Its High Time Harry Kane Gets The Respect He Deserves

The problem is, the more famous you get, the more people see you who didn't choose to.
- (Louis C.K.)
Internet is a funny place you know. It is the pinnacle of technology and communication and has literally every information available instantly for our perusal. Our best use for it is watching “funniest and most humorous cat videos evarrrr”. Also porn.

There is another use for our “pinnacle” though. It allows us to follow our beloved celebrities on social media. Also allows us to judge their every action while silently hating them for being better than us.

Now, that is slightly unfair and not everyone is guilty of the aforementioned “hate”. Hate might be too strong a word but in a week where professional footballers across England boycotted social media for 24 hours in a stand against racism and internet abuse, I’m allowed to be a bit cross with media platforms.

Just three days after the social media silence, an Instagram video posted by Harry Kane was subjected to abuse as multiple comments regarding his apparent “speech impediment” were observed. The video was posted as a congratulatory message for St. Georges day while also promoting a local cancer trust fund.

Apparently, him talking amused some so thoroughly that they decided to share their witty quips with everyone.

Kane may not be the most eloquent of speakers (although with evidence to the contrary) and his heavy accent may make him difficult to understand to some. Such targeted comments however, can be regularly observed across his various social media accounts, even on posts with no audio segments.

Now, this is definitely not as severe an issue as racial abuse. Some might even say it’s a natural consequence of club rivalries and within the realms of acceptable heckling. But the two events seem to stem from the same source. It’s the illusion of anonymity which comes with an online presence. People like these abusers wish to be under surveillance as long as their anonymous identity cannot be tied back to their actual ones.