We’ve all done it, maybe even accidentally. A misspoken phrase. A stupid choice of words. And the next thing you know, things flare up out of proportion.
The book of James warns us that our tongue is a small flame that can start some devastating fires. It’s a pretty good bet, though, that most indiscretions don’t create a situation quite like the one that took place recently in Girard, Penn. This was a calamitous collision of a silly statement, simmering fear and the power of social media.
“He’s the type to bring a gun to school,” a girl student reportedly said about a 17-year-old kid named Austin Carner on Friday, March 2. Somebody typed the statement onto their Facebook page. And the spark caught.
The next day, the texts and comments were heated. From there the “he’s the type” statement intensified into something of an explicit threat and panic started to blaze. After all, people were still recovering from a school shooting that had taken place in nearby Chardon, Ohio, where three students had died just days earlier. Hundreds of calls were made to the school. And by Sunday the authorities were at young Austin’s door with a serious glint in their eyes.
“Some of the things that were out there [on Facebook] were really outlandish,” Girard School District Superintendent James Tracy told msnbc.com. But, of course, they don’t feel outlandish at the time. “Unfortunately, when … kids—and also adults—sit in front of the computer, they don’t think the responsibility is there because they’re not talking to somebody,” the superintendent said. “They’re putting it down on the screen and pushing a button. I think it becomes a little easier for people to say things they normally wouldn’t say.”
Ultimately, the police found nothing at Austin’s house. No weapons. No dark diary. No secret manifesto. No evidence of any threat whatsoever. After questioning the teen and his parents, they decided that rumors of planned violence were totally false. But by Monday, the fires were still raging, kids were staying home, refusing to go to class and horrid things were being posted to Austin’s Facebook page.
The fervor, of course, eventually died down. Public announcements were made. And those who started the firestorm were given a wrist slap. But the damage had been done.
“We can’t go out in public without getting whispers and harassed,” Mrs. Carner told msnbc.com. “Austin went out today for a walk with his friends and this town has judged him even though it has been proven that he had nothing to do with it. People are calling him names, yelling things at him.”
“It’s like that old post office game, you know,” Superintendent Tracy said. “Where you tell a secret and by the 12th person it’s totally different. Magnify that times literally … thousands of people on social media, it really gets messed up.”
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