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THE NEWLY-ELECTED 25-year old Fianna Fáil TD Jack Chambers has taken some heat on social media for his opposition to abortion and for declaring he would oppose a referendum on repealing the 8th amendment that bans abortion.
It didn’t take much time for some to denounce the “cyberbullying” of Chambers by an “unsocial media”.
But those accusations are in large part politically motivated: they reveal a political establishment trying to silence dissent.
First, to be clear, of course, political discussion and debate should not resort to name calling and personal attacks. If anything, they distract from the points that those who use them wish to make. And comments about a person’s looks usually mean that those complaining don’t have much to say anyway.
Criticism of government
Further, it is not surprising that social media has become a favourite site to express criticism of government officials. This happens in part because in our political system, there are few effective channels allowing citizens to voice their discontent.
Let’s explore the political dimension to the recent claims that Jack Chambers was bullied online.
First, looking at the actual evidence, where number of websites did a compilation of the “most abusive” tweets Chambers received. Granted, they’re not nice, but if this is bullying that should be outlawed, many Twitter users would become criminals!
Anybody active in the media will be familiar with such comments. I have myself been told to go back to my country as a foreigner, that I was just a dumb conspiracy theorist, along with a long list of comments about my looks.
Somebody even compared me to David McWilliams, triggering an online debate about whether this was bullying me or praising me! But the picture is clear: public figures get criticised all the time, and they almost never care.
Jack Chambers himself seems to agree, by reacting exactly as a mature politician would: “he is not letting any of it bother him” and focuses on more important things than comments about his hair. When asked how he handled the negative comments on social media, he replied: “I get on with my job. There are bigger issues to focus on… If you go on tracking what everyone is saying about you online, you would be forever distracting yourself from the proper business of politics.”
But why are journalists like the Irish Times’ Harry McGee writing articles denouncing with outrage the “torrent of abuse” against certain TDs like Chambers?
Negative commentary
The answer is that it protects the main parties from criticism. Indeed, if journalists were truly opposed to negative commentary in the media, they would denounce immediately the overwhelmingly negative coverage against people like Paul Murphy TD who was accused of just about everything for challenging the water charges. They would also denounce the negative accusations against Sinn Féin, which has been linked to every vice and crime imaginable. And this applies whether we love or hate Sinn Féin and Paul Murphy, which is a separate issue.
Some are calling for stricter laws against bullying and its criminalisation. But this is often a slippery slope that leads straight into “Big Brother” policing of the internet by the government. And if that happens, we can all say goodbye to freedom of speech and dissent.
It is very easy to predict what would happen if the government started policing the internet to catch and arrest alleged “bullies”: it is overwhelmingly those who criticise government policy who would be arrested.
Indeed, would the government be arrested for “bullying” the population into accepting austerity and EU-IMF bailout for fear that “economic Armageddon” would strike Ireland, a claim that was repeated ad nauseam? Recall that 500 people committed suicide in this country because of austerity. And recall that over one million of our citizens now live under deprivation. And that homelessness has reached record levels.
Also, when the political class denies the right of women to simply have control over their own bodies, it is normal that some people will react to that. Those who wish to reduce the negative commentary on Twitter may want to criticise more strongly government policies that affect women negatively. If they do, they will get much praise on social media.
Julien Mercille is a lecturer at University College Dublin. Twitter: @JulienMercille.
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It’s unfortunate that he is receiving nasty online abuse but his situation is much less unfirtunate than that of a woman unable to travel abroad for an abortion. We should focus on who the real victims are.
It is common practice for political correspondents to curry favour with politicians by defending them.
It is a fair comment that AAA and PBF as well as SF politicians have taken much online abuse.
A great article raising some worrying points about fine fail and the kind of policies that will be brought in under them. Stifle debate and turn their back on the promises they made in the election.
Maybe the Irish people would be better served with a second election as we really seem to have got it wrong.
Another crap article from this guy. Is he trying to set a record? Is this what passes for an academic these days? Jesus Christ. He should be embarrassed at his output on here, yet he keeps com,ing back for more.
He’d do better to take on a critical thinking course instead of spewing this non-stop shite to make his CV look better.
Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. It’s being attacked at the moment by Social Justice Warriors particularly. We must never let what people feel is offensive or hurts their feelings get in the way of robust discussion and facts in any debate.
One of my pet peeves is when a public figure who gets criticised online points to the worst of the criticism, which can be quite nasty, and uses it to distract from the legitimate criticism they get. They play the victim rather than addressing any of the opposing arguments. If you get enough attention online you will get some crazy people commenting and saying some awful stuff regardless of the topic. I was once told I was the worst kind of human being and that I should die for simply suggesting a guy who showed off his invention on YouTube should patent his idea.
I 100% agree with regarding this cyberbullying laws. Freedom of speech is not a gift. It’s something we fought for and must continue to fight for. These laws are eroding our rights however way they are dressed up to be.
The article is a little odd. Why use Chambers as the launchpad for a piece on online bullying and outlawing same when it was Senator Lorraine Higgins who recently introduced a bill on the issue?
Interesting how so many have latched on to Jack Chambers and online bullying. I agree that some of the comments re JC have been nasty and personal but they pale into insignificance when compared to some comments directed towards many others, particularly some women.
Mary Lou McDonald regularly receives nasty, insulting and deeply personal remarks directed at her, in relation to her dress, her size, her hair etc comments far removed from whatever is being discussed. Very often these go unchallenged or moderated therefore encouraging others to be equally rude. Indeed previously Mary Harney was often treated in similar fashion though Mary Lou’s treatment is usually more vitriolic.
