Post by clarele112 on Dec 4, 2012 19:34:37 GMT -5
With the drastic leap in the development of technology, social networking services have become very influential in the daily lives of many people. Through mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, people constantly share opinions, activities and events, and get access to new information, connecting with millions of people all over the world. However, social networking services have developed to be not only a means of communication and entertainment but also an effective weapon to combat the tyranny of consensus that is present in many parts of the society.
The recent incident that happened in a small school, Ogemaw Heights High School in Michigan displays the significant role of social networking services in defeating the tyranny of consensus. In this case, the consensus was a group of sophomore students at the high school who voted Whitney Kropp to be the female sophomore representative of the Homecoming as a joke. For Whitney to be nominated, there had to be a good number of votes, a fact which implies that many students joined in on this prank. Out of those many students, some may not have wanted to bully her but went along with the prank to be inside the consensus and preserve themselves from being the targets of the bullies. The situation is similar to the consensus in The Crucible in which townspeople accused others in order to preserve themselves from being the victims of the tyranny of consensus. Even though townspeople did not fully believe in the rhetoric of consensus, the witchcraft, they went along to save themselves.
Nevertheless, fortunately for Whitney Kropp, the incident did not end there. Her sister made a Facebook group to support her, spreading word about Whitney¡¯s situation. Almost instantly, thousands of people all over the country became aware of her situation and actively helped her fight the tyranny of consensus by showing sincere support with numerous emails and comments. In addition, through the Facebook support page, the whole town eventually became aware of Whitney¡¯s difficulties and the local businesses provided her with a dress, shoes and a haircut, greatly contributing to the defeat of the consensus. With the warm support and help of her town and people all over the country, Whitney was able to attend the Homecoming against the aim of the consensus, the bullies.
Thus, through social network services, numerous people not just from inside the community but from all over the world joined in this combat. Compared to Facebook which has millions of members, the consensus was almost powerless and thus, the tyrannical consensus was able to be defeated. Combating the tyranny of consensus is no longer limited to the people within the domain of the consensus but is open to millions of people in America and throughout the world, enabling the consensus to be completely brought down by a force much greater than its own.
In The Crucible, if the people of Salem had access to social media, the tragic consequences such as the hanging of many townspeople could have been prevented. Social networking services would have allowed them to exchange ideas, and they would have been more educated about the injustice of the consensus and had the intellectual power to defeat the consensus. Thus, services like Twitter and Facebook have a significant role in fighting off the tyrannical consensus by making people become more aware of tyranny and exposing the consensus to criticisms from many members of the internet community. In modern times, social networking services help to make society a better place to live as they enable people to constantly check the tyranny of consensus.
Word Count: 598
Works Consulted:
"Michigan teen targeted in homecoming 'prank' gets last laugh." CNN. CNN, n.d.
Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/us/
michigan-bullied-teen/index.html>.
"Whitney Kropp, Bullied Michigan Teen, 'So Happy' at Homecoming." People. Time
Inc., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.people.com/people/article/
0,,20634928,00.html>.
The recent incident that happened in a small school, Ogemaw Heights High School in Michigan displays the significant role of social networking services in defeating the tyranny of consensus. In this case, the consensus was a group of sophomore students at the high school who voted Whitney Kropp to be the female sophomore representative of the Homecoming as a joke. For Whitney to be nominated, there had to be a good number of votes, a fact which implies that many students joined in on this prank. Out of those many students, some may not have wanted to bully her but went along with the prank to be inside the consensus and preserve themselves from being the targets of the bullies. The situation is similar to the consensus in The Crucible in which townspeople accused others in order to preserve themselves from being the victims of the tyranny of consensus. Even though townspeople did not fully believe in the rhetoric of consensus, the witchcraft, they went along to save themselves.
Nevertheless, fortunately for Whitney Kropp, the incident did not end there. Her sister made a Facebook group to support her, spreading word about Whitney¡¯s situation. Almost instantly, thousands of people all over the country became aware of her situation and actively helped her fight the tyranny of consensus by showing sincere support with numerous emails and comments. In addition, through the Facebook support page, the whole town eventually became aware of Whitney¡¯s difficulties and the local businesses provided her with a dress, shoes and a haircut, greatly contributing to the defeat of the consensus. With the warm support and help of her town and people all over the country, Whitney was able to attend the Homecoming against the aim of the consensus, the bullies.
Thus, through social network services, numerous people not just from inside the community but from all over the world joined in this combat. Compared to Facebook which has millions of members, the consensus was almost powerless and thus, the tyrannical consensus was able to be defeated. Combating the tyranny of consensus is no longer limited to the people within the domain of the consensus but is open to millions of people in America and throughout the world, enabling the consensus to be completely brought down by a force much greater than its own.
In The Crucible, if the people of Salem had access to social media, the tragic consequences such as the hanging of many townspeople could have been prevented. Social networking services would have allowed them to exchange ideas, and they would have been more educated about the injustice of the consensus and had the intellectual power to defeat the consensus. Thus, services like Twitter and Facebook have a significant role in fighting off the tyrannical consensus by making people become more aware of tyranny and exposing the consensus to criticisms from many members of the internet community. In modern times, social networking services help to make society a better place to live as they enable people to constantly check the tyranny of consensus.
Word Count: 598
Works Consulted:
"Michigan teen targeted in homecoming 'prank' gets last laugh." CNN. CNN, n.d.
Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/us/
michigan-bullied-teen/index.html>.
"Whitney Kropp, Bullied Michigan Teen, 'So Happy' at Homecoming." People. Time
Inc., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.people.com/people/article/
0,,20634928,00.html>.