In responding the COVID19, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, repeatedly has said universal mask wearing is crucial to blunting the pandemic. Yes! But there is a very different kind of mask wearing, that is corrosive to society: The mask of claiming anonymity online.
A few years ago a number of students created a Facebook page to collect anonymous comments about other students. Shielded behind the cloak of anonymity, students were emboldened to post coarse and demeaning comments about each other. While some posts were benign, others were offensive. Many posts were intrusive or violated the privacy of others.
This week's Torah portion takes a firm position against this type of anonymity. "Cursed is the one who strikes down their neighbor in secret." (Deuteronomy 27:24) As to understanding what Torah means by "striking down," commentators, for example, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (8th century, Babylonia), say it means "slander."
But why does our Torah verse add "in secret"; isn't it enough for condemn any kind of slander? Public slander distorts what is on the outside. Being on the outside we can see the distortions and work to correct them. But secret slander corrodes from the inside. In this way Torah is warning against the hidden fractures of society. Their danger is increased because we cannot see them well enough to fix them. We can address public mistakes more easily than hidden, secret ones.
Making anonymous posts is a kind of secret keeping. Research shows how keeping secrets adds stress to our lives and makes us feel worse about ourselves. Keeping secrets corrodes our personal sense of authenticity (that is, the opposite of acting in ways that align with who we feel we really are). Research has linked secrecy to increased anxiety, depression, and poor health. The curse of secrets, it seems, is not only the hard work of keeping something secret, but also the added stress of living with our secrets, thinking about them.
Rabbi Kenneth Brander (Rosh Yeshivah of Ohr Torah Stone) observes in the context of this week's parsha that cyberbullying can be more corrosive than face to face bullying because the bully is camouflaged behind a screen. He writes, "Because of this physical disconnect from their victims, studies show that cyberbullies exhibit less remorse than physical bullies."
As a school that empowers students to develop the integrity and moral courage to express themselves openly, we actively discourage students from posting anonymously. We have seen too often how hiding behind a screen stimulates cruelty and cynicism. Our school community thrives on constructive engagement with each other. Openly. Authentically. May each of us have the courage to demonstrate care and compassion in private and in public.
