The Real Problem with the Jussie Smollett Case

The claim that we are today more divisive than ever, is constantly being thrown out. Identity politics are highly controversial. It has many groups of people annoyed with social justice and political correctness. Mix our cultural differences and religious worldviews with a lack of knowledge of how to navigate the world wide web, and we get the mess of the internet we see today.

We give people the powerful tools of internet technologies but we don't teach anyone how to use them. People don't want to learn and understand how their smartphones function, we just want them to work. This all relates to the Jussie Smollett case.

Now, I am not determining guilt or innocence here. I am addressing the bigger, underlying problem. It's not about race. It's not about gender. It's not about sexual orientation. It's not even about political party. It's about people not exercising healthy skepticism. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are tailored to our short attention spans. It's all too easy to click "like" and "share". The algorithms that determine our interactions on social media show us more of what we want to see, the more we use them. The inherent bias of race, gender, sexual orientation, and political party that we all bring to every issue get confirmed by them. We validate our own bias and make ourselves feel confident about our preconcieved beliefs.

Now, we all know people make mistakes. We all know people can lie. That being said, how do we know what to believe? There is an antedote to fight bias. At the end of the day, it's evidence that should speak louder than mere claims. Evidence should matter more than what people say, no matter who says it. Reality is what exists whether we believe in it or not. There is too much discussion about the impacts of race and political affiliation. Too much listening to people making claims. Not enough listening to what the evidence is showing.