The musings of a college girl living in the middle of a corn field.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
#Justice4Daisy
In many cases of things gone viral, it's things that put smiles to our faces. Like this video of a guy singing Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" with a Gollum Voice.
Unfortunately, not everything that spreads like online wildfire can be humorous. Sometimes, the thing that is going viral on social media makes your heart want to break in two. Daisy Coleman, a teen from Missouri, has one of these viral stories. On October 12, "The Kansas City Star" published an article online about how after her family moved to Maryville to move on from the death of her father, she was allegedly raped by a high school football star named Matt Barnett and left outside intoxicated in January. However, many people are not content to settle for Daisy to continue living her life without justice, including the internet hacker group Anonymous.
Anonymous has created a call to action in getting justice for Daisy Coleman, just as they had in a similar case in Steubenville, Ohio. A women's rights activist by the name of Courtney Cole has organized a peaceful protest that has gained the support of Anonymous that currently has over 1,000 people meeting at the Nodaway County Courthouse in Maryville, daisies in hand. This young girl is receiving outpouring support from strangers, but was met a horrendous victim-blaming culture in the place that was supposed to help her heal from the loss of her father. But it seems that Daisy will soon have her chance at justice. Due to the negative response to Maryville's actions as a result of a CNN news report and multiple articles, cyber threats, social media posts and campaigns, Nodaway County has decided to bring in a special prosecutor to finally give Daisy's case a day in court (click to 3:30 in the video stream). Social media, while often used for pleasure, can be used to make major changes. It is a powerful tool that can bring awareness to issues and bring results and justice to those who would not see it otherwise. Do you believe that extreme uses of social media are appropriate for cases such as Daisy Coleman? Do you think that groups such as Anonymous are a positive or a negative force for bringing attention to the issue?
I'm wondering how this is the first time I've heard of this case! It's a horrible situation. But you're right when it comes to social media, it's not just for "fun" and other's are beginning to notice that. Social media is a great way to spread word to the masses. If it takes a shocking video from "Anonymous" to raise awareness about a subject people are passionate/emotional about..then why not? I am happy other people have recognized the power of social media!
I've seen a few articles about this case, and most of what I've heard about it is very disheartening to put it mildly. Anonymous is a group that has used controversial tactics at times, and some of the things they have done seem extreme at first glance, but in this sort of case the ends justify those sorts of means, at least in my opinion. It is definitely good news that these activists may have actually made some headway in correcting the ongoing wrongs we've seen here, and it does show how influential social media can be.
I'm wondering how this is the first time I've heard of this case! It's a horrible situation. But you're right when it comes to social media, it's not just for "fun" and other's are beginning to notice that. Social media is a great way to spread word to the masses. If it takes a shocking video from "Anonymous" to raise awareness about a subject people are passionate/emotional about..then why not? I am happy other people have recognized the power of social media!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a few articles about this case, and most of what I've heard about it is very disheartening to put it mildly. Anonymous is a group that has used controversial tactics at times, and some of the things they have done seem extreme at first glance, but in this sort of case the ends justify those sorts of means, at least in my opinion. It is definitely good news that these activists may have actually made some headway in correcting the ongoing wrongs we've seen here, and it does show how influential social media can be.
ReplyDelete