Have you heard the expression ‘kangaroo court’? If you or your parents emigrated from countries of recent memories with fascism or communism, you probably already know or heard about the examples of this kangaroo court. It is a popular court. Of course, it is not a part of a regular standing court system of the country. Many people accuse a person or a group of people of certain wrongdoings. But most often, the accused do not have any advocate. And there is no process to confirm the accusations. Accusations are accepted as true without verification. It quickly ends, and executions immediately follow. Under many communist revolutions, kangaroo courts destroyed countless numbers of lives.
I doubt if there is any country that allows a kangaroo court in our times. Even those times kangaroo courts were frequently held, no legitimate government permitted such a thing by law. But in recent years, we witness many kangaroo courts without realizing they are kangaroo courts. Mostly, these kangaroo courts take place on the internet, usually on social media platforms. The mechanism is almost identical to a kangaroo court. No one has proper legal authority, but everyone accuses and judges and sentences. The accused lose jobs and social relationships, suffer psychological traumas, and carry the scarlet letters, even before they are tried at legal courts. Many accused people in those kangaroo courts do not have a chance to bring their cases to courts. And even when they try in courts and prove their innocence, the courts scarcely restore their damages. No one is responsible for wrong accusations in those kangaroo courts.
Many people believe they can find the truth on the internet. Lots of people trust social media posts while they do not know their authors. Very few people check their facts. More people jump to conclusions and judgments. This generation does not like to be judged in any way. But it easily judges in cyberspace.
Jesus tells his followers to be fair and benevolent to everyone. He teaches us to imitate his Father in heaven who is impartial to everyone and gives good things even to evil people. But I fear that Christians find themselves accusing others in cyber kangaroo courts. If so, we are likely to hate people who are not even our enemies. Then, how far away we are from God’s perfect love Jesus urges us to imitate!
