A cyber mob is when a group gathers online to try to collectively shame, harass, threaten, or discredit a target. “Outrage mobs” or “shaming mobs” are a distinct kind of cyber mob made up of internet users who collectively troll individuals in the hopes of silencing or publicly punishing them.
Targets of outrage mobs are often attacked for expressing opinions on politically charged topics or ideas that the outrage mob disagrees with. Often, the outrage mob has taken something that the target said out of context in order to promote a particular agenda. Outrage mobbing can sometimes have severe consequences offline and has even resulted in targets losing their jobs. Common outrage mobs today typically consist of social justice warriors such as LGBTQ proponents or black grievance activists.
Two weeks ago, an outrage-mob attack occurred on Twitter, with the goal of discrediting Dr. John Markovic, a professor at Andrews University.
Jameeka (Shekinah Glory)
According to her Twitter account, a student of Dr. Markovic (Jameeka) wrote a paper on the evils of stereotyping, which ironically stereotyped white people as white privilege oppressors. She received a grade of 74 on the paper and note from the professor that read: “This paper aims to criticize stereotyping, yet is itself a good example of stereotyping.”
Jameeka took issue with the grade and the note and confronted the professor on January 29, after he returned from lunch.
What followed (according to the Twitter string) was an hour-long discussion between the student and the professor, where she was insisting that Andrews University has systemic racism against blacks and the professor was attempting to reason with her. From Jameeka,
“We go back and forth and he keeps belittling my line of thinking and my experience saying that not everything happens because I’m black and if it does it’s cause I keep telling people that’s what I am when I need to focus on there only being one race, the human race”
At one point (according to the Twitter narrative) Jameeka stated that she was proud of being black, and Markovic reminded her that all nations of men were made of one blood and we should seek to be citizens of God’s kingdom, not glory in a particular race (Acts 17).
Jameeka later posted her perspective of the conversation on Twitter to arouse an outrage mob. It worked, as many of her peers affirmed her on Twitter and automatically condemned Professor Markovic. Jameeka filed a complaint against Dr. Markovic with Andrews University, and several of her Twitter followers stated that they were going to file complaints as well, regardless of the fact that they were not privy to the actual conversation and only heard one side of the story. This is how outrage/shaming mobs operate.
Although we can’t recommend it, it may enlighten you to view some of the incredible obscene language on the aforementioned Twitter page, and ask yourself “Can it really get much worse than this?”
Recently hired Andrews University Vice President of diversity and inclusion, Mike Nixon, also weighed in on the cyber mob, siding with Jameeka and stating that Andrews has “deeply rooted issues of racism. It all has to be uprooted.”
Ty Gibson, who has demonstrated significant public support for social justice in the last two years, offered his support for Nixon and Jameeka on Twitter today, as did Andrews Professor John C. Peckham on January 31.
This is how social justice cyber mobs operate. An individual looks for—and finds—ways to be offended, then they broadcast on social media how hurt they are, inviting others to confirm the injustice that was done to them. The issue often takes on a life of its own, with cyber warriors feasting on the reputation of the ‘target’ until the short attention span of the mob moves on to the next ‘outrage.’
We have yet to hear from Dr. John Markovic, who is the target of this outrage mob.
Fulcrum7 contacted Andrews University on Friday, asking them about the public shaming mob against a respected Andrews University Professor (placed on Twitter by Jameeka (who now goes by Shekinah Glory @nyctophil3).
Andrews University replied:
Outrage mobs have little desire to make society or the Church better. They simply want to see what type of power they can have over individuals. Oddly, these tweets from Jameeka still remain on Twitter—a clamorous attempt to convict a tenured University Professor in the court of public opinion. Such things should not be found in the Body of Christ.
Fulcrum7 will be watching this situation, and provide updates as they become available.
****
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).