Reach | Let’s tear online bullying down

[Dame Gaga 2,453]

Sorry, but I think we are all missing the point of this campaign. It is called the Round for Reach. The club has dedicated the match day to raising funds for the Reach Foundation, which has been running programs to support kids affected by bullying for 25 years. Only now the focus is online bullying, an unfortunate reality for our children these days. 

To donate to Reach, text Reach to 0455 021 021 or visit roundforreach.org.au   

Jim Stynes will be proud his legacy continues.

[Guest]

The term 'virtue signaling' is now becoming one of those boring snarl words that those who think that an opposition to eugenics and a lack of sociopathy is somehow practiced by those who just want approval. There was a point with crap like 'Kony 2012' but not every piece of activism is some type of left wing fashion statement.

I don't mind the sentiment but I think the ground they are covering is a bit superficial. Cyber bullying is a problem these days but it goes beyond 'nasty names on the net'.

Online swarming, doxxing, sock puppet accounts, and organized harassment campaigns show that online bullying stretches beyond two private school girls calling each other skanks. Look at Gamergate, Mitchell Henderson, Charlotte Dawson and Megan Meier for how the net can be used to get at people.

I think that a more focused message and campaign would have given this more teeth. The concept is good though but just needs to be a bit more refined.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,909]

4 hours ago, Emerald said:

Do they know the subconscious mind picks up everything that the eyes see? They better not look at that banner too hard before they run through it. 

I can't imagine footballers even notice there are words on the banner let alone read it before they run through it.  

[buck_nekkid 6,046]

4 hours ago, Emerald said:

Do they know the subconscious mind picks up everything that the eyes see? They better not look at that banner too hard before they run through it. 

Then we can rely on the subconscious also recognising the physical action of ‘smashing through’ the negative comments and destroying them? 

[Dame Gaga 2,453]

Yes, Hillary Bray, I agree the campaign could be more effective if they used actual messages sent to people other than themselves (as footballers) because they may be considered to be more resilient than, say, a vulnerable teenager, or someone in the spotlight who is worn down by relentless attacks. They could place names of the people we have lost through online bullying on the banner as well as the messages ( Dolly Everett, Charlotte Dawson as you mentioned. I'm sure there are others.) This may convey the message in a stronger way. Bullying can lead to suicide. Let's not pussyfoot around the issue.

[Little Goffy 14,645]

Are there really people suggesting that the way to avoid being harassed in the street is to not walk on the street?

How tedious.

One thing I do like about the banner is that it includes abuse directed at all players, not just Demon players.

Always important, because a scary number of people seem to need reminding that basic human decency is a fact of how you treat people when you don't get what you want or when they aren't on your side, not how chirpy and friendly you are so long as every opinion and activity is as you like it.

A scary number, but actually not a big number. Those people aren't normal, just loud.

[daisycutter 29,743]

2 hours ago, Smokey said:

I assure you, I refer to you as friend in the most condescending manner possible. 

now you've just repeated yourself

pity you don't appreciate nuance or the art of listening to others

i initially just jumped in on your dismissive attitude to jim and your failure to appreciate that there are alternatives to myopic black and white opinions, but it seems i failed

[Diamond_Jim 12,628]

2 hours ago, daisycutter said:

i should perhaps add that i find it a little bit hypocritical for footballers to rail against bullying and on the field try every trick to physically and mentally intimidate their opponents. I'm specifically talking about the stuff that's not part of the game.

now i'm a big boy and i can easily separate what i see on the field from the message they are trying to impart on the banner and on videos etc

but..........try to explain to my 7 yo grandson the difference between the treatment max got against port adelaide and the bullying he sees at the schoolyard

I love ethical debates

What would Justinian have said on the subject, I wonder.

On a more relevant issue as many of us did we goal umpired etc for our kids as they played football. One would notice the onfield niggling and my comment was.. just enjoy the game. The kids take it way too seriously... this was at around under 14's.

There's a balance somewhere... just ask the Australian cricket team

Edited April 3, 2019 by Diamond_Jim

[Smokey 4,389]

42 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

now you've just repeated yourself

pity you don't appreciate nuance or the art of listening to others

i initially just jumped in on your dismissive attitude to jim and your failure to appreciate that there are alternatives to myopic black and white opinions, but it seems i failed

I disagreed with what he said and shared my view accordingly. If you feel the need to jump in like a knight in shining armour that’s your business. I think it’s absurd that people here have a problem with the club sending a message, especially to the kids, that bullying people online is wrong and that it is somehow virtue signalling or invading your sacred space to escape whatever it is you need to in life. Footy has grown beyond the simple weekend pleasure of yesteryear. Kids these days have a lot more to deal with in life with the rise of social media and some here clearly do not understand that. I’m rapt the club is thoughtful in this area and wants to engage in society in positive way beyond what happens on the field. These are the kind of initiatives that draw families toward the club and increase our membership base. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Smokey

[What 18,810]

2 hours ago, Dame Gaga said:

Sorry, but I think we are all missing the point of this campaign. It is called the Round for Reach. The club has dedicated the match day to raising funds for the Reach Foundation, which has been running programs to support kids affected by bullying for 25 years. Only now the focus is online bullying, an unfortunate reality for our children these days. 

