How Not to Use Twitter

Twitter seems to be one of the most popular platforms for people to post stupid things on that are best left unsaid. People use social networks as if they believe them to be personal, private conversations, where they can say anything without consequences. Having the technology is nice and helpful, but perhaps people need to learn some proper etiquette before they get into trouble.

In August, the Huffington Post reported someone tweeted threats and plans to perform a public shooting similar to the shootings in a public theater in Aurora, Colo., in July 2012. The suspect wrote, "This s--t ain’t no joke yo — I’m serious, people are gonna die like aurora,” and "Gosh I’m still making this hit list d--n I wanna kill a lot of people."

What was this person thinking? Sure, for every ten threats posted like this, nine may go unnoticed, but honestly, why would someone post this kind of violence on a public forum to begin with?

In September, a video was posted where a frustrated lady publicly threatened to kill Mitt Romney if he won the Presidential election. This can be chalked up to on-the-spot frustration flowing out of speaking-before-thinking. However, when using social networks, where words can spread quickly, it's best to stop, think and perform an actions logically. Now the latest abusive use of Twitter was just reported recently by The Blaze, where even more threats against Romney were made. It is one thing to feel disparaging comments about someone like this, but to make hostile, specific threats is way out of bounds for such a public forum. 

The tweets stated things using such clear language as, “If Romney wins Ima Shoot his a#% Its Gonna Be another JFK incident,” “Romney is trying to ban tampons. Omg. I'm not even kidding, someone go with me so we can shoot him dead,” “If i could i would murder mitt Romney,” and “Just want yal ta know...if Romney win we still gone be cool....CUZ IM A SNIPE HIS A#%!!” There are others that are just to vulgar for me to reference, including some that are describing violent acts against his wife.

Of course, it comes from both sides, as it was just a month earlier that The Blaze posted a similar article revealing threats against Obama that were also made through Twitter. The Charlotte Observer reported that the 21-year-old Donte Jamar Simms of Charlotte, NC, made these comments: “Ima hit president Obama with that Lee Harvey Oswald swag,” and “Well Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening! … Gotta get this money off my chest while he’s in town,” and finally “Plotting president Obama’s Murder.” Of course, Sims was quickly arrested.

For the rest of those who posted such comments, they can pretty much be assured a visit from the Secret Service, and rightly so. Regardless of your level of anger and frustration, and regardless of your seriousness in the matter, these types of comments are best left unsaid. While such technology can be a powerful tool if used properly, it is also harmful when used without common sense.

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