Speaking with the Thumbs
Two new characters, lies and hate speech, are being practiced by many social media lovers. The attacks of false news and hate speech do not only come from or are directed at individuals or groups, but have also become a "tool of war" in politics and ideology among nations and among states.
In choosing leaders, for example, supporters or cheerleaders are unable to resist spreading false news and hate speech.
Bad thought, bad speech
So far there have been attempts by the state to stop this from simple persuasion to using legal instruments to stop it. Also, there have been initiatives by the well-educated -- who are still sane –to oppose hoax news, with the spirit that modern-well educated people should maintain their common sense.
In Language and Mind (2006), Noam Chomsky -- an explorer of the theory of transformational grammar who writes more about the themes of politics and changes in global culture -- said, "Language is a mirror of the mind, a product of culture, the language reflects the thought." If we follow this view then what is in the minds of individuals and society will be reflected in the way they speak. So, what is operating in the realm of thought of the propagators of lies and hatred?
In line with the relation between language and thought, Chomsky said, there are two potentials of language, namely stocks of knowledge about the universe of the language system being owned and the real use of the ability and habits of humans in expressing something. Neurolinguistically, the two potentials are summarized beautifully in the angular gyrus, a part of the human brain which is the center of language use. When someone speaks, there is a process of transformation from the deep structure, namely the stocks of speech procedures that semantically contain motives and intentions, to the surface structure, namely the code of conduct that is read orheard.
If there are bad intentions, bad purposes and bad wishes in the nature of thoughts, they will appear in speaking.
Tweets of mutual attacks among propagators of lies and hatred, using words which are uncivilized and lacking in manners, have become an ugly language of social media enthusiasts. The tweets of the ugly face of language have blunted reason, honor and humanity in exchanges of mutual demonizing. The world has changed so has the dichotomy: You are bad, I am the best; You are wrong, I am the most correct. Truth has been monopolized, manipulated, and hijacked. This is extremely dangerous for the growth and advancement of civilization because most social media enthusiasts -- who lie and hate -- are well-educated people. The more saddening is the fact that social media enthusiasts are urban people and of a generation which it is said, for Indonesia, will comprise the demographic bonus that will be responsible for the progress of this nation.
Who would think that one day most humans in this century would no longer speak with their mouths but with two of their thumbs? To borrow the expression of Indra Tranggono (Your Mouth, Your Stage, Kompas, 6/2/2017). Pay attention to their agility, which is so manipulative, as well as the kinesthetic intelligence of social media enthusiasts, in plying their two thumbs during communication: speaking with the thumbs in silence.
Keep the words, care for us
False news and hate speech, which pours from the "silent speech" of the thumbs on social media has led social media enthusiasts to become insulated; and the insulation has drowned the entity of "being us" in coercion, a lust to be a "different" entity. The effrontery in expression and abandonment of common sense, has caused social media enthusiasts to lose control of their thumbs and then speak in harsh words, to punish and judge anybody they hate. From the tip of hatred, they use bad words that degrade humanity and encourage verbal violence.
The effrontery in expressing with the thumbs hoax news and hate speech has given birth to lies and hatred. If social media enthusiasts do not keep their thumbs from uncontrollably writing bad words, lies and hate speech, it will break down our national fabric.
Therefore, social media enthusiasts have to learn how to restrain their words, hold their thumbs, not to instantly respond to lies and reply to hatred with new hatred. By keeping the thumbs from using evil language we are actually taking care of our cohesion as a diverse nation.
GUFRAN A IBRAHIM
Head of the Center for Development of the Language Development and Guidance Agency; Professor of Anthropolinguistics of the University of Khairun, Ternate