the hug and horror app
genkaku
Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
A friend passed along the following article. I freely admit that it plays to one of my greatest fears -- that the wonders of man's capacity as a social being (sangha, for example) may equally outline a capacity for horrible error. Whatever your reaction to the story, still I think this grisly tale deserves wide consideration: Blessings come tethered to equally resplendent curses.
Is there any such thing as something so good that it can be exempt from evil? And likewise, can there be anything so evil that it does not bring with it the capacity for good? No blessing comes without the coming/potential of curse ... and vice versa.
This is not just some moral talking point ("Oh! Oh! I read a book about that! Let me blow some ethical smoke up your bum.")
Own your life! Don't be a coward.
The whole matter as it relates to Buddhism practice harkens for me back to the approximate words attributed to Gautama: "Better your own truth (Dharma), however weak/Than the truth (Dharma) of another, however noble)" This is an important/vital admonition.
Don't be a coward. Buddhism is more than just bookish Tinker Toys.
Rumours of child abductors spread through WhatsApp in a small town in Mexico. The rumours were fake, but a mob burned two men to death before anyone checked.
Comments
I heard about that story, its more than a little scary. The information landscape is so jumbled and fraught with bad information, more than most people can reasonably sort through. I've heard a few stories about possible developments of algorithms that could sort through the mess and quickly source stories and rumors in order to give some sort of rating to the likely truth of some bit on info. In the mean time we could all do well to improve our own ability to filter out bias and misinformation.
Sadly the article reminded me of the barbarism of the "lynch mobs"
Online or in the flesh, mob mentality can creep in...
A person for example may post something innocent online, another person ( who may be in a bad mood...Dukkha running rampant) reads more into it/taking it out of context ( we no doubt have all at one time or another done this) and sets the scene....Others buy into the misguided information spread by the overly active mind of the scene setter and the next thing you know, the poor original 'innocent' poster is verbally torn apart...by "Mob Mentality"
I guess this is why one one must remain vigilant and work diligently when it comes to cultivating mindfulness practice in one's daily life....
A mind that remains far from the madding crowd
Internet mobs are sadly becoming a more regular thing, they can destroy peoples lives before their victims even know what is happening with no ability to defend themselves. In addition to lynchings it is also reminiscent of witch trials. Jon Ronson has had some good things to say on the matter.
What is scary about this story is that the mob spread beyond the anonymity of the internet into the real world and taken beyond social ostracization to physical violence. I also think of the story during the 2016 presidential election here of rumors that claimed Hillary Clinton maintained a child sex ring in the back of a Washington DC pizza shop and someone came and shot up the place.
Minus the snootiness, the approximate maxim of Francois de La Rochefoucauld seems to hold up: "The intelligence of the mass [people] is inversely proportionate to its number."
And that brings me back to none other than my own participation: However cozied I might long to be, still, if I cannot stand on my own two feet, I am hip-deep in sheep dip.
I heard a comment today that when new media comes about, such as with the printing press, there has been a period of chaos and unrest that occurs before people are able to sort things out. Not that these sorts of things aren't going to get worse, but that it probably won't be a permanent way of life. On the positive side, in addition to many negative and harmful changes that arise out of chaos often times new and improved ways of being in the world come too. From the printing press came the protestant reformation, the scientific revolution and probably the Enlightenment which helped build our modern world of liberal democracies and human rights.