To donate to Reach, text Reach to 0455 021 021 or visit roundforreach.org.au   

Jim Stynes will be proud his legacy continues.

The Reach Foundation are awesome, absolutely.  A great cause to donate to.  I wonder if Trisha Broadbrige still works for them.

 

[ding 5,126]

Just win Melbourne.

[McQueen 17,867]

Can Mods PLEASE put an apostrophe in “lets” in the thread title. 

TIA. 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,890]

Well after 10+ years of being on the butt end of beltings, getting smoke blown up their proverbial all off season and now promptly being cut down at by many after just two games, you would hope that the MFC have developed some good resilience over the years and have strategies to deal with the kind of Fugazi that comes with our territory.

How good would it be if we can run through that banner on Friday night, symbolically smashing through the negativity of the past and turn around our 2019 seasons fortunes and decades wallowing in the mire.  We can only know for sure in retrospect and it's totally in the hands of those pulling on the red and blue jumpers, but I dare to dream.

COME ON THE MIGHTY DEMONS

Look forward and act with the ethos of big Jimmy "Whatever it takes"

Edited April 3, 2019 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

[McQueen 17,867]

It’s an interesting set of circumstances to be very fair. 

We don’t expect our players (MFC) to cop this rubbish but at the same time we’re happy to lay it on thick with other teams players.

I’ve done it before thinking that it’s been light-hearted, just for a laugh like Joe Daniher is an ugly Bugger. 

So is that fair to him? Clearly not. I and most of you guys just brush it off and move on....

However, when you put yourselves in their shoes and really appreciate the spotlight they’re under, only then will you get a relative understanding of how the players are affected. 

They are in such a public arena that we expect them to be able to handle it commensurate to their salary. 

Unfortunately they’re human just like me. 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,890]

BTW, I think it's fairly unthoughtful of some on this thread to be so outright dismissive of the cyber bullying problem.  Many who level hurtful comments at others on social media get to do so with a cloak of anonymity or the safe distance that being on the end of a keyboard puts them from their target.  Such anonymity isn't afforded to the players on the receiving end of a barrage of such hurtful comments, the scale of which the ordanary person will never likely experience.  I could well imagine that after a while or even in a moment of emotional vulnerability the effect of social media comments could become deeply personal.  I know I have personally made some less than nice comments about individual players etc on this forum and this short clip from the players as well as the broader conversation around hatered and toxic language used on Facebook being discussed right now has given me some food for thought as to how I could do better at times.

Similarly in the context of young people, the ease at which bullying could be amplified to a much broader audience with social media and intrude on life 24/7 beyond the school yard compared to in days gone by is quite scary.

All well and good to say just stay off it, but social exclusion is a form of bullying in it's own right.  When rightly or wrongly 'social' media is the medium for socialisation between young people today, anbsence from that platform is to be somewhat socially excluded.

I'm quite proud that the AFL has taken a stand on social issues of importance in Australian society, think there is a role for it to play given the prominent part Aussie Rules plays in Australian culture and I hope it continues to lead on social issues.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

[P-man 13,366]

We all know social media is a cesspit and I’m sure many parents will attest to cyber bullying being a real issue. The execution of this idea, however, leaves a lot to be desired e.g. Tom McDonald tearing up a sign of someone calling him a [censored]. I’m glad his feelings were able to be salvaged.

Racism and other forms of bigotry are obviously in a separate category. But a highly paid professional athlete being called a [censored] is not the same as a 13 year old girl being told to kill herself on a daily basis. They could not be more different.

As I say, I understand where they’re coming from, but the execution is a bit cringeworthy. 

[3Dee 1,153]

A massively important social issue and kudos to the Dees for taking this on, however somewhat agree with P-man on the execution, has the air of a PR stunt which could come straight from the #fistedforever files if we're 0-3 after Friday night.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,909]

9 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

The Reach Foundation are awesome, absolutely.  A great cause to donate to.  I wonder if Trisha Broadbrige still works for them.

 

She doesn't. She's the CEO of AFL Tasmania and goes by her new married name of Trisha Squires. 

[dees189227 12,401]

As Max said on the front bar last night Jim was well ahead of his time when he started REACH. Jim did so much good work and I can't help but feel Jim's best work would be so valuable today with online bullying, trolls, social media and bullying in general. 

But after the 1st 2 weeks and our performances you are tempted to jump on twitter and tell the players what you think. But i didn't. 

Anyway someone might be sitting in the crowd and realise one of there tweets has come up on the banner. 

