Outrageous

I've avoided commenting on anything related to the earthquake in Sendai because, well, I don't have a good track record when it comes to commenting on disasters. Moreover, what I would have to say would be mainly about my reaction to other people's reactions, which risks going beyond navelgazing into full-on hypocrisy.

But the whole tamtampamela affair speaks directly to a growing concern I've had with the nature of my online contacts. At least three of my Facebook friends shared her "God is Good!" video before I found evidence (via fengi) confirming that it was a hoax. Not I'm not bragging here about not being taken in. Although I did suspect it was a troll post, I was dubious because I couldn't quite imagine someone clever enough to make it being idiotic enough to put their actual face on it. Even now, I have friends of friends claiming that her association with Landover Baptist Church doesn't prove anything because she could still be a genuine fundie nutcase who's swallowed their satire at face value.

These are the contortions that intelligent people will go through to convince themselves that they haven't been punked. It's why tamtampamela's inbox is filling up with death threats. Rubbing someone's faces in their own psychological weaknesses is not a way to make them your friend. What bothers me most about the whole uproar is not the offensiveness of the hoax but how deep the need was among a broad segment of people not only to believe that someone who had such extreme views existed but to seek them out. Literally within hours of the first reports, I saw people on FB musing openly about how soon it would be before we heard of some fundamentalist preacher blaming the catastrophe on its victims.

Apparently, they've still waiting. I mean, I can't imagine that my flist wouldn't've informed me otherwise given how quick some were to find and post the amateur video of a complete nobody. I'm not disputing that there exists someone who honestly holds such opinions, but so what? I would never associate with such a person in real life. If they started ranting to me on the bus, I would change seats. So why would I invite them into my own home? Consequently, I haven't actually played the video. As I complained to monshu last night over dinner, what benefit does that bring anyone? It doesn't broaden my understanding of humanity and only increases my cynicism. It won't make me more sympathetic to the tsunami victims than I already am. And I have no need to raise my stress level by looking for more examples of human stupidity and cruelty than are already found in a casual survey of the news.

The only people who conceivably could benefit from watching the video--those who make it a practice to actively seek out causes for outrage--are highly unlikely to. I don't see many of them holding up a mirror and saying, "Tamtampamela did not exist so we had to invent her." No, I see that energy directed toward loathing the instrument of their humiliation. It's human nature; it's what I would do in a situation where I'd been the one duped. So this all leaves me with the question of how do I deal with such people--particularly when they are genuine friends instead of social networking Friends. If only FB had content-based filters--or if only I could find a better way of interacting with social contacts online. Or maybe the problem is even more fundamental and the solution lies in the same direction as welcomerain's and spookyfruit's decisions to turn their backs on online social networking.