The Terror Behind Our Grief: What We Talk About When We Talk About Robin Williams

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http://www.alternet.org/culture/terror-behind-our-grief-what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-robin-williams



If you want to see how the world really works, watch a tragedy unfold on Facebook.

What critics say about the social network is oftentimes accurate: It can be nasty and brutish, chaotic and dim, full of terrible information and the rankest expressions of ignorance. This is especially true in the case of tragedies as their full dimensions are just starting to come into focus: Ferguson. Gaza. Sanford. Isla Vista. People share without thinking, then stake untenable positions with the appearance of adamantine resolve, showing little or no compunction about inflaming their friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances and even the completest of strangers. The combustible mixture of social media, ego, politics and pride can turn even minor disputes into epic conflagrations. Basically it’s civilization, but in miniature.

There is, however, a flip side to this equation — another way in which tragedy finds new-media expression — and it’s actually just as revealing.

The news last week of Robin Williams’ death occasioned a massive outpouring of public grief. Within moments of hearing the terrible news, millions flocked to social media to post their own personal remembrances of the beloved actor. In place of the normal vicissitudes of Facebook and Twitter, a rare consensus was established of the type we rarely ever see — except when someone famous dies uncontroversially.

[canoeist52]

1. Social media is a public tool. It can be used for good or evil.

And many uses in between. It is what we make of it, like newspapers, radio, TV and even the telephone.