Image Credit: Twitter / Justin Trudeau

By Daniela Ginta

The Way I See It

GINTA: Do you use social media to build or destroy?

Jan 27, 2020 | 11:25 AM

IT WAS MORE RIDICULOUS THAN FUNNY. In fact, it was not funny at all. It so happened that last week, our prime minister stopped by a locally-owned doughnut shop in Winnipeg and bought a few dozen for a meeting he was holding in town. He posted a photo on Twitter — and then the hell broke loose.

He was roasted like nothing else. Why aren’t the Tim Hortons doughnuts good enough? He is obviously a middle-class elitist for buying such expensive doughnuts. He is selfish and conceited and so on. It kept on rolling like a bad cold that just doesn’t want to let go. Yep, it became #doughnutgate. The toxic virtual plume was shocking.

The owners of the doughnut shop affirmed their position on social media, defending the prime minister’s choice of treats. They are a locally-owned shop, they use local ingredients, have a small team of employees whom they pay a living wage rather than minimum wage, they compost and overall have a well-rounded business model that suits a good little local business. Which we all want to have more of, right? Extremely cheap but quality food is an oxymoron. Big corporations will never put the customer’s well-being ahead of corporate interests. Small local businesses thrive when their customers are happy. ‘Nuff said.

One comment I read online was the best reflection of how ridiculous this attack was. It went like this: “Can we focus on the REAL issue here please? Is it donut or doughnut?” Indeed. That was the degree of silliness attained by the issue.

We have seen it countless times. People with too much time on their hands and too much spite unfortunately, find themselves lashing out at whoever does something to upset their delicate emotional and moral (ha!) balance.

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It could be politicians, or journalists, or just ordinary people who happen to be in the news for one reason or another. Mind you, I am not opposed to having opinions. On the contrary, it is healthy and necessary to have a constant social dialogue. But civility need not leave the room — or the screen and keyboard, as the case may be.

Talk about the issue, say your say, but don’t use social media as a bludgeoning tool to destroy the person. Since Trudeau has become our prime minister there have been many occasions when I criticized his approach to politics. As a person though, I cannot speak. I do not know him personally, and even if I did, what good would it do to go at it? After all, we spend a lifetime trying to know ourselves and most of us do not come near, so the only person I can ever take jabs at or criticize for one reason or another is myself.

I can and do however address someone’s actions. Let’s keep doing that. Social and political public discourse can improve the way a society functions and it can help us see a different point. It makes us think.

Cheap and toxic shots — troll-like behaviour as it were — are uncalled for. The veil of anonymity may offer some cover but then again, why not raise oneself to the kind of behaviour that others can glean valuable insights from instead of averting their eyes because somehow the conversation pool has become an ugly swamp.

I am on the fence with social media in general but I do agree that it is a powerful tool which we can use to change the world, our immediate community included.

Think fundraisers that get amplified into amazing acts of kindness to bring actual help and relief to those in need, at the same time reinstating our collective hope in humanity. Think stories that reveal vulnerability, or strength, or facts of life that need to be seen and learned from; or discussed and made a big fuss about.

There is a lot happening in the world and choosing to be present seems like a necessary act of civil duty for many. As for the “right” to shred a public person apart, or, God forbid, wish them dead – which also happened not long ago — that is an abuse of the freedom we have been granted as social media has evolved into the complex and scary-at-times machine that it is today. Here’s hoping we see more of what we ought to cultivate, and less of the stuff we can do without.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.