Forget anonymity. There are fewer and fewer. It is a pity that many people realized this only after the death of Twix the cat.
The generation gap between Boomers and Millennials is characterized by several things: healthy lifestyle, green ideology, and coffee with coconut milk. But one of the most important is that Millennials were raised by the Internet, and Boomers were raised on the streets, on “honest leadership” and stories about Lenin. Social networks that raised generation Y taught them this sentence: “This is the Internet, they say and do whatever they want here.” Boomers, on the other hand, are used to being in charge of words, filtering what is said, and expecting this from others. Ask anyone who studied at the Soviet school, and he will remember the expression about little Volodya, who broke the glass, but then told the truth.
The Bible says: “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.” It was like this for centuries until the Internet came along.
The anonymity of the Internet, like any anonymity and permissiveness, has evoked people’s darkest emotions. Insults, threats, offenses – the full set. All this happened literally before our eyes. And where the noble don can proudly say: “You did not keep your promise, I demand satisfaction!” – now in response he hears: “Fuck you!”
“What will you do to me?” – this is the most sarcastic question on the Internet. Internet fights have flared and ended, but none have escalated to a physical showdown.
It seemed that the culture of being responsible for words and deeds could be lost forever, like the recipe for the legendary Old Russian dish – roasted swan. But this did not happen. This finally became clear yesterday.
The story of the cat Twix and his disappearance from the Yekaterinburg-St.Petersburg train united the whole country. 5 thousand (!) people joined the thematic group to find the cat, thousands of people walked knee-deep in the snow and tried to find the cat along the rails. Unfortunately, a miracle did not happen. The cat ran 10 km from the train and died just a few hours before it was found.
Most likely, the conductor who threw the pet cat out of the car outside was sure that no one would find anything. Because no one saw it. It’s almost like being on the internet. There are no witnesses, you are anonymous. At first he didn’t say anything, only evasively saying “the cat ran away”.
But then it turns out that high tech is not just about tolerance, but also control.
In the security cameras that recorded the carriage’s arrival and stay at the station, it is clearly seen how the woman threw the cat from the carriage into the snow. And now it looks like he will have to answer for such an action.
This is not the first example of “comebacks coming” to actions. During the Christmas holidays, schoolchildren kicked a small “Angel” statue in the capital’s park. Finally they broke him and took him with them. A few days later, with a big surprise, the identities of the children were determined from the cameras. Before that, children extinguishing the Eternal Flame were found in Krasnoye Selo, thanks to the cameras. What had previously seemed to be done with impunity suddenly became important.
Before Cat Twix, all examples were sporadic, if not one-off. This sad story was all over the news and showed that even if it seems like no one saw anything, you still have to take responsibility for your actions. Today, signatures are actively being collected for a petition to fire the conductor and sue him for animal cruelty.
It would be good for everyone to draw conclusions from this story. But it would be even better if we did not learn from such terrible examples and if such a history never existed.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.