The government of communist China has announced a new universal reputation score for every citizen, based on the citizen’s use of the state run social media. Every citizen will be judged on such factors as political compliance, hobbies, shopping, and so forth, and everyone will be judged not only by what her or she says and does, but on what social media friends do and say. The Chinese government has not said what it intends to do with people with low scores.

When I saw him he was sitting on the curb, softly crying. When I asked why he sobbed, “My reputation is gone. A social media friend, someone I never met and never knew, posted a negative remark about Lena Dunham, and now I am ostracized, beyond the pale, even though I rushed to disassociate myself from his horrid remarks. I have been shamed and humiliated. Life is over for me.” I was sympathetic, but he had brought it on himself. He had failed to build his index high enough to prevent a chance negative post by an unknown social media friend to ruin his life. As I turned to go, he sobbed,

I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my wife
The things I’ve worked for all my life
Are gone and now I sit and cry
And wonder how and wonder why
My children scorn me, even Ned
He’s only four, but quite well read
He saw the Lena Dunham post
And that’s the one that hurts the most
My life is gone, all that I planned
On top of which I’m Facebook banned