Time for the community to take charge
From my buddy Jim comes this news item from Philadelphia:
Nation & World | Thousands of black men to help patrol violent city | Seattle Times Newspaper
This is truly amazing. I'm crossing my fingers for these folks, I really hope that it does something to stem the tide of violence in their city. When I read about something like this, it makes me think that the truth of the matter is that we have to police ourselves.
Whether it's in "real life" or online, what needs to be understood is that no one central authority could ever hope to truly stop all bad behavior. In the communities that you're a participant, you need to band together with others to curtail unacceptable behavior. Stand up, call people out on their inability to participate in productive ways and lend your voice to others who are willing to do the same. We should be able to navigate our differences in a manner that doesn't rip to shreds the communities that we exist in. Whether it's the comments section of your blog or your neighborhood, it's high time that we recognized that the minority who choose to act anonymously, in secret, with hate and ill will are just that - the minority. We all can take a stand against them. Make sure you're one of the people standing up.
Well...it certainly is encouraging. I'd love to see it work. I hope to hear more about it.
Posted by: Benjamin Hoyt | October 26, 2007 at 08:17 AM