Community mourned, a nation in shock

Michael Hedges July 25, 2011 Follow on Twitter

The concept of community in the online age has been a tough one for traditional media to grasp. It’s odd because community has long been the crux of media’s relationship with the public. But community thrives in the online world, sometimes rowdy, profane and, as we’ve seen, terrible.

Accused Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik posted a rambling, partially plagiarized manifesto online and had a Facebook page. His plans, so carefully thought out, included establishing a national newspaper in Norway that would espouse the far right-wing xenophobia within which his psychopathology played out. His action, though, spoke louder than words.

Online communities attract more than foodies, cat-lovers and teens. All manner of thought can be found on the Web, the twisted and perverted lying side beside the thoughtful and entertaining. Such is the democracy of new media.

“Anyone familiar with the darker waters of the blogosphere would for years have been aware of the existence of a vibrant cyberscene characterized by unmitigated hatred of the new Europe, aggressive denunciations of the ‘corrupted, multiculturalist power elites’ and pejorative generalizations about immigrants, targeting Muslims in particular,” wrote University of Oslo anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen in the Guardian (July 25). “The fact that Breivik was Made in Norway, a homegrown terrorist with a hairdo and an appearance suggesting the west end of Oslo, and not a bearded foreign import, should lead not only to a closer examination of these networks, but also to a calm, but critical reflection over the Norwegian self-identity itself.”

Through websites and social networks, the like-minded share their innermost with near absolute anonymity.  Media has a long history of bring people together around common beliefs. The earliest newspapers were not home delivered or rolled for the kiosk. They were posted in public around which citizens would gather, argue or agree. Being anonymous with your point of view is relatively new. Anders Behring Breivik used a pseudonym for his.

The printed media and, to follow, broadcasting thrived on the principle of one-to-many. The thread of community, broadly defined, wove through front pages, sports pages, news programs, comedies, dramas, music and jokes from DJs. Did you hear what he said this morning, we’d ask. Community is strengthened but incomplete.

The shift from one-to-many to one-to-one (or a few to a few) defines for many the divide between traditional and new media. Like customer service, building relationships with readers, viewers and listeners got in the way of profit margins. Slowly publishers and broadcasters have come around. Communities are good for all.

Without delving too deeply into psychopathology, it’s notable and terrifying that Anders Behring Breivik’s primary target was a community, an isolated summer camp for teenagers. The fertilizer bomb in Oslo’s city center seems to have been merely, and cynically, a diversion. An extremist loner chose to kill something he didn’t have.

Founded in democratic principles the views, even ravings, of extremists should not be shuttered but exposed. Freedom of speech – as well freedom of assembly – are inviolable. Common sense and commonweal will, we believe, triumph, community preserved. In advance of Anders Behring Breivik’s first appearance, an Oslo district court judge ordered the hearing closed to the public and media, reported Verdens Gang (July 25).

Norwegians remain is shock. It will not pass quickly. A Facebook page established in memorium has been ‘friended’ by well over a million people. By contrast, the Facebook page of Anders Behring Breivik, now removed, showed no friends.

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