Mark Zinno: Twitter Tough Guys
I'm not sure where we went wrong. I'm not sure when we thought it was okay for EVERYONE to have a platform to voice their opinion. I mean, hell, I fought for this country twice, so I certainly support America, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but some people should either not be allowed to have a platform or should be punished for being stupid and saying ignorant things.
It didn't take long after Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals scored the series clinching goal in game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to beat the Bruins. Twitter exploded with racial slurs about Ward, who is a Barbados native, and one of the few non-caucasians in the NHL. I'm not sure if Paul Revere made as quick a run through New England. Reading it made me sick. On a daily basis, I read insults, degrading comments and flat out hate about myself from people who text into the station. I take it in stride. I have been shot at before, literally, so a few typed words don't affect my psyche. I can't imagine what Joel Ward must have felt.
I could take the old line, "If he was standing in front of you, you wouldn't say that" approach, but it's not even worth it. I guess these "Twitter tough guys" are so stupid that they can't even realize that Twitter isn't anonymous! We can find out who you are. We can get your info. Like people think they can hide behind a computer and the internet and say whatever they want?!?!? Not anymore.
The only bright I side I see to this is that it is more publicity for the NHL, which has been struggling to keep ratings and viewers. Mostly any attention for the league right now is good. If these morons who chose to use the N-word will cause people to watch a few games here and there, it will probably convert a few causal fans to hockey fans. Still, it is a sad state in our country when this is the representation of citizen that we have and are growing up to be.
If you have a morbid desire to see some of the Tweets, here it is. WARNING! The material is very offensive. http://deadspin.com/5905356/heres-how-racists-on-twitter-reacted-to-joel-wards-series+winning-goal-against-boston
Zinno
