Is It Still Worth It?

On Tuesday afternoon, I talked to a group of teachers about social media. I told them that social media platforms are both spaces and media, meaning what happens should be treated as published works while also keeping in mind the fact that they are communities. Later that day, I felt like a hypocrite. I watched a mob mentality develop based upon a one-sided story. I found it interesting that the same people who were quick to forgive someone's admitted drunk driving were the first to pick up pitch forks and jump to conclusions about alleged sexual harassment. I began to wonder if it's worth it. I couldn't help but think about how I would handle it if accusations were being lobbed at me publicly and people were being quick to demand that I be removed from speaking, writing, etc. It had me thinking about the times when this spaces has been painful -- the hate mail sent when I wrote about Louis CK, the name-calling by certain unschoolers (who referred to me as a child abuser and prison guard because I teach). This event had me questioning why people were so quick to delight in taking a semi-public figure down like that without showing an ounce of empathy or compassion. It had me wondering why people felt the need to turn this into a policy talking point while someone's professional reputation was being drug through the mud based upon facts that were fuzzy at best. But here's the thing: all communities are like that. Staff lounge gossip, church gossip, neighborhood gossip. They can all do irreparable damage. The danger in being connected is how fast it spreads and how far it goes. It is an amplifier of the best and the worst parts of the human condition. The damage done in less than a week by carelessness and vitriol can't be deleted (even if the tweets and the posts are taken down). At the same time, this online community is very real to me. I have friends here who have talked to me during my lowest points in teaching. I have friends who I have shared my story with. I have friends who I can bounce ideas off of as I plan and share what's working without feeling like I'm bragging. Within this space, I have very real friends who have saved my teaching career. That's why I stay within the "connected community." With that said, one of the people who spoke valuable truth into my life was the man accused of harassment (in a post that has since been deleted). I remember him encouraging me to write publicly (including fiction) even when the audience wasn't there.  I don't know if he will stay online after being attacked so viciously. I'm hoping he does, because I'll miss him if he goes off-line.