Interesting....

....difference of opinion on Radio 2 the other day, which quickly descended into an all-out row, over the naming of a 16-year old boy who posted on a facebook page: 'Letz have a riot...' during the recent spate of riots.  You will have to forgive my version of this - I think I probably skim-listen like I skim-read, so this is my gist:  On one side was the Editor of the newspaper which applied for the boy's anonymity to be waived, and on the other some Liberal, he who cannot be named. (because I was not listening properly when they said who he was.  I was driving at the time, in my defence...)  Mr Editor was foaming at the mouth about incitement to riot and the irresponsibility of the Youth of Today, and Mr Liberal was bleating on about the boy's reputation being ruined by some 'stupid comments' on Facebook.  It seems that the boy's parents are concerned that the loss of anonymity and the pending court case could threaten an apprenticeship he has been offered.  Evidently they have little concern that their son thinks it's a good idea to attempt a little incitement to riot.... I digress.

So, I was yelling at the radio in the car at this point at Mr Liberal, since I have a personal hatred towards the power of Facebook and a fear and loathing of the apparent careless attitude towards violence in our society, and Mr Editor was stammering and spitting (I imagine) in reply when they both started yelling louder and louder.  Tres bizarre.  So Mr Radio DJ (think it was Jeremy Vine, but don't quote me on that) cuts in with 'let's have a bit of Elton John'.  So the melodious strains of 'it's a little bit funny....' fill the car. Well, I've decided by now that the Boy deserves all he gets, the parents should be in court too, and bring back the death penalty, when JV comes back on to give us a few more views from listeners (who are presumably listening properly).  One listener quoted John Betjeman and his Slough poem, likening that to this scenario, and said that 'we cannot accept the written word as equivalent to the deed.'  I though this was a very smart statement, actually, and stepped off of my mental soap box momentarily.  One lady (of my age) came on to say that 16 year olds now are quite different to when we were 16 (no kidding) and that they exist in a virtual word.  Their thought process is synonomous with putting it out there on the internet (ie, one assumes she means it is much like opening your mouth before engaging brain).  That makes sense too.  And lastly, one other thing that stuck in my mind was that they (the Youth of Today) need to appreciate that things they say on the internet have the potential to damage the very fabric of our society.   Hear hear.

There it is.  Is there defence against accountability?