Just Because Somebody Said It Doesn't Make It True

If I say, “In my opinion, almost all black men are criminals and should be treated as such,” does that mean that almost all black men are criminals? No, it doesn’t. That was my opinion (which is not true by the way) and it is not a fact. Actually, a statement such as the one given is so opinionated that it cannot be proven as fact. Here’s why:

1)      Anyone studying black men will never have access to all of the black men in existence

and

2)      The way one is treated by another is completely subjective. No anthropological study can ‘prove’ or ‘disprove’ treatment.

I have said all of this because I believe that we are treading on very dangerous water here in 2010. Blogs are surely taking over the world and everything that you can think of is searchable on Google. This means that we all have the ability to voice our opinions via the web and everyone has access to search our opinions at any time of the day or night. This is very, very dangerous.

Believe it or not, we cannot assume that something is true just because someone said it. It doesn’t matter what was said, or written for that matter, it is not true until it is proven as so. There are people who get paid to do actual research on a variety of subjects and in contrast, there are people who get paid to voice their opinions on those very same researchable subjects. There are Harvard educated high class intelligent folks who get paid to speak or write purely opinioned rhetoric. Does their education and social status make their opinions true? No, it does not.

I hear and read of a lot of people who quote things that were said by another person as if it is bona fide truth. That is where the problem arises. Since we are all just a keystroke away from one another, we seem to get confused as to what these here ‘innanets’ are actually providing for us. For a large majority of us, the internet is giving entertainment, in an assortment of different formats. You have YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blogger, WordPress, etc., etc. all giving you entertainment and something to do to pass the hours of the day.

When we mistake someone’s latest blog post about abusive men in Philly (random example) as a true fact about all men in Philly, we have started a dangerous chain reaction. For instance, let’s say that I write a blog about three men that I have dated who are from Philadelphia. If I say that each man beat the dog mess out of me everyday for the duration of our relationships and I end the blog by saying “Most men in Philly are abusive dogs. Stay away from them and their insanity,” many of my readers may believe that Philly men are abusive which may subsequently change their perspective of the City of Brotherly Love. But is my blog post factual or opinionated?

This is where things get a little cloudy. Even though most people reading the blog may know that it is based solely on my opinion, they may still repeat it like it is proven truth.

Woman #1:

“Girl, I just read something about all these abusive men in Philly. Honey, it’s a mess up there. It’s like some kind of abuse epidemic or something. Everybody's been talkin' bout it. Didn’t you used to date a guy from Philly?”

Woman #2:

“Yeah, girl, I did. And come to think of it, he was a little crazy. Janay is dating this boy from North Philly now. Wait until I talk to her. Her man probably crazy too. That's a shame.”

See how easily an opinion can spread as truth? Because of the nature of the blog topic, it could easily be perceived as factual once spread via word of mouth. From this we get people talking about things that they know nothing about just because “such and such said so.” Even news reporters, those who are supposed to report the truth, make mistakes and report on things that have come from Wikipedia or other non-verified online sources.  Like I said earlier, we are treading on very dangerous water here. Wikipedia, blog posts, Facebook statuses, Twitter updates, etc. are not always factual. They must be treated as exactly what they are—biased postings. My daily Facebook update is personal. That means all opinions and/or pseudo-facts are based upon my day or my life. They can only be taken at face value. There is a possibility that my posts are factual but this cannot be assumed—EVER. If you read something posted by someone and you think that it is true, do some research before you spread the information like a wild fire. Like I previously said, everything is accessable on Google. Even researchable facts.