Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s Post

British society has a problem. Last week, a theatre company was forced to issue a statement begging people not to harass a Black woman starring as Juliet opposite Tom Holland's Romeo. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers received a "barrage of deplorable racist abuse" following the cast announcement at the end of March. And yesterday, one of the most unethical research reports I've ever seen (in terms of methodology, objectives and reporting) was published by the Telegraph and Daily Mail, stoking widespread hate against British Muslims. I'm not going to share the report because I don't want it to receive any more attention, but you can Google if you like. As you can imagine, the comments were VILE. We've somehow become desensitised to this. Every day in social media, we bear witness to a plentiful supply of hate and threats. Targeted abuse. Intimidation. It's just wallpaper, now. And very rarely do the platforms effectively regulate this. When you're not directly affected by such harmful comments - whether they're racist, or sexist, or transphobic - it's easy to write them off as a "small toxic few" or "the views of extremists". But what kind of country is Britain that some of the most hateful people in society feel empowered to share these vicious, harmful views, and do so without repercussion? Some individuals even become famous because of their vicious, harmful views. Of course, this behaviour is learned. The UK's ruling classes have a very successful history of stoking hatred towards minorities. Our media is manipulative and dishonest. As a population, the English in particular have always been angry, with a rabid sense of superiority. We love to hate. But it's getting to a point where I genuinely believe the country is a social mess. This isn't my opinion. It's been studied by academics for decades. British society is broken. Has it always been broken? Anyone who claims it's not, is either not consuming the news, is actively choosing apathy, or desperately trying to retain the privilege they have. But for me, and you, when we turn a blind eye... it's an enabler.

During Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let's remember: Hate has no place in our society. Despite ongoing efforts to #StopAsianHate, a recent poll from AAPI Data reveals that a third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders still face racial abuse. It's time to stand together against all forms of hate and discrimination. Learn how at freedomandsafety.org.

#ICYMI: We put out a glossary in 2022 that aims to identify and dismantle racist language and stereotypes targeting individuals of Asian descent in the United States, offering guidance to recognize and combat pervasive biases in everyday communication. https://lnkd.in/egPRPZM7

Last week, Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum – a local landmark that exhibits Asian and Pacific American art, culture, and history in the heart of their Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area District – was vandalized by a man with a sledgehammer and the false impression that “the Chinese ruined [his] life.”The vandal’s racist remarks mirror the words and actions of a growing number of politicians who are using rising tensions between the U.S. and Chinese governments as a justification for directing hate and bigotry against innocent Asians and Asian Americans. This is called anti-Asian scapegoating. It presents an enormous threat to our personal safety and our constitutional rights — and it’s why today, Stop AAPI Hate is launching Stop AAPI Hate The Blame, a national campaign dedicated to ending anti-Asian scapegoating.

Beyond "race"? It seems that words such as race and racist do far more harm than they do good! Arising from the recent social media flurry around whether it is racist to reference white people in a negative manner, I can mount a cogent argument either way. Taking an equality lens, white is a colour, just as much as black, brown, etc. A racial distinction applies no matter what colour the target of the distinction is. A racial slur can be made against a white person. Racial prejudice can be applied to a white person. However, in an Australian context, racism cannot be and is not experienced by white people because any racial slur, racial prejudice, or racial discrimination exercised against a white person is not accompanied by an exercise of power that leads to their oppression. Taking a historical lens, "race" was created by white people to establish and justify superiority over other people, arising when a justification for slavery was needed. In this regard, race was a means of categorising non-white people. A reversed meaning could not apply as it was self-evident that white people were not inferior to other people! It is only since it has been proven and accepted that "race" has no biological basis in distinguishing humans and that it is a social construct aimed at conveying negative effects - a slur, prejudice or discrimination - that it becomes possible to contemplate its application in reverse. Indeed, to reverse its application would really be a case of an eye-for-an-eye or a tooth-for-a-tooth. Not a great basis for its application! In this respect, I suggest we adopt the Norwegian legislative approach - where they have banned the use of "race" in their discrimination legislation as they regard its use as problematic and unethical - by applying this principle to our personal interactions, dropping the use of "race" and "racist" and associated racist language. A possible step forward with respect to individual racism, but still with much to do in eliminating institutional and systemic racism.

