“Canine Columnist”: “Social Media- When a Bark is Worse Than a Bite”

By Santino Corleone Berkwitt

I’m a Havanese by breed, and though relatively small, I am fearless. But I will admit when I hear the bark of a Rottweiler, I take note. This doesn’t mean that I will back down, but it means that I am on alert. I view a bark as a threat, and I take threats seriously. I won’t bite a dog simply for barking at me though. Yet, I will admit that sometimes a bark is just as bad as a bite, and humans are the worst. Why do I say this?

Yesterday, I was reading a sports article on social media and thereafter, I clicked on the comments to see what others were thinking about the article. It’s March Madness, and hey, a pup likes to keep up with the upsets. I’m from Oklahoma and we lived in Tulsa, so imagine my excitement when I saw that Oral Roberts University beat Ohio State. I was wagging my tail and Bella was smiling profusely. We licked Mom and Dad and did our little happy dance until I saw something that took all the energy out of me. Actually, it made me so sad that all of my excitement dissipated.

Evidently and understandably, some of the Ohio State fans were disappointed. Where their disappointment crossed the line is when they started sending threatening messages to E.J. Liddell, Ohio State’s phenomenal forward. Here is a twenty year old young man who finished with a team high 23 points, yet his failure to hit a free throw revealed that many in that fan base are worse than the most rabid dog that I have ever seen. One so-called fan wrote Liddell : “You are such a f**king disgrace. Don’t ever show your face at Ohio State. We hate you. I hope you die.” Another fan threatened to kill him.

What is wrong with people? Are their lives so empty and void of purpose that they invest all their energy and emotion into something that should be an enjoyable pastime? What is it about social media that makes some people become keyboard warriors of sorts, spewing hatred and threats that they would not dare to say to that person’s face? If a human being cannot control their speech and emotions, how are they better than any non-domesticated animal?

Sadly, the viciousness of the human bark does not stop there. I have seen people call other people the worse names ever for simply having a difference of opinion. Granted, this difference of opinion isn’t one that minimizes another person’s rights or humanity, they may simply think that one restaurant is better than the other or that a certain athlete performs better than another. And don’t start me to talking about the times that people either misconstrue facts or flat out lie about situations.

I enjoy social media, but I am starting to see that it sometimes has the opposite effect. Instead of encouraging people to be social, sometimes it does the opposite. Sometimes the things that people say to one another on social media are more hurtful than physically striking one another. How sad.

In conclusion, I have come to realize that social media is just like any other tool. It has its good parts, but it also has drawbacks. Whether social media is good or bad depends on the user. And like any tool, it can be used as a weapon. So human beings, before you hit “send” THINK about the impact. Don’t fire words like a bullet, because they can have the same impact- they can be destructive and hurtful.

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