Social Media and Shaming

(Jezebel's Jessica Coen defending her site's decision to call-out Twitter users for using racial slurs)

Normally, I wouldn't feel any sort of conflict about shaming someone who very publicly used a racial slur after the President's re-election, but I'd be lying to say that Jezebel's decision to contact the schools of the kids who made the racist tweets makes me very, very nervous. Actually, there's a lot about this story that makes me uncomfortable, from confusing calling-out and shaming with bullying  (it's not), to the idea that those on Jezebel's side see will them as some sort of anti-racist activists when their site has historically had more than its share of race fail.

Legally, I don't think they've done anything wrong (granted, I haven't set foot in a journalism class since the Clinton Administration), but it does fall into a ethical limbo where one is prompted to ask were online and real life intersect.