 You tube is out; Piknik tube is in!
There is no doubt that technology is a good thing. We have everything to keep us connected
with the world. With the help of cell phones that can record video we have the ability to
record information with the same inconspicuousness of a spy. What is more, we have the
capability and the right to publish our (ill-gotten?) videos on the Internet. Paris Hilton
became famous with her cell phone video footage and high school students in Turkey have
inadvertently revealed their drug-use by recording their activities on their cell phones.
Nothing is a secret. Who knows, while you are outside, someone may be taking your photo,
filming you and publishing the pictures or video on some web site. If you have nothing to
hide, that is fine. But if, for instance, you are a mayor, it is wise to be conscious of
your words and actions at all times. A mayor spoke badly of, and made inappropriate jokes
about, the Turkish leader Atatürk. Even though the mayor apologized, his behavior was
considered unforgivable as was revealed in the results of an online survey. In his case, I
like that we live in an age in which technology serves us and shows us the nature of
people's ambition. But in other cases I don't like the idea of everyone's having a camera
and the right to publish everything.
YouTube gave everyone the chance to become a producer, a star and a director. It has never
been easier to show yourself to the world. There are some ethical issues that arise and
the limits of freedom over the Internet are questionable. It seems that the Internet has
given everyone the opportunity to act and talk freely about anything. Freedom is not a
freedom if you hurt people or communities by humiliating or demoralizing them. Neither the
press nor the Internet should contain content depicting violence and humiliation. The
press should not be used as a vehicle to humiliate people or countries. YouTube is a kind
of press and is even more widely accessed than other kinds of broadcasts.
Yes, we make fun of some videos about some leaders and laugh at those that are published
in a totally independent area. But this technology, this week, made me feel like I am in
the middle of the war. One day some people used their creativity and made a video about
the Greeks and all the Greeks were labeled as gay. The next day, the Greeks respond with a
video depicting the Turkish leader Atatürk as gay. What was this all about? Was it a
technological war over the Internet? The Internet made you a soldier to protect your
country?
By forwarding these videos to many people, the war was perpetuated. Some video responses
have been published on YouTube as a reaction. Atatürk would never want any public to be
humiliated. The artistic war went on, and some people made a video using Atatürk’s love
for Turkey and his work. The videos about our leader Atatürk and our love towards him
should have been published before all of this, not as a response or a weapon. Besides,
using sexual preference is a cheap way to humiliate people. YouTube has been censored
because of the comic video that circulated about the US president, Bush. I expected the
same thing to happen with the same intensity with regard to these videos. Instead, the
censorship did not target the offending videos; but Turkey. YouTube has exceeded its
mission. After seeing these videos, I feel annoyed instead of having fun and laughing
because of the people who are now full of hatred. No leader or a flag of a country
deserves to be humiliated. This free and independent Internet channel should be controlled
on the issue of insult and humiliations which it is subject to in other countries. Others
could see these shameful videos when it was censored in Turkey, since it is universal
channel. Forbidding YouTube in Turkey was not a good solution and created a bad image for
us. Perhaps it is time for Turkish people to use our own version: Pikniktube (which
showman Beyazıt Öztürk made for his program).
Take care.
Gülay Acar (COMD/IV)
howtoreachgulay@yahoo.com
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