The Internet Saves the Day, Except Not Really
June 24, 2012 § 1 Comment
Really smart article by Adrian Chen at Gawker re: the Karen Klein saga. As Chen explains, rewarding this sort of victimization –currently Klein’s honeypot is over $500K– ends up commoditizing and indirectly glamorizing the experience of having been victimized, which doesn’t help anybody. Money quotes:
By chipping in $20, or $5, donors are paying off Klein for the violation of watching a gang of awful lilliputians tell her they are going to kill her family, which they did for entertainment, while bored at their desk during lunch. And if Klein accepts the cash, she’ll accept that logic and turn into a professional victim, compensated amply for doing absolutely nothing.
…
If the outpouring of money is supposed to teach bullies a lesson, what would Klein accepting the money teach bullying victims? That no matter how senselessly you suffer, no matter how public your humiliation, there is always some dollar amount that can make up for it. It gets better, for a price.
Truly, one of the great concluding sentences.
I felt awful after watching that video, but I am glad that Karen Klein is getting somewhat of a happy ending. I think she deserves it and I’m glad that she is donating some of that money to charity and good causes. I wrote an article yesterday about her story and the power of the Internet and social media. Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out:
http://caseykurlander.wordpress.com/
Thanks!
Casey