#notthatmean

I'm not as mean as I could be...

This video is so powerful, emotional, and disappointing all at the time.

In this #NotThatMean PSA, @NotJustSports asked regular men off the street read mean tweets (no, they are not the original authors) about ESPN W’s sportswriters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro,  Little did they know, it wasn’t going to be like the Jimmy Kimmel skit on the TV, it was going to be alot worse. 

When I first watched this video, I cried. In past posts, I have written about how I want to be a sports reporter/writer/pretty much anything in sports media. The thought of seeing these kinds of comments on my Twitter breaks my heart. These tweets aren’t just like “Oh you suck, you don’t know what you’re talking about” They’re threatening their lives and calling them names that these guys can barely say out loud to them. Like, if these guys said this to their mom they would get their ass kicked and wouldn't ever see their mom again. So what do we do to stop this for good? In my Race, Gender in the media class, this was the big topic of discussion. I know for me I was raised that this wasn't okay. I was raised Christian, and that this was absolutely not acceptable. Most of my guy friends, and guys I am acquainted with, would never say this to a woman. But, I can’t help but think, given the circumstance, would those same guy friends do it if their guys agged it on? It’s something that needs to be changed and it’s something that guys need to be taught and aware of. They need to be taught to rise above it and stop it before it happens or someone around them does it. The one hope out of watching this video is seeing the pure heartbreak and disgust in the men’s faces when they’re reading these tweets. It shows that there’s hope in humanity and that this PSA can make a difference on social media and just how women (and people) are treated in general. It may not stop the bullying on social media, not just of women’s in sports media, but people in general.   

Another good TED talk I’ve watched about cyberbullying is Monica Lewinsky’s TED talk. She shares her experience of being a person that no one knew, to being one of the most recognizable names in history.