Time to face down internet bullies

Whilst I am no fan of Israel and its policies towards Palestinians, the decision by traditional group Dervish to pull out of a short tour there because of ‘venom’ directed towards them on a social media site is regrettable.

These sites are now being used viciously by various ‘anti’ factions by individuals or groups who think they have a god-given right to direct their personal insecurities, looniness and general nastiness under protection of anonymity, which in reality does not actually exist. In this instance a musical group was their target, but this is happening everywhere, whether it is fracking, pro-life issues, water charges, etc, etc. The denizens with these dark digital nightmares are a very sad lot indeed.

Debate is good on any important issues of the day, but the internet Nazis and bullies need to be faced down when they ignore rational debate and attempt to shout down whatever they happen to disagree with. Depriving the Israeli people of a multi-talented group like Dervish whose music transcends ethnicity, is an injustice.