Laugh Where You Can

Digital ignorance is everywhere.

I mean that in every sense of the phrase. Ignorance about technology, which I'm largely guilty of, as well as just plain ignorance and bias being spread digitally. The internet puts tons of knowledge at our fingertips, but what it really makes it easy to do is reinforce every single bias you've ever held.

Check out that link above. It details how NYPD officers joined a Facebook group to protest having to participate in the West Indian Parade, and proceeded to spew racist, hateful, ignorant comments into the hundreds. And, they were later caught, and tried to deny everything.

It's not surprising. At least the part where we learn that cops despise most minorities and view them as sub-human is not surprising. Trust me, I've heard it all before, and it's just an off growth of the general perception in the world. But it's a little surprising that cops were stupid enough to post all this information in a group that can be publicly viewed despite the fact that their names and pictures were attached to their comments. That is shockingly stupid or incredibly bold, and given the rampant spread of digital ignorance, I'm going with stupid.

 I've heard cops laugh at criminals who get caught because they made stupid posts on Facebook or Myspace, or did some other boneheaded thing. So to learn that more than 1,000 of them would join a publicly accessible post, or that they themselves have Facebook accounts that are publicly accessible is laughable. In fact, that laughter is what is protecting me from the overriding anger I would normally that so many police view people who look like me as savage animals.

Well, whatever it takes.







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