Since the onset of the 24-hour news cycle and the constant barrage of social media blogs, the way things are characterized seems to have evolved into creating the most sensationalized sound bite. It is increasingly difficult to determine what is fact and what is sensationalism these days. What effect does all of this have on our work environments and society in general? Let me share some examples.
Individuals who have become radicalized through social media and the internet are urged on to become home-grown terrorists. The mainstream media typically refers to an individual committing a terrorist act as a lone wolf. A lone wolf is generally described as a calculating and cunning hunter that strikes its prey after careful selection. By referring to these despicable terrorists as lone wolves, some say that this potentially fuels future acts of home-grown terror by lending a somewhat legitimizing label to these despicable acts that provides the perpetrator with some level of stature and validation. Perhaps the media and everyone else can be convinced to refer to these radicalized terrorists as LONE RATS! After all, rats have been despised throughout history because they carried with them an image of plague, death and undermining of civil society. It is doubtful that anyone would view being called a Lone Rat as a badge of honor.