Friday, January 29, 2016

"Forget Cat Videos: YouTube is Powered by Schadenfreude"

Acculturated:  Acting out in public means always having to say you’re sorry — at least if your actions are captured on video and posted online. (video at the link)....

She got drunk; she had a public tantrum. She launched an unprovoked attack on a man who was just trying to do his job. It’s hard not to sympathize with those who argue that this form of digilante justice offers swift, sure punishment to the entitled and badly behaved. We’ve replaced the public stocks in the town square with YouTube video shaming, a harsh but effective form of justice.

Ramkissoon at least had the opportunity to try to redeem herself by offering a nationally broadcast apology (she appeared on Good Morning America and declared, “I’m ashamed”; one imagines that had she not been a privileged medical resident, she’d have been giving that interview from the county jail, not across a table from George Stephanopoulus, but no matter).

And yet, those of us who film and watch these meltdowns aren’t entirely without fault either. YouTube is powered by schadenfreude, and ours is an era that has embraced a new voyeuristic bystander effect that encourages us to watch the shameful acts of others while reassuring ourselves that we would never do such a thing.

Perhaps we wouldn’t, but let he who has never had a bad day and said regrettable things in public cast the first stone.

Ramkissoon will soon fade from public memory, to be replaced by the next rude person unfortunate enough to have his or her behavior captured by a phone. But what shouldn’t fade is this question: Is this the kind of justice we want to encourage, one that rejects empathy for immediacy and forgiveness for shaming?

7 comments:

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Public shaming works. When people lived in small towns and communities where you knew who your neighbors are and with people that you will be seeing frequently, people were more careful to not be total asses in public. It WILL come back to haunt you.

Now that we are a more global community of people who are disconnected with each other, public shaming takes another method. You can't, as in the old days or in my small town, look directly at that person and "shame" them with the knowledge that we know what you are doing and we we KNOW what kind of an ass you really are.

So.....the videos are used in the same manner. Publicly make the person a laughing stock, or show the world how shamefully they have acted.

The purpose of shaming is to make that person aware of their actions and not do it again.

I bet this dumb bimbo doesn't act like this in public again. Or not....some people are just shameless

:-)

ricpic said...

Maybe because men are aware that if they "act out," no matter how miserable they are, there's likely to be pushback, including corporal punishment from other males. So they stifle. This broad knew full well that throwing things and screaming at the uber driver was not going to get her a frosk (smack in the chops) so she indulged her inner child.

Meade said...

First do no alcohol.

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deborah said...

Daddy's little girl.

ampersand said...

I'm surprised there isn't a You Tube award show. The Youbies. I suppose the categories would be pretty lengthy however, on the bright side, there will be plenty of black nominees.

Methadras said...

Word of advise to this girl. Alcohol isn't for you. Stay far far away. Also, nice ass. Thank you.