Anti-social media

I
 am going to be totally transparent and admit wholeheartedly that I watch reality TV. I’m not proud, but I’m not ashamed either. 
The irony is that reality TV is as far from reality for most of us as it can get. However, as I was watching one of the “Real Housewives” franchises the other night, a sudden reality hit me — a real truth that all of society shares, and that is that social media has desensitized us to what being a good person means. 
We see it every day on every platform where people spew venom at others simply because they may have different beliefs than we do. 
When we are able to hide behind a keyboard, it makes us bolder in our attacks. 
I think that everyone should consider one very important thing. Are you ready to look someone in the eye and speak the poison you spray on social media to their face?
I would venture to say that most of us would not. At least that is my fervent hope. 
Now, smack talking has been a thing since sports began but to be honest, the level it has reached since I played is a little shocking. And not just from players!
I recently heard that an official actually spoke rudely to players and made potentially game changing rulings based on the current score of a contest. 
I was flabbergasted! Unfortunately that is the truth, and I would venture a bet that our increasing lack of a sense of accountability that has oozed out of social media platforms may be to blame.
And we also need to face the fact that what we put on social media for the world to see can have repercussions.  
A great example of this is what is going on right now with LeBron James, who is in the midst of controversy regarding his tweet about the fatal police shooting of a 16-year-old African American girl in Columbus, Ohio, which he posted on the same day Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. 
Following the announcement of the verdict, James tweeted YOU’RE NEXT #Accountability along with the picture of Officer Nicholas Reardon who shot Ma’Khia Bryant four times when she continued to swing a knife at another young girl after being ordered to drop it. 
Regardless of your opinion regarding the tweet itself, it has landed James in hot water on several fronts. The owner of Linnie’s Pub in Cincinnati, Ohio, posted that he would not be showing any NBA games in his bar until James was expelled from the league, and though in the grand scope of things that means nothing to the basketball star, it ignited a storm of controversy that got everyone’s attention.
Most recently, the LAPD Union has sent a letter to the NBA asking for an investigation into James regarding the tweet which he has since deleted because he claimed it led to arousing more hate.
The LAPD is saying that James is a hypocrite and is accusing him of “inciting violence … towards police officers,” and they want the league to look into the situation to see if he has violated any policies by posting the tweet.
I guess I can’t imagine that James has violated any policies, but the point is that he brought this situation on himself by tweeting without considering the fallout. Too many of us do that, I think, and maybe it’s time to put the “social” back in social media.