It's been a few months since I became active on twitter. I use my handle to share things that I'm learning about digital identity. Given the active and often acrimonious discourse around Aadhaar, my twitter feed is often full of tweets from individuals who are very passionate about this subject. There have been a few times that I've been attacked either personally or as part of the organisation that I am part of. Of course, my nature is to not be drawn towards anything I perceive as negative or aggressive. But the way discussions play out on twitter leaves me dejected.
I feel saddened that people fail to realise that, at the end of the day, it's just an individual on the other side. An individual who has similar aspirations, fears and motivations as us. As much as we highlight the differences between us and ascribe ulterior motives (greed, lust for power, etc.) to the 'other', I strongly believe that there's something unifying between us. It is true that our values differ and those values result in different actions. But, in any case, values are social constructs. The foundations underlying human actions are emotions. And here, we have more in common.
If this is true, then respecting another individual irrespective of the opinion he/she holds is paramount. If I cannot respect the individual on the other side, how do I respect myself? If respect and courtesy becomes a function of opinions and other things, what will prevent me tomorrow from expanding the set of independents to include more and more variables?
The viciousness and aggression that media like twitter unleash, even among so-called 'liberal' circles, has surprised me. In such an environment, self-reflection becomes all but impossible. And if self-reflection becomes difficult publicly, it would lead to a deterioration in public discourse because all of us would only put our best (and safest) foot forward.
But what does this mean for me personally? The train has left the station on this one and I feel powerless before the larger forces that drive this medium. I'm glad that twitter didn't exist when I was younger, impressionable and more prone to hurt. Today, I can carry on a difficult discourse on twitter, while at the same time turning to Facebook, a smaller circle, to talk about my own learnings in life. I shudder to think of a world where the aggression of online fora would silence me and many others. Till then, this is perhaps a battle worth fighting. A battle to create safe spaces online.
