The Internet Killed Sunil Tripathi

Was the government's mishandling of the Afghanistan/Iraq war, and the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden one of the reasons for the witchhunt leading to the death of the university student?

After the US was rocked by another terrorist attack in the Boston Marathon bombing, claiming the lives of three innocent people and wounding dozens more,  it seems we have yet another date that will remain infamous, surrounded by pain and tears in the heart of Americans for generations to come.  We will also remember how those days have continued to unite and bring each of us closer together as citizens of this great country.  But just as in the days of 9/11, where we suffered in communal sorrow; we sought retribution for those affected by the singeing shrapnel delivered by the bombers.

Terror From Within

This time there was no country to invade, no massing of the troops, or sending of the hounds.  There was just the search to find who was responsible, and within a few days we had our targets.  In the past there was little citizens could do to help bring about justice, but sit back and hope the government could get the job done.  Over 10 years later, after billions of dollars were spent, thousands of lives lost, the man responsible for 9/11 received his due diligence with a bullet.  Even though the job had been done, it wasn't without a severe hit to the government's satisfaction rating.

This time the terror was domestic, so this time the terrorists were going to feel the full power of domestic justice.  With the FBI utilizing every bit of its manpower and resources, we quickly got images of our targets.  In a country that abides by the rule of Law, laid down as the country's foundation to protect its citizens from illegal search and seizure, and to receive proper due process, certain procedures are necessary.  The Internet however, not hindered by such protections and formalities, felt Law was taking too long and sought to expedite justice.  Not long after the images were released did The Internet have a name; Sunil Tripathi.  Though the FBI quickly dismissed him and were after the Tsarnaev brothers, it seemed The Internet was out for blood, and days later Sunil's body was found by police, floating in a river.

Here we are now nearly a month later, with the brothers caught, and the events surrounding the marathon explained, but little mentioned about Sunil Tripathi.  I have to ask, does anyone care about The Internet's possible role as his judge, jury, and executioner, and the severe lack of media coverage?  I realize from the start that the events around Sunil's disappearance is controversial because of his history with extreme depression, which could reasonably be concluded that his death was possibly by suicide.  At this point for me, and the reason for this article, I more concerned with the Internet's role as becoming "the rule of the mob" rather than "the rule of Law" when it comes to bringing about justice.

The Nature of the Internet

The Internet offers us supreme freedom of speech, of religion, and is naturally democratic when it comes to people's voice in how things are run.  It is essentially and optimally "self-governing" when it comes to commerce and ensuring people are able to execute these rights.  A single tweet or Facebook status can spark an entire group of people to devote countless hours to a particular cause, shining as an example the ease of compassion the Internet provides.  This is why much of the Western world have sought to pass international laws protecting the it from any and all governmental control, at least not beyond that which is reasonable.

However, the Internet also provides us with ultimate anonymity, endless sources of stimulation, setting free our deepest inclinations.  One would have to look no further than the nearest YouTube comment to see the lowest point of human depravity.  It seemingly gives us an environment of duality, democracy and anarchy, empathy and demoralization.  A trivial post can set Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media service ablaze with messages of hate and cries calling for apologies or even their job, all before the full information about the events surrounding the given post come out.  Leading things to become quite uncontrollable very quickly, making mainstream media (and society for that matter) schizophrenic, seeing problems where there is none, pulling the trigger before it's time, and pointing fingers and calling for innocent people's heads.

This is the entire reason why we created a police force in the first place, to let an objective group of paid professionals, who are trained to see the entire picture, weeding out fact from fiction, find the true criminals, and execute the lawful justice that we built this country on.  Hopefully, in the days coming we find out the truth about Sunil Tripathi, but until then we set him as an example of what can happen when justice is overshadowed by a witchhunt.