Social Justice’s Big Injustice

Today’s social media landscape paints the best picture of modern day  ‘democracy’. It is a familiar bandwagon we all love to jump on – someone gets exposed, and society feels irresistibly indignant towards the situation or the victim. We repost and comment on the story, fighting for justice. Before we pat ourselves on the back for this initiative we take for the betterment of society, we have to understand that being a self-righteous crusader and showing off our moral compass may do more harm than good.

Social justice transgresses into mob justice. And often, this leads to doxxing. Do something deemed guilty by the online court of justice and a herd of online vigilantes start hounding on you. Almost always, tens of threads are instantaneously created to shame the perpetrators, and personal information such as their address, telephone number, workplace, is spread throughout social media.

 In Singapore, the discourse between a BMW driver and an elderly pump attendant at a petrol station was caught by a Facebook user, which posted an account of the story on her page. The driver accused the pump attendant of pumping more than he had desired, and refused to pay the full amount. Netizens flocked to the post, commenting and slamming the driver, even posting his LinkedIn account, his number and usual parking spots. He feared for his life, eventually making a police report.

Doxxing ignores the systems and authority in place that grant victims and perpetrators due process. It ignores systems that ensure fairness and a deserving punishment for every action. Online vigilantes decide to serve up their own concoction of justice that they deem is appropriate, making punishment for transgressors more severe than necessary.  

Though social justice does good in serving as the public surveillance system for morality, misinformation and falsehoods are inevitable. Social media does not guarantee objectivity and credibility. Instead of presenting facts, a mob herds on using emotion.

Another instance was when a blurry video of a couple fighting with an elderly man, and the man shoving the elderly, went viral. Though this case may indeed be deserving of attention, social media users initially incorrectly identified the perpetrators. The wrongly-accused woman received numerous tags and comments shaming her, making her “emotional” and “scared”.

Social justice is a means to bring issues to light, but there is questionable logic when it comes to challenging the established laws and jurisdiction in place that guard our community. When we take matters into our own hands, we act on anger instead of depth. If we cannot ensure objectivity and truthfulness in the case we present, maybe it is better if we take a step back.