Of Pillory and Stocks

The recent hullaballoo over a Philadelphia Eagles fan who called a female Packers fan an “ugly c—t” made me think a lot about the way social media has brought society full circle on a certain level.

Once upon a time, the pillory and stocks were common methods by which justice was carried out for lesser crimes. With both, the prime objective was to subject the convicted to humiliation and shame in the town commons.

The difference between the two was that the pillory immobilized the head and hands of the convicted, while the stocks immobilized only the feet as the convicted was placed in a sitting position. The offense of the convicted was posted nearby for all to read.

Thus if townsfolk passing by took to pelting the convicted with eggs, rotten vegetables, stones – or even or caning or beating them – the man (or woman) in stocks had some opportunity at self-defense, while the individual in the pillory was more defenseless.

Like it or not, the internet has become the town commons and we should all be mindful that cameras are everywhere and presume our actions are most likely being recorded with the potential for being publicized.

The Eagles fan got banned from all future Eagles games and lost his job over it. That’s the modern day pillory. He had no way of avoiding the rotten vegetables and stones hurled at him.

But the dude recording his bad behavior was sent to the stocks, as there is some evidence that he may have set out in search of a clip of an Eagles fan behaving badly. Folks dug up some questionable social media posts of his in the past during the dustup. He was left with some room to duck, dodge, and defend himself.

Let’s be clear: both of these dudes are schmucks. The Eagles fan for obvious reasons. The Packers fan – even if he didn’t set out to provoke anything – because his defense of his girlfriend was, well, less than manly. I mean, at least position yourself in between her and the loudmouth.

Full disclosure: I used to be an Eagles season ticket holder and I regularly took friends who were fans of opposing teams to sit in my second seat. I would warn my friends: expect a little smack talk from the other Eagles fans around us. There was only once where it went a little too far (ironically, with a Packers fan). But it was mostly light-hearted.

Too many people get away with being awful human beings. Maybe the Eagles fan only was awful that one time in his life. Maybe he’s an awful person on a regular basis. Doesn’t matter. He got pilloried nonetheless.

The flip side is that there are awful human beings who use social media to exhibit their awfulness. As a public figure, I have regular haters who attempt to pillory me at every opportunity. Some of them take to making up wild stories about my personal life. Some hide behind fake profiles. One of them recently got charged for taking it too far (I was not the target in that instance). What comes around goes around.

I volunteered for public scrutiny. But so do you when you’re out and about. The point is, no matter who you are today, you’re pretty much living in a fishbowl when you leave your house or post on social media.

I use the Mom rule; always imagining my Mom being right there looking over my shoulder. Be on your best behavior! Also, the internet is forever and because cameras are everywhere, everywhere is also forever.

I’m ok with this modern version of the pillory and stocks as it played out after the Eagles/Packers game. It serves to help keep most people civil. Public shame, or the threat of it, can be useful. Would love to hear your take on it.

Go Birds!