But also last year we had a REACH day where you could donate to them, so are they doing that again? I wish the media would add this in though and explain what they are doing. I just saw them talking about it on sunrise and said melbourne are putting there tweets on the banner to call out trolls. We are doing it to involve an organisation that works with young people. If you go to there facebook page it makes more sense there. 

[rjay 25,094]

11 hours ago, Smokey said:

I disagreed with what he said and shared my view accordingly. If you feel the need to jump in like a knight in shining armour that’s your business. I think it’s absurd that people here have a problem with the club sending a message, especially to the kids, that bullying people online is wrong and that it is somehow virtue signalling or invading your sacred space to escape whatever it is you need to in life. Footy has grown beyond the simple weekend pleasure of yesteryear. Kids these days have a lot more to deal with in life with the rise of social media and some here clearly do not understand that. I’m rapt the club is thoughtful in this area and wants to engage in society in positive way beyond what happens on the field. These are the kind of initiatives that draw families toward the club and increase our membership base. 

Attacking the man.

...a form of bullying 'Smokey'???

You can make your point without resorting to this.

[Bitter but optimistic 22,249]

I was a really good schoolyard bully and fairly good as a workplace bully - Worksafe and anti discrimination laws curtailed my achievements in that area.

I have to admit though, I never really got the hang of cyberbullying ( although I did [censored] Stuie off a few times)

Must be a generational thing.

[Smokey 4,389]

26 minutes ago, rjay said:

Attacking the man.

...a form of bullying 'Smokey'???

You can make your point without resorting to this.

Go back and read previous comments for context 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,890]

9 hours ago, P-man said:

We all know social media is a cesspit and I’m sure many parents will attest to cyber bullying being a real issue. The execution of this idea, however, leaves a lot to be desired e.g. Tom McDonald tearing up a sign of someone calling him a [censored]. I’m glad his feelings were able to be salvaged.

Racism and other forms of bigotry are obviously in a separate category. But a highly paid professional athlete being called a [censored] is not the same as a 13 year old girl being told to kill herself on a daily basis. They could not be more different.

As I say, I understand where they’re coming from, but the execution is a bit cringeworthy. 

Must we set such a low standard for what is considered acceptable abuse of someone.

I'm no prude, but I can understand why such abuse online could be more damaging than say a few non-racial expletives hurled over the fence during the heat of battle.

In my view it's time Facebook, Twitter and the like faced up to their responsibilities and applied far more heavy handed approach to censorship on their platforms to stamp out what is more anti social, abusive behavior than the social interaction they proport to enable and promote.  These platforms can and do set their own terms and conditions, so they shouldn't feel constrained by an obligation to enable totally free speach.

Though I sometimes mildly loath the low threshold applied to abusive language here on Demonland, that means I can't use words like [censored], without it being censored, I also respect and appreciate the level of moderation applied to significantly limit the anti social abuse of those in the broader football comunity and my fellow posters.  Facebook, Twitter etc could learn a lot from the Demonland moderators about how to conduct an ethical and responsible social media platform.

[P-man 13,366]

1 hour ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Must we set such a low standard for what is considered acceptable abuse of someone.

I'm no prude, but I can understand why such abuse online could be more damaging than say a few non-racial expletives hurled over the fence during the heat of battle.

In my view it's time Facebook, Twitter and the like faced up to their responsibilities and applied far more heavy handed approach to censorship on their platforms to stamp out what is more anti social, abusive behavior than the social interaction they proport to enable and promote.  These platforms can and do set their own terms and conditions, so they shouldn't feel constrained by an obligation to enable totally free speach.

Though I sometimes mildly loath the low threshold applied to abusive language here on Demonland, that means I can't use words like [censored], without it being censored, I also respect and appreciate the level of moderation applied to significantly limit the anti social abuse of those in the broader football comunity and my fellow posters.  Facebook, Twitter etc could learn a lot from the Demonland moderators about how to conduct an ethical and responsible social media platform.

I’m not going further down this rabbit hole so this will be my last post on it.

Trying to equate actual cyber bullying with calling a celebrity a [censored] on Twitter is a false equivalency. It’s argubaly insulting to those who suffer from proper cyber bullying. I wouldn’t go quite that far. I just think it’s silly.

Go and watch “celebrities read mean tweets” on the Jimmy Kimmel show. They read out the ridiculous things said about them on twitter and laugh it off, often poking fun at both themselves and the people who write this stuff. That’s how you deal with it, in my opinion.  Not solemnly looking down the barrel of the camera and tearing up a sheet of paper.

Agin, if this was racist, or sexist, that’s different, but do you seriously think Nathan Jones gives a rat’s [censored] about someone calling him a “dirty dog”? He could barely keep a straight face reading it out.

Nice idea. Poor execution.

[Guest]

For those who wonder why victims of cyber bullying don't just put their tormentors on ignore.

Kiwi Farms, the web's biggest community of stalkers

The trolls among us

The reality is that on some occasions, they just can't.

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Hillary Bray