A Texas restaurant company fired its waiter after finding out he falsified a hateful note on a patron’s receipt. Khalil Cavil reported to his manager and on social media that a customer did not give him a tip and instead wrote, “I don’t tip terrorist” on the receipt. Cavil said he was sick to his stomach, the supposed racism added fuel to a narrative of racial injustice, and the customer that supposedly wrote the note was banned from the restaurant. Yet, it turns out that the waiter made it up. The thousands of shares this story received on Facebook and the general outrage this caused before the story was even verified becomes an excellent case study of how to approach news and events without being a catspaw of manipulative liars.
Responses and reactions to innuendo are nothing new except for the speed in which they can spread. A short time ago I emphasized many of the lessons that modern people should take from the ancient Greeks. Thucydides, Xenophon and Polybius pointed out how civil strife often started with the manipulation of words and selective use of narratives. I used to teach a class on Pakistan, and my students often reacted with shock and a sense of smug superiority at the number of Pakistanis that riot over false rumors of desecrating a Quran. They couldn’t comprehend that there were those that believe the CIA and not terrorists are behind bombings. But before you pat yourself on the back for not being one of those people, and confidently attack Trump and his supporters, or his opponents and liberals, realize that the way words are used or misused have led to people losing their jobs before they get off the plane, and people getting banned from restaurants and gaining worldwide infamy before the end of the day, often before the story turns out to be false.
The solution to anger, outrage, and repeating rumors is simple to state but hard to do. After all, the most angry vote from a person blinded by outrage counts as much as the coldly rational one, and it’s far easier to stoke anger with 140 characters and unverified Facebook posts than provide a calm and cogent explanation of an issue. The solution starts with having a skeptical attitude. Not everything you read in the news is the entire story (or even true). Critics of Trump know that fact about Fox News, and conservatives think that about Rachel Maddow, but both sides often forget to apply healthy skepticism when information confirms their world view. (The fancy term for this is called confirmation bias.)
That skepticism leaves room for additional information to come to light. A full and proper investigation often reveals additional information that can help people assess the event. For example, in the Duke Lacrosse rape case, many people rushed to judgement in condemning the players. I waited for more information and it turned out that there were so many flaws in the case and misjudgment that the prosecutor was disbarred and sent to jail, and all the players were cleared. Again, this is hard for most people to do. Even President Obama was quick to condemn Harvard police for “acting stupidly” before all the information was known. Waiting for more information becomes even more difficult to do in the age of social media where incomplete videos can go viral in mere hours while an investigation can take weeks.
After applying skepticism, withholding final judgement, and then seeking more information, the final key is to state your judicious, cogent, and rational opinion in a tactful and respectful manner. Again, this isn’t popular in today’s world. After all, President Trump won the election at least in part because of his rough-hewn and counter-punching style on Twitter. Regardless of how old-fashioned it might seem, we can and should state our opinions in a grown-up way and resist puerile social media antics.
Applying those keys in this case would have helped a good deal. The restaurant wouldn’t have had to eat crow in rescinding the customer’s ban. Those that see America as racist could see that some people have ulterior motives for complaining about racism and even lie about it to promote their agenda. The public at large could have avoided being mere pawns and a ready-to-hire-online mob for manipulative individuals.
Personally, I find that both my mental and physical health improve when I unplug from the outrage machine. I still care about people being treated right and you should too. Calmly interpreting and assessing information is not as fun as spewing anger and moral outrage on social media about your favorite positions, but it’s better for you and the country.
