We’re a nation divided that’s talking at each other and not with each other.
The pandemic, coupled with the violent riots, lit on fire what’s been simmering for years — the ideology that speech is dangerous. Instead of productive debate with complexity and nuance, speech mobs have the power to label it violent and shut it down.
In the past week, we’ve witnessed the worst of this power: the hijacking of peaceful protests in the name of justice that results in criminal activity — destruction of property, physical attacks, and death. The speech mobs on the streets (antifa, fringe members of Black Lives Matter, etc.) shun a peaceful path to change as they willfully shut down those with whom they may share some agreement.
But we’re also witnessing another form of speech mob emerge: the mob that includes your coworkers, your neighbors, your friends, and maybe even your family. They demand you condemn issue X and publicly shame you into specific action or silence if you have a different perspective.
The mobs came out in full force during COVID-19. It wasn’t just the media and politicians condemning dissent; neighbors turned on neighbors.
Two weeks ago, we watched it happen in a Staten Island grocery store in New York. A woman shopped without a mask and was yelled at by fellow patrons until she was forced to leave. It is mandated that everyone wear a mask when they enter the store, but instead of alerting security at the door or the store manager, people took it upon themselves to shame her publicly.
Staten Islanders with masks drive out non-mask wearing person in grocery store. #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/iPQwk7lD9y
— McAuley (@McAuleyATL) May 25, 2020
I had a similar experience while out jogging. Even though I was following all the federal and D.C. guidelines (running while social distancing), a man yelled obscenities at me for not wearing a mask. In 20 years of running in the District, I’ve never received such hateful glares, snide comments, and outright harassment as I’ve experienced in the past two months. I now expect it and mentally prepare for it.
Today a man yelled obsenitites at me during my run, even though I was at least six feet away from him and alone. Why? I wasn’t wearing a mask. This is becoming a daily occurrence for me in my DC neighborhood. Twitter is becoming real life, and it’s not pleasant.
— Beverly Hallberg (@bevhallberg) May 15, 2020
Now we watch as the speech mobs attack protesters. A majority of the country is unified against the horrific deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and supports the elevated charges against Derek Chauvin and the other three police officers. #BlackoutTuesday allowed people to show solidarity outside of protesting.
While many jumped at the opportunity to demonstrate their support on social media, some chose not to. But those who chose not to were met with assumptions from friends and family who determined whether they wanted to associate with you anymore. The most common example included posts along the lines of “your silence is deafening,” followed by a threat to stop being friends with someone if they didn’t fall in line with #BlackoutTuesday.
No conversation. No discussion of policy changes that may have a real impact. Just a determination of someone’s value based on the decision to post or not to post a black square. We now know that the black squares overshadowed any other post that may have sought change by sharing resources.
Add to all of this the common thread of mob rule: binaries. In COVID-19, you either supported reopening, or you supported the death of innocent grandmothers. With the protests, you either support the equality of black people, or you support cops; you either support the right to protest, or you support property protection. In reality, these beliefs don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
The dissolution of productive debate started in higher education, filtered into our media and politics, and now has seeped into the people we associate with on a regular basis. Twitter has aided this decline. It allows for one take on an issue that may be multifaceted, but people deem it laudable or despicable based on a few words. It’s either like or hate — there’s rarely any middle ground.
Our relationships are suffering as a result. Instead of engaging in thoughtful discussion to include hard questions such as “What do we do about COVID-19?” and “How do we hold bad cops accountable?”, we assume the worst of each other. But there is so much room for us to find middle ground and be charitable to one another.
If we are going to solve the problems plaguing our country, we need to have a good old-fashioned brainstorming session where we assume the best of one another and all ideas are brought to the table. If we really want to be neighbors again, let’s start talking with each other instead of at each other.
Beverly Hallberg (@BevHallberg) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is the president of District Media Group.
