Night in the Woods developer Alec Holowka passes away
Night in the Woods co-developer Alec Holowka has passed away, his family announced earlier today.
Holowka had been suffering from mood and personality disorders for years. However, it appears his death may be related to recent sexual assault allegations made by a fellow developer.
Whether Holowka was guilty or innocent is not for me to say. As far as I know, no legal proceedings have been initiated, and nothing has been proven before a court of law. His accuser though, whom I will not name, seems to have a long track record of questionable accusations. Again, it’s not for me to say whether I think they’re telling the truth or not. I honestly don’t know. However, I think there’s enough circumstantial evidence at this point to draw some logical conclusions in that regard.
This whole incident has once again shone the spotlight on Cancel Culture. An online vigilante movement, mostly born from the rhetoric of #MeToo, which seeks to act as judge, jury, and executioner for those accused of various sexual or political indiscretions. People involved use social media platforms to bully the accused, as well as those associated with them, in an attempt to get them fired from their jobs and otherwise ruin their lives. Usually with little concern for the truth. They see themselves as moral crusaders, punishing those who they feel too often get away with crimes against alleged oppressed individuals.
In reality though, these groups are little more than online lynch mobs. Victims, even when proven innocent, often find themselves with very little recourse against their accusers. They’re often left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, alone, while their bullies face little to no consequences to their actions. Social media giants like Twitter also seem unconcerned with this behaviour on their platforms, despite being quick to ban others for posting conservative political commentary and cheeky memes.
It’s not right, and this needs to stop.
There’s a reason why Western legal traditions have a presumption of innocence. We should believe victims, when they report it to the proper authorities. However, guilt needs to be determined based on hard facts and evidence, and only in a court of law. People have been falsely accused, and we need to work to the best of our abilities to ensure we get things right. So that the victim gets real justice. Things don’t always work out that way, but it’s a damn better system than a tossing someone to the rabble circling for blood.
Holokwa’s death should, and indeed must, be investigated by police to determine whether harassment or other offenses played a role. And if that is the case, those who took part should be brought up on criminal charges. Social media companies also need to be dragged in front of Parliament to explain why they’re allowing this. At this point it doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t do what he was accused of. The people surrounding his death behaved like animals, and they should face consequences for their actions. Otherwise this is just going to keep happening, along with more tragedies like this.
