First they insult or support an offence, and then they want people to assist them financially to pay for damages ordered by the court, along with legal fees.
This is the bizarre idea that two activists came up with after losing a libel case a few days ago. Thing is, some people have taken the bait and actually contributed. This, indirectly, means that they agree with what the activists wrote.
Godfrey Leone Ganado, a retired auditor, and Rachel Williams, a former Occupy Justice activist, were slapped with fines by a court of law after parliamentary secretary Rosianne Cutajar was publicly insulted on the social media platform Facebook.
The two were jointly fined €800 – yes, €800, not €800,000. A few days after the judgment, they set up a crowd-funding exercise to collect money to enable them to pay this fine and their legal fees. Their target is to collect €3,600. Once the expenses are paid, any extra cash remaining, they said, will go to support Dar Merhba Bik, a home which takes care of victims of domestic violence.
What is ironic is that, in the plea for funds, they said that Dar Merhba Bik is “an organisation that truly protects and upholds a woman’s dignity”. This after Cutajar’s dignity was vilified with what was written.
Crowd-funding is an exercise usually carried out over the internet to raise money for a project or a venture by collecting small amounts from a large group of people. It is a practice that has multiplied in the past few years, thanks to the social media.
But it’s one thing trying to raise funds for, say, a poor individual who needs expensive medical assistance, possibly abroad, or for an NGO to take legal action against some giant enterprise with the best lawyers in its employment, and another thing to do something wrong even though you know it’s wrong, and then, when you’re fined for the deed, expect others to pay for it.
And, let’s face it, it’s not as if the fine imposed by the court of law and the legal expenses are exorbitant. But, even if the expenses had been high, both Leone Ganado and Williams knew what they were getting into and should now not expect that others pay for their insult.
In urging people to contribute, they said that they “do not have any financial backing from rich businessmen or political parties.” This is a flawed argument anyway and, well, they should have thought about this before offending others.
This serves – or should serve – as a lesson to all those who resort to the social media to attack others. We are seeing this happening too often. The kind of language that is being used publicly to offend others who may not be of the same political belief, just to mention one example, is becoming harsher with each day that passes.
The courts of law have done well in the past to punish people who use social media in this way, and would do well to inflict even heavier punishments, hopefully to act as a deterrent to others who might feel inclined to insult others on a public platform.