Every now and then, a news story emerges that captivates a population. It can be a local story, it can be a national story. Here in Bristol, we have both. The disappearance of young Jack O’Sullivan, a 23 year old who has not been seen since 2nd March, has united the city in anxiety, in grief, in a desire to find him. I have rarely seen such an outpouring of concern, of love. Nationally, the disappearance of young Jay Slater, 19, from Lancashire, in Tenerife has brought forth similar emotions. But while the reaction to Jack’s disappearance has been uniformly sympathetic, it has not be universally so regarding Jay Slater.
What unites us is the disappearance of a child. Not only do we feel sorry for the family, we have the feeling this could be one of our own. What if this was our son and daughter? How would we deal with it, how would we cope; could we cope? Here in Bristol, there has been little by way of speculation as to what may have happened to Jack. Sure, some people have evidence-free theories, but in the main everyone just wants him to be found, if only to give the family some kind of answers, closure.
To that end, social media has been used extensively by people who are desperate to do their bit. People have essentially handed over their timelines in the hope that something, anything, might prompt a social media ‘friend’ to remember something, not matter how apparently minor that might be. Driving through Bristol yesterday as the sun was slowly rising, I observed posters with Jack’s face on. I don’t mind saying that it was a goose bump moment and confirmation, as if it were needed, that most people are good people. They just want to help. They are the best of us.
My social media pages are a bit of an echo chamber these days and I like to keep it that way. See no evil, hear no evil. I’ve seen only nice stories about Jack O’Sullivan. I cannot say the same about some of the reaction to the disappearance of Jay Slater.
Jay has a criminal record and just before he flew to Tenerife he had just completed 150 hours of community service. I don’t propose to be specific about the crime for which he was prosecuted. Suffice to say it wasn’t very nice. It is not my place, it is not anyone’s place in my view, to speculate on whether his disappearance was in any way connected with his disappearance, but that hasn’t stopped the more insensitive and unhinged among us indulging in conspiracy theories. Worse than that, some extremely unpleasant, and obviously anonymous, social media users have made jokes, so called fun videos, about the boy’s disappearance. I am a grizzled old hack who is rarely shocked by anything, but I was genuinely shocked, upset and, I have to say, angry about what I saw. If the trolls were nameless, the people who created the accounts are for real. They are the worst of us.
In the case of Jack O’Sullivan, people have shown only their good side. With Jay Slater a number of people have shown their worst. In the end, isn’t the most important thing of all that both boys are found? If there are any other issues, specifically it has to be said with Jay, then can’t we just put them to one side? And frankly, are they anything to do with us in the first place?
People should be proud of their own compassion and love for someone they have never even met. It is what makes us human. Spreading hate – well, that’s something else. As Joe Walsh put it, you can’t argue with a sick mind.
