Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Hanukkah and Christmas, and are having a good winter break!
So for this post I thought I would cover the major differences with being racist online and being racist in public. It is a well-known fact that people are a lot more ‘free’ when sharing their views online compared to when they talk to people face to face. Saying that though, it doesn’t mean people are not racist towards other people in pubic – only recently there was a video (provided) released of a lady who went on this epic rant at a Spanish woman who cut the cue – now admittedly I hate people who cut cues, but I would NEVER ever tell them to go back to where they came from. And then to compare there’s online racism, where I’ve seen twitter users use words such as ‘ching-chong’; ‘ugly Chinese fuckers’ when talking about East Asian actors, K-Pop stars, even anime characters which are not even real!
People are able to be racist online without any serious consequence. V/ There is a risk of being prosecuted if you are reported to the authorities as being racially abusive to someone.
Anonymous – people who are hidden behind their computer screens have no real idea as to what kind of effect they are having by their words. They are mostly like too much of a coward to say such things in public, therefore they make themselves feel superior by acting high and mighty online. V/ Unless you have KKK masks, it is difficult to be racist to someone face to face and not be recognised. In recent times many videos have been released of people being racist in places like busses and trains, which have resulted in these people being banned/fined for their abuse.
Gain support from other people with same views (i.e. other racists). It’s easier than ever sue to social media to gather people with similar views together without looking suspicious. V/ In the 21st century it is possible to assume that large group of racists don’t gather and create their own groups, however that is not correct. In recent times there have been a large increase in groups such as Neo-Nazis and the KKK – that being said, they are not as vocal as they were in the past, and are largely mocked and not taken seriously.
Share racist/abusive views freely in platforms such as twitter and Tumblr. This is mentioned separately because as opposed to being racist directly at people, with social media platforms people can just type up their views and share them for the world to see. V/ In real life, if one was to shout out their racist views in town, they would either get beaten up, sent home, or considered the town mad man. Although it can be said that he is exercising his right of freedom of speech. But, freedom of speech means that you won’t get arrested for what you are saying, other people can still call you out if you’re acting like a dumb twat.
No real legal troubles. Although there are cases where some internet trolls have been prosecuted for their abuse, however most of these cases are often ignored. Unless the nature of the abuse is seen as extremely harmful, no significant action is ever taken, therefore internet trolls continue to do what they feel like. V/ There are several consequences for someone who has been caught being racist to someone in public. Most importantly, if one is racially profiling for things like jobs or maybe crime is a serious offence that can result in legal problems. However, if someone is racist in their day to day life, they may be ostracised from society.
Racism hidden in humour. Racism can be hidden in funny videos or memes which people will just discard as humour and ignore any racial implications that may be damaging to other people. It is assumed that it’s some lonely, angry person trying to entertain themselves by being hateful, therefore their actions have no real consequence. V/ When racist jokes are spoken out loud, it’s very difficult to ignore the racist undertones. From personal example, when someone says ‘you’re Muslim, do you know any terrorists *laugh*’ is not as funny and witty and they think it is.
I hope you guys can see that although cyber racism is seen as something that is not very serious, it still has a large impact on people they are aimed at. I would also go as far to say that cyber racism and racism in real life should be taken equally serious as they both have a devastating effect on people.
Hope to see you soon in post #3
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