there are people out there right now having a look at Captain’s Tom’s background. Why does his daughter look so young for a 99 year old? Is there a story there that would fill pages and get us all talking?

These stories won’t necessarily emerge now, as they’d currently be unpopular but they are in the wings, ready to knock the gloss off any hero.

Three things then…..     

Which of us has led a blameless life so that there is nothing which could be presented in a bad light?

We saw it in Scotland with “Smeato” – remember him? The nations’ darling when he stood up to terrorists at Glasgow airport, only to be brought down to size when alternative opinions and observations were brought out?

That must have been very hard for an individual who found himself in unfamiliar circumstances and was lionized in the media – only to be cut down to size later on for being merely human, like the rest of us.

There was no discernible sense of irony in taking someone from hero to zero. And little personal soul-bashing that I could see, since most people didn’t see any need to check their facts at any stage of the game.

My second point 

To everyone currently vilifying politicians, ask yourself, “Would you like their job”? Do you really know the challenges they face?

To all the armchair critics saying;

“This was done wrong.

“That was too late.

We live in a democracy and, like it or not, society elected the current lot.

So yes, you can moan. You can hold people to account afterwards, rightly so, but for now, when we have a democratically appointed group of humans collectively trying to steer a ship through uncharted territory, empty or political posturing from armchair critics and online trolls is really not helpful.

We have individual choices – and responsibilities 

For anyone tempted to blame the media for the information they feed us, can I also say that the media only delivers what the market wants.

Salacious stories only sell because so many of us enjoy them. It’s like gorging on fast food when we know fine well that it’s lazy and not good for us.

In fact, if there’s one thing which thrills me just now, it’s the number of people noticing when journalists ask predictable, repetitive or pointless questions. It’s bad journalism and it’s being increasingly called out. 

There is also a move to defy bullies, with some journalists in Trump’s press briefings for example, saying outright to his face, “That’s not true”. This is good journalism.

But we get the journalism we deserve. Just as we get the government we deserve.

Be a real, human hero

If you don’t like something then take action. Stand up and be counted like Captain Tom and do whatever you can that’s constructive and legal to make things better.

Volunteer, donate, knit, bake, stay home, research your vote carefully. These are all things that mere mortals can do which make a difference. 

Take personal responsibility for doing what you can in the knowledge that being human is enough – it’s the best we can be. And acknowledge that no-one has all the answers and certainly no-one is perfect.

Our current hero is a 99 year old man on a Zimmer.

*The Volunteer, by Jack Fairweather