JUST IN: Widespread racist content on the Chinese internet has sparked concern and calls for action. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urges the Chinese government to address this issue and proposes social media platforms take steps to remove critical content against the government. Racial discrimination against Black people has increased, with hateful content attracting online traffic. Efforts must be made to combat racism and promote tolerance. Let's create a more inclusive and respectful online environment. #China #racism #humanrights #inclusion To learn more and read the complete story, click on this link. https://lnkd.in/gAEMDUMN

#KnowTheDifference #RealismOfOurCulture Despite Singapore's status as a first-world nation, it is regrettable that some of the residents lack the maturity to distinguish between the beauty of arts and culture and the negative connotations often ascribed to them. The government would do well not to react impulsively to such matters but rather to foster a stronger, forward-thinking identity for Singapore. This involves pushing new boundaries instead of playing it safe and succumbing to the narrow views of a vocal minority of Karens. Recently, Ogilvy Singapore made headlines by winning the Grand Prix in the Cannes Glass: The Lion for Change category with Vaseline's ‘Transition Body Lotion’ campaign. This is the first time a Singaporean agency has received a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions. The ad, which targets the transgender community, was created by Singapore for Thailand market. It demonstrates Thailand’s commendable embrace of diverse cultures rather than concealing them. Something Singapore could learn from. #ShaBShares #ForwardSG #NewPossibilities

❌ 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✅ - 𝟐 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 Recently, someone in one of my safeguarding interventions brought up the very controversial concept of “Cancel Culture”, arguing that false accusations can destroy someone’s reputation and life. My first reaction was to think that this was a very dangerous road to go down on, especially when it is already so difficult to convince sports leaders to embrace a safeguarding culture. Let’s stop for a second and define what is cancel culture: 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 is a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a culture in which those who are deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner are ostracized, boycotted, or shunned. (Wikipedia) ➡ It is important to note that this term has been repeatedly used by far-right political parties including by a former president of the USA… This term is not to be confused with the “𝐖𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞”. 𝐖𝐨𝐤𝐞 nowadays refers to being aware or well informed in a political or cultural sense, especially regarding issues surrounding marginalised communities - it describes someone who has “woken up” to issues of social injustice. (https://lnkd.in/eGay-SCT) We have seen 2 weeks ago that former Manchester City Footballer Benjamin Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape in his retrial. The judiciary process nearly took 3 years, and he was suspended by Manchester City for nearly 2 years. I don’t know all the details of the case, but it seems that the process took way too long to be declared innocent… 📈 📑 This being said, we know from research that false accusations of sexual abuse are rare and that real cases of sexual abuse are underreported crimes and when they are reported, very few are prosecuted. The point I tried to make with this person was to say that the best way to avoid false accusations for a sports governing body is to have extremely robust safeguarding procedures built on principles of confidentiality and protection, presumption of innocence and timeliness together with a very cautious assessment of risks if possible, depending on the case in collaboration with statutory agencies. I am very curious to hear what my safeguarding colleagues think about this? #SafeSport #cancelculture #Woke #Safeguarding

❛Tolerance is much more than passive acceptance of others. It is rooted in the recognition of universal human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.❜ 📜 Read more in the following article ↴ #Tolerance #DiversityandInclusion #Respectothers #Acceptance #HumanRights #CulturalDiversity Sophie Giannikou

March 21 is the annual observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. RWI Synthetics invites you to recognize the injustices of racial discrimination and become an ally. For all of us, it takes intentionality and hard work to examine our own biases, conscious and unconscious, our language and behaviour, and the structural barriers in our communities and institutions that continue to confront Indigenous, Black and people of colour daily. As a Canadian Certified Aboriginal Business, we will continue to learn, inform and encourage progress towards a world where everyone has similar access to lead safe and successful lives. #RacialDiscrimination #RacialEquity #RacialJustice #RacialEquality #EliminateDiscrimination