People always ask us: “Why do you always blur the plate number (and the face) of an offending (or reckless) driver whenever VISOR shares a motoring incident?”

My standard reply is: “That’s because that’s not for public consumption. We can submit those details to the authorities, but they’re not for our audience so they can mercilessly bash the culprit.”

And I mean that 100%. The purpose of posting those videos is not so we can make fun of irresponsible individuals. It’s so we can all collectively learn from them.

Now, while this official stance is true, it’s not the entire reason that we blur plates and faces. The weightier rationale is this: I don’t want to bully anyone—yes, even one who may seem deserving of our full condemnation. It’s not worth it. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone is entitled to redeem himself/herself.

You know what my greatest fear is? For someone to be bashed on our social media platforms to such a degree that the person is driven to take his/her life. If you think this doesn’t happen, you’d be surprised.

My greatest fear? For someone to be bashed on our social media platforms to such a degree that the person is driven to take his/her life

Earlier today, a friend contacted me to let me know that a person who had gone viral just last month (for endangering the life of a traffic officer) had just committed suicide. Apparently, the consequences of the person’s driving transgression were too much to bear. Chief of which were all the hurtful things that netizens had hurled online.

Good thing the video wasn’t shared by VISOR—although I admit we would have if someone had sent it to us (maybe someone did and we just didn’t see it)—because I do not know if I can handle knowing that somebody took his/her life over a social media post of ours. That’s not what our humble job is about.

Some will argue: “If someone offs himself/herself after being bashed online over something that he/she did in the first place, I have no sympathy for him/her. We’re not everybody’s babysitter.”

Um…I don’t know if I’m that callous to have this kind of mindset. All I know is that I’m just as imperfect as the next guy—maybe even worse—but that only God can judge me. I’d like to be able to extend the same grace to anyone.

Well, unless we’re talking about unrepentant thieves who clean out the nation’s coffers without batting an eyelash. But that’s a topic for another time.