Daily Zen - Wednesday, January 16

And one has to understand that

braveness is not the absence of fear,

but rather the strength to keep

going forward despite the fear.

~ Paulo Coehlo

Breitbart - What Do We Really Owe the Dead?

Andrew Breitbart
Photo: Joseph Kaczmarek / AP

Online publisher and blogger Andrew Breitbart collapsed and died Thursday. At just 43 years old, Breitbart's death was shocking and unexpected. As a relatively young man, he leaves behind a wife and four young children. Andrew Breitbart is dead - and tons of people appear to be pretty damned happy about it.

The blogosphere and Twitter have blown up today with people celebrating the online activist's death. There are potentially tasteless jokes, online rants describing Breitbart with every foul insult from douche to asshole to scumbag, and scores of people wishing Breitbart a long and uncomfortable trip to Hell. I am not a fan of Andrew Breitbart, but I confess, all this negativity and blowback in light of his death has led me to spend the day wondering if maybe we owe the deceased a little more respect.

If you know who Andrew Breitbart is, then you might understand the deluge of internet bile being hurled at him on the day of his death.

If you don't know who Andrew Breitbart is, then here's your crash course.

• Remember those pictures of Representative Anthony Weiner's underwear-covered bulge? The ones the congressman inadvertently Tweeted publicly? Breitbart published those pictures online.
• Remember the "racist" remarks by African-American U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod? The comments that resulted in her wrongful firing, before it was discovered that a video clip was edited to completely distort Sherrod's meaning? Breitbart edited and published that video clip online.  
• Remember the 2009 scandal that brought down the liberal ACORN organization? The homemade "sting" that used paid actors and hidden cameras to capture low-level ACORN representatives appearing to promote illegal activities? Breitbart coordinated and promoted the effort.

But really, is that track record enough to justify such absolute disregard for a deceased man and such callousness toward his innocent family?

Clearly, Breitbart enjoyed his role as a conservative agitator who loved to stir up trouble for his political enemies, but there's more than that behind the mass public disdain for the online firebrand.

Facebook, Twitter, and Other Weapons of Mass Instruction

Being an activist used to be hard and time-consuming work. Thanks to the advent of the social network - that's just not so any more.

Back in the day, if you wanted to send a message of discontent to "the man" or needed to disrupt the status quo, your first priority was to determine the best ways to fight the perceived injustice and to inflict harm upon your oppressor, or to otherwise gain attention for your cause. Then, you had to pound the pavement to identify a group of like-minded individuals and organizations who are willing to rally around your vision and objectives. Next, you might have to get busy printing placards, staging protests, organizing boycotts, and finding ways to attract the media. All of this took a lot of time and effort, but it was the necessary work of activism. Because you can't be very effective as a crusader if you're not thrusting your anti-whatever movement into the public spotlight, right?

Social media has revolutionized revolutionizing though. Now, any dick with a blog (eh-hem) can express his opinions, demand change, and publish a widespread call to action with little more than the click of a button (or two). Thanks to the World Wide Web - anyone, or everyone, can pick up the mantle of injustice and be an activist, and you never have to leave the cheap warm comfort of your parents' basement.

The internet enables us to react with blazing speed, and to respond and rebel nearly instantaneously when we have had enough of being held down, put down, torn down, or just gotten kind of ticked off. It provides us with a digital megaphone whose reach, with a bit of well-intentioned sharing, re-posting, and re-tweeting, is practically unlimited. And that's the other thing that makes social media revolutions so awesome - not only are they easy to start, they are incredibly easy to join, allowing for our "active" participation, even if we only give a half-hearted shit about the cause.