大象传媒

Good Morning

As the drama of election night fades and the country adjusts to a political map redrawn , new MP's are preparing to be sworn in for the very first time.
As they work out how to serve their constituencies and to navigate a new life split between home and the Palace of Westminster, they鈥檒l unfortunately have to deal with something else : personal threats and online abuse.

According to the now former Tory MP Fay Jones, the online abuse and bullying of Members of Parliament is run of the mill.[1] The Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant has said that every single Member of Parliament could 鈥済ive you a list of death threats and threats of attacks that we receive on a pretty much weekly basis.鈥�

So, what about upholding human dignity online? The audience is no longer passive; everyone has a view; the bombardment of abusive social media content is constant. To be targeted online, often anonymously, is dehumanising. The Tech blogger, Nick Harkaway, describes the audience鈥檚 move from passive consumption to interaction as 鈥渢he relentless howl of the exterior world.鈥�

That deafening noise has been evident against England Manager Gareth Southgate as he gets ready for his 100th game in charge. It鈥檚 a must-win quarter final against Switzerland today. His tactics in England鈥檚 first four games at Euro 24 have understandably, been under scrutiny, but the nature of the personal attacks on him as he does his job for the country, are simply appalling

In a recently published Report on Trust and Trustworthiness, the Church of England believes that it is not good enough to say that we simply ought to be nicer to each other. The Report, which is being discussed at this weekend鈥檚 General Synod in York, suggests that senders are insufficiently rigorous when passing judgement on public figures. It goes on to argue that the Christian Gospel is not just about being nice, but involves mutual trust and respect. Avoiding being trigger happy when grappling with issues online.

Throughout the books of the New Testament, it鈥檚 clear that the foundation of trust is reliant on appropriate human behaviour. The nub of Jesus鈥� teaching is full of transformational potential. I can always do better. Turn things around. Start afresh. Show my faith in God by how I treat another human being.
In any Christian community or society (Jesus calls it the kingdom) the dignity of all is paramount. The opposite is an affront to God. And in the relentless howl of that social media jungle, respecting human dignity online is an important starting point towards a goal of less noise, more understanding & the restoration of mutual trust.

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