Caustic Joke or Online Death Prayer?

A recently created Facebook page reads, "Dear Lord, this year you took my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze. You took my favorite actress, Farah Fawcett. You took my favorite singer, Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know, my favorite president is Barack Obama. Amen."

It follows the creation of a very similar page with a prayer asking God "not to forget" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both pages were created anonymously. When the fallout of this controversial page reached facebook they claimed that, while the page was possibly offense, it did not warrant removal:

"We're sensitive to content that includes pornography, bullying, hate speech, and actionable threats of violence, and we react quickly to remove content that violates our policies when it is reported to us,"

- Andrew Noyes (Facebook spokesman)

The creator of the post that contained the prayer responded that the comment was merely a joke meant to express their distaste for Obama and not actually a plea for his death. However, his/her identity remained concealed.

This story brings to light issues that have previously been discussed, both in class and on this blog, anonymity and legality online. Certainly, the freedoms of speech and of the press are highly regarded in all forms of publication. However, it is improbable that a non-internet based publication of a similar stature would be able to get away with posting something that can be considered irresponsible without retraction. It is a frequent trend in our society that technology advances at a level that surpasses the development of legal/ethical principles and policies. This is not lessened by the fact that policing people online is hardly a feasible task. It is simply too easy for people to get around the law or blur its lines.

It is also interesting to note that the creators of both pages (about Obama and Ahmadinejad) chose to remain anonymous. It is quite comment (as noted by the Professor) for anonymous comments on various news cites to be unrestrained and, at times, brutal. The very crux of facebook as a social networking site, however, is that a person's actions are associated with their identity. The fact that the creator's of both of these pages chose to remain anonymous is indicative of an awareness. They knew that this would be ill-received but choosing to post it online ensures that they themselves would be spared any backlash. But is it really a good idea to give people that kind of freedom? Not of speech but from responsibility. What will be the fallout of creating a society dependent on something which is too difficult to control? At this point it seems it is just too early to tell.

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