Climbing out of the gutter
It is encouraging that Virgin Islands residents have grown increasingly willing to voice controversial opinions in public, but we would caution that with free speech comes great responsibility.
Historically, many members of this tight-knit community have been afraid to speak out. Often, belongers and expatriates alike have feared repercussions — and rightly so in many cases, since any strong opinion is likely to offend somebody in a community this small, and victimisation, sad to say, has been commonplace in the public and private sectors alike.
Today, it is clear that the territory’s former culture of silence has altered dramatically, thanks in large part to the Internet. Various websites provide forums for comments, adding to newspapers and an increasing number of radio and television talk shows.
The Internet forums in themselves are a good thing: They provide an opportunity for healthy public dialogue, which makes any democracy stronger. But “healthy” is the key word here: We are discouraged by the number of commenters who use online platforms to make reckless and vicious attacks under cover of anonymity.
Moving forward, then, we encourage all community members to be responsible with their right to freedom of speech. To that end, they might take an example from the writers who routinely eschew anonymity and express their opinions under their real names through this newspaper and other media outlets. Some of them have written in for decades, and their number has grown markedly in recent years.
We also note that off-the-cuff remarks expressed in the heat of the moment are often regretted later. Thus, it is best to gather as much information as possible before airing concerns, and to temper criticism with proposed solutions.
Finally, website administrators, talk show hosts, newspaper executives and others who provide forums for public discourse should carefully moderate the dialogue that they facilitate, striking a thoughtful balance between decency and freedom of speech.
Ultimately, it is the entire community’s responsibility to ensure that the right to free speech, which is now enshrined in the Constitution, is used to build up, not tear down, this democracy. The territory, then, should work together to raise the level of the public dialogue.
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