“ What could have been an opportunity to discuss culture and stereotypes at M-A was overshadowed by the onslaught of social media shaming that quickly turned into a school-wide confrontation. in-person interactions regarding her post were respectful, Mediratta explained, “none of them were to the scale that it was on social media.” Some anonymous threats demanded Mediratta reveal her address, making her fearful for her safety. Reading over these messages, Mediratta said, “it doesn’t sound to me like they think I’m being disrespectful. It doesn’t sound like they’re trying to protect [Bryant’s] memory or anything. It sounds like they’re just trying to be violent and rude.” Indeed, anonymity often acknowledged the incident in an email to M-A seniors, saying “students who attended the ” drives people to display their most extreme reactions on social media — but these threatening messages are a side eff ect of a larger trend. On social media, those expressing their disapproval of controversial opinions often personally condemn those who posted them. Expanding criticism of ideas to individuals opens the door for harassment and threats. ***** Another online shaming occurred several days before Mediratta’s post at an M-A basketball game. Th ere, the student manager of M-A’s basketball team wore a durag and walked in a way that some believed mocked African Americans, at one point gesturing over his shoulder and pointing his thumb at basketball players on the court. Another M-A senior fi lmed the incident and posted it to Instagram, calling it cultural appropriation. Posts began to circulate; while some claimed he was trying to promote spirit and rally the crowd, an overwhelming amount of posts rebuked him publicly, saying the event was “blatantly off ensive,” A screenshot of one of the direct messages Ally Mediratta received after her post about Kobe Bryant’s legacy. “racist,” and “ignorant.” One post simply read, “Do better, M-A.” A petition to “cancel” the student manager began to circulate social media as well. It read: “[Student manager] is a sexist and racist pig. [...] We’re tired of staying silent.” Vice Principal Karl Losekoot 12 game posted a picture that led to threatening comments towards the well-being of students in relation to the incident.” He continued, “the reactions and words of students posting threatening comments online is not how the confl ict is repaired.” Losekoot was right: seeing an incident that could have off ended African Americans, several M-A students — almost all of whom were white — took to social media Th e change.org petition against the basketball team’s student manager. for public shaming. While speaking out against racism is commendable, recording people doing problematic things and uploading it to social media isn’t constructive. In actuality, public shamings like this are counterproductive. Public shamings vilify the individual without giving them the opportunity to understand why their actions were hurtful and apologize. Adversely, the subject
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