On Social Media

Posted on by thehappylightblog

The social media are currently going through a wave of criticism. Mark Zuckerberg just went to testify in front of member of the US congress to explain the ties of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica and at the same time #deletefacebook is trending. Facebook is currently being blame for all that went wrong. Brexit, Trump, the Rohingyas…

The involvement of Facebook on this is real, but the blame shouldn’t be point out on it. Having a better Facebook won’t prevent this kind of action. The responsible isn’t Facebook but people. They are the one to be accounted for. Facebook is just a tool that can be used to perform right or wrong actions, good or bad things. I think we have a tendency to focus on the tools to work out on the problem instead of understanding in depth the problem. It is easier to work on the tool that on the people but improving the tool isn’t a long-term solution. The problem would still take place with a different instrument. A tool is just a tool, it depends of what people build with it.

US and Gun Control

Posted on by thehappylightblog

As a new mass shooting took place in the United States within a school a new wave of discussion raised again concerning gun control. The same arguments are used again by the ones in favor of more regulation and the one against it. Trump himself took position in favor of (a little) more regulation. The discussion, as always, is a stubborn yelling between the two factions, everyone thinking the other ones have lost their mind.

However, the gun control is only one part of the problem. There is no discussion about the reasons why this former student did what he did, no discussion about what can go in the mind of someone whose life droves to do such a thing. One of the solution of the mass shooting, particularly in schools, may be in the understanding of the problem as a whole, not only the outcome. School life could be really difficult to some people, the bulling being a huge problem with heavy consequences. Moreover, this could result not only on a diminution of school mass shooting but also on the improvement of the quality of life of many students.

This bothers me because of the lack of progress in the gun debate and the forever fundamental opposition between to views of society. In the US, where a gun culture is really important in the life of a large part of the population it would be difficult to end up with a satisfactory and effective solution. The discussions are now about laws when they should be focus on people.