Ex Senator Lorraine Higgins and her bill had more holes in it than a sieve, It seemed designed to combat criticism rather than deal with cyberbullying. I have seen numerous instances where many in public eye or public office have shouted bullying etc in response to legitimate although maybe uncomfortable questions on Twitter, Facebook etc. Indeed I have been blocked by mainly Labour politicians on Twitter usually having made unoffensive comments or asked a legitimate question. It reflects badly on them and something that certainly had an impact on my voting preferences in the recent election. Lorraine herself used ‘bullying’ tactics on many occasions, her treatment of Luke Ming in Euro elections, her early appearances on TV debates where she shouted over everyone and constantly interrupted, her abrasive replies when asked questions she didn’t want to answer etc
Good piece here by Mark Malone on both hers and Pat Rabittes proposed bills https://soundmigration.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/labour-censorship-ireland-social-media/
This guy is bloody clueless.
You seriously think that we should adhere to Mark Malone’s advice? The ultimate Social Justice Warrior and a key figure of Twitter’s Outraged Liberal Mob.
If jack can’t handle the heat get out .by the way where has jack being since he was elected didn’t see him before the election haven’t seen him since
I’m no fan of Jack, in fact he’s the type of politician I despise most. However, it’s not Jack that’s making an issue of it, he realises it goes with the job.
This “Leave Jack Chambers Alone” narrative is one engineered by FF to boost this guy’s profile in the media
An online discussion about whether he will cut his hair or not is hardly at the extreme end of the scale ,
If you consider the online abuse that some TDs have received ( death threats , threats of physical violence, threats of damage to property , bullets in the post etc)
Will you blame F.F. next times it rains?
The rain has nothing to do with FF , bankrupting the country has.
However neither has anything to do with cyberbullying
So you accept your post was totally false and misleading and in fact F.F. have never uses cyber bullying as a way to promote any of their candidates.
Jack trying to get his name out there and it’s working, Hence this article. We should never believe what comes out of a politician mouth . They have a habit of changing their minds .
If an elected TD began sporting huge Afro or a pink Mohawk, along with face tattooes and a peirced lip. Are we not allowed to poke fun at them? Is that personel abuse?
JC chooses to have his hair like that, it’s not like people are slagging him over something he can’t control like a big nose or a birthmark or something. This would be nasty in my opinion.
Mick Wallace is constantly slagged for his hair but it’s all light hearted, Vincent Browne refered to him as the “Blonde bombshell” and they both laughed.
People do not dislike JC over his views on abortion, they dislike the fact he is against other people having their say on the matter.
The freedom of speech aspect dimension is important. Quashing political criticism is the first step in stamping out political dissent.
Tell that to the ………
Being a strange fish or an oddball attracts the abuse
Julien Mercille is a pro-choice so naturally he will brush off this abuse towards Jack Chambers. If it was one of his Social Justice Warrior mates then he’d be getting outraged.
Funny how he says that Jack Chambers apologists are trying to silence debate. The liberal left in Ireland have been doing just that for years. e.g. decrying marriage referendum opposers, marching against Pegida supporters etc, trying to stop David Irving from speaking etc
From the comment lines i visit i see that most of the vile, bullying, abusive and vitriolic comments come from the FG and Labour shills. Most never use their real name, or have a real profile to back their comments up. So concerned are the establishment about social media, they are prepared to stop at nothing to censor and stifle it. Including making the very comments and aiming them at the likes of Jack Chambers so he has something to complain about, and try to justify calling for a curb on social media.
Supporting the denial of the opportunity of the people to vote again on the Eight Amendment and to allow the opportunity to vote on its repeal is an anti-democratic stance to adopt. It is a provocative stance to adopt.
Inevitably, adopting such an anti-democratic position will cause many voters to publish offensive remarks about him online. That said, it his policies and opinions which should be attacked and not the personal traits of the individual.
Do you believe all and everyones constitutional rights be potentially repealed subject to a popular vote Fiona?
Interestingly enough Men Are Harassed More Than Women Online.
‘ On the whole, 2.5 percent of the tweets sent to men but fewer than 1 percent of those sent to women were classified as abusive. Male politicians fared especially badly, receiving more than six times as much abuse as female politicians.”
Are women really singled out for abuse on the Internet—or is it more the case that Internet abuse of women, at least when committed by men, is singled out for special concern and opprobrium?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/04/men-are-harassed-more-than-women-online.html
Oh but when such tweets are aimed at Mary Beard or other such prominent feminists then it labeled as vile abuse. Hypocrisy at its worst.
Unfortunately the types of comment that’s being refered to are neither part of robust debate or facts. They are personal attacks by online cowards who feel posting on social media qualifies them as an activist rather than an abusive commentator of very little value. Ignoring or defending such appalling behaviour is absolving these people of any sense of personal responsibility. Free speech is a right and like other rights, when it is abused it should be withheld.
Sadly the types of comment that’s being refered to are neither part of robust debate or facts. They are personal attacks by online cowards who feel posting on social media qualifies them as an activist rather than an abusive commentator of very little value. Ignoring or defending such appalling behaviour is absolving these people of any sense of personal responsibility. Free speech is a right and like other rights, when it is abused it should be withheld.
The man is a robot.
I don’t think i university lecturers should be getting involved in politics. Universities after all are funded by the taxpayer including conservatives.
I really dislike his views on the 8th amendment. But I also dislike the nasty, personalised attacks our politics are descending into.
Would he have as got as much abuse if he supported abortion, Wonder did lisa cambers get as much hate?
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