John Oliver talks about the power of public shaming, good and bad.Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel...
"One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason." "People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused."
-The first and sixth Tenets of The Satanic Temple ~
I really enjoyed this episode of John Oliver from a couple of years ago, as one of the many things that horribly depresses me about social media, youtube, etc is the obsession with making fun of and harassing people.Now, - I'm definitely down for shitting on unrepentant scumbags like tucky-fucky carlson or donald dumpass trump, but that's because:
a - they are unashamed of their terrible behavior and continue to engage in it
b - They have a reasonable amount of influence and power over others. Both get/got to speak on national television and one of them also had the ability to legally interfere with other people's lives.
c - They both get to behave terribly while facing no accountability from their close peers and accomplices.
Context is important. I may have a friend who I recall having said something hurtful 5 or 10 years ago. But that friend may be a very different, much better person than they were 10 years ago, too. They may remember the thing they did to me that was hurtful and still feel bad about it. If I were to "put them on blast" publicly for that past event, then I feel I'd the one being an asshole at that point. This isn't me saying you *owe* anyone forgiveness - you don't - but I do want to encourage others to consider these things before posting about something shitty someone did 10 years ago without *at-least* knowing what kind of person they are now and if they are doing their best to best to make amends for their past actions.
