Call out racism both online and offline: Panel on impact of social media

SINGAPORE - The silent majority can help douse the fire sparked by comments on social media, especially when the comments go overboard or touch on sensitive issues such as race.

Panelists at a talk on the impact of social media on race relations on Sunday (Nov 3) urged more people to call out racist comments posted online.

Letting such comments go unchallenged might lead to more people thinking that racism is allowed, or worse, allow hatred to be hardened into norms, said the panelists at the talk held at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Adjunct Associate Professor Adrian Heng, a social media expert at NUS, said: "We aren't going to change the world overnight, but we can start looking at our own circles and take proactive steps."

He raised the recent example of how a video on Facebook, showing a resident of a condominium here scolding a security guard for charging his guests a fee of $10 for parking after 11pm on Deepavali, had sparked racist vitriol online.

Netizens called for the man, identified as Erramalli Ramesh, to be sent away, on top of other hateful remarks.

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Both the security guard Steven Heng and Mr Erramalli had made police reports. The security guard had complained that he was harassed while the resident claimed that he was a victim of doxxing because his identity was disclosed online with the intention of harassment.

Mr Erramalli reportedly apologised to Mr Heng last Wednesday (Oct 30) at a private meeting where a security industry association leader was also present.

Prof Heng said that while the video was not racist, the same cannot be said of the comments that identified the resident's race and more should be done to stamp out such hateful race-calling. "There weren't enough voices calling for calm," he added.

The call for netizens to urge equanimity online was agreed by other panelists such as The Straits Times news editor Zakir Hussain, NUS undergraduate Shriya Rajesh and Mr Jimmy Sia, a regional head at tech company Grab and a volunteer with interfaith organisation Roses of Peace.

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The forum was organised by Roses of Peace, in partnership with the NUS Department of Communications and New Media, and The Straits Times. It is supported by OnePeople.sg, a national body that seeks to strengthen racial and religious harmony.

One thing which the panelists and the attendees disagreed on was the extent to which measures must be taken against racist comments.

Suggestions included messaging comments directly to the posters of the content, inviting them to join in activities organised by associations that work with minorities in Singapore and having a reminder pop up before a comment is being posted to remind users that their comment is about to go public.

Netizens can also respond to racist comments with a picture or video on racial harmony instead of text as a way to stop discussions from spiralling out of control.

Offline measures like making sure that people speak in English in front of others who may not understand Mandarin, Malay or Tamil can also help make society more inclusive.

Mr Hussain said that social media has changed the way people responded to racism, and it might be helpful to take a step back and think carefully before responding.

"We get triggered so much more often now," he said, adding that people were less driven and dictated by social media in the past.

Mr Sia added: "We can't police behaviour online. You can't tell people to stop spewing nonsense."

Prof Heng said that a successful outreach example is how the Young Sikh Association (YSA) had contacted Ms Sheena Phua, a beauty and travel content influencer, after she complained on Instagram that her view at the Singapore Grand Prix was blocked by two men wearing turbans.

Ms Phua's comment went viral, and the YSA reached out to check if she was okay when online attacks got nasty and personal.

 

[[nid:463122]]YSA president Sarabjeet Singh, who was at the talk on Sunday, said that the association was unsure of what to do at first when the comments went live.

The association eventually invited Ms Phua to an informal tour of the Central Sikh Temple so that she could learn more about Sikh traditions.

Mr Sarabjeet said that Ms Phua stayed on the tour for a good half of the afternoon, exceeding the time he thought she was willing to spend with the association.

The issue is whether people are willing to spend the time to teach and for others to understand, he added.

One of the talk's 100 attendees, nurse Nur Afiqah Bte Kamel, however, raised the point during the question-and-answer session that the burden is disproportionately on minority races to make the majority race feel more comfortable.

Ms Afiqah, 26, also wondered if the talk could be more inclusive by having a more diverse range of panelists in terms of socio-economic statuses.

This way, the talk might be more reflective of sentiments on the ground, she added.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.