Such is the power of social media that seemingly ordinary incidents that may escape the attention of the public at large can be magnified, blown out of proportion and draw a flurry of online reactions both benign and violent.
Take the case of “Jane” who got broadsided by angry comments for her Facebook post in which she used the “F” word—not fantastic or fun—in describing her reaction to the heavy traffic congestion caused by the recently concluded International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).
Wasn’t it not too long ago that a presidential candidate from Davao City used a similar offensive word in castigating Pope Francis for the traffic congestion he caused in last year’s Philippine visit?
Unlike Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who apologized for and clarified his remarks, Jane isn’t a political candidate and had no wish to recant her statement which she made after she and her family had to make a trip to the airport five hours in advance in order not to miss their flight.
“It was just a rant. It was just an expression of frustration. I never would have guessed that it would blow up this way,” said Jane, a sales trainer who admitted that she’s not into any religion.
To be clear, those who lashed out at her didn’t condemn her for her atheism but for insulting the IEC, a once-in-a-lifetime event for any Catholic worth his or her salt.
Even then, it was admirable that Jane is sticking to her guns though further inviting more hate posts and threats to her safety. She has since hired a lawyer and plans to file charges against those who posted obscene, offensive and threatening comments as well as the administrator of the “Cebu Flash Report” Facebook page which shared her post.
While it is expected that her post would draw the ire of the Catholic faithful, the comments that threatened her with physical harm, even rape, doesn’t speak well of the character of these people.
These violent reactions that border on the homicidal and downright psychotic have gone overboard and serve to further justify the continued disbelief of those who either have turned atheist or switched to another religion.
Freedom in social media, which had come under fire from the cybercrimes law, is both a gift and a responsibility that people have taken for granted especially if they command a substantial following.
Jane made herself a target for those who may or may not be Catholics in the real sense of the word, who think they can get away with plastering her with offensive retorts because of her using the “F” word to ventilate her anger over the heavy traffic congestion which all of us have been tempted to do and some of us have fallen to like Duterte.
There are better ways to respond to these rants and it behooves us to be more understanding if not more civilized in our dealings with such.
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