Most of us enjoys pleasant conversation,engaging constructively and perhaps added to that a fine, orderly and exemplary speech as a reflection of how civilized we are.
However it seems when we touch a raw nerve regarding a sticky point or a sensitive subject on News24,then all hell breaks loose with the most derogatory of "noisy talking" and heckling one can imagine.Some say it's just a bit of harmless banter and humour nothing serious, so relax mate.
But is it? Or is there more to it than just harmless banter between internet users.Can banter or teasing ever become misplaced and deliberate offence?
But why is that? Is it really all about the criticism given,or was it meant to irritate or exasperate your fellow News24 users? Has our show of aggressive boldness or unmitigated effrontery,our expression of personal excitement, or our just being candid,frank,unreservedly straightforward, outspoken and sincere been thinly disguised as banter.
Obviously standards of what constitutes decent manners in speaking vary according to customs and circumstances,nevertheless does practicing the art of conversation matter on News24?
Is the way you reply to someone's comment or posts on News24 a reflection of your training,upbringing and behaviour.
Bad mouthing other people is a worldwide problem and a nightmare on many news forums. Clean and dignified speech on the other hand is very desirable and attracts people.
It could just be a another "crabs in a barrel" type moment,which are racist reactions to expressions made by another person.In this case another News24 user.
You see crab fishermen never have to put a lid on top of a barrel of crabs, because the crabs will pull each other down, as they struggle to get out of the barrel. Its just how crabs behave!Such behaviour is characteristic of many of those that are on the receiving end of racist slurs and remarks.News24 does spot these rather quickly and rmove them pronto.
So how can one counter or stop such actions on the part of others?
1.Stop the name calling.Refering to someone skin colour i.e., "you whites always this" or "you blacks always that" deliberately favours racism with the specific intent of you wanting to get ahead or getting the mastery over the situation. So it needs to stop,full stop.
2.Stop being discourteous. That means uttering something towards an individual with very little or no regard of what the other person is saying.Not even reading the full details of his/her comments or post or the Author's article in detail.
3.Take a hard look at your manners and social skills. People generally are attracted to someone who uses kind, tactful speech and who shows consideration for others.Dr. T. Berry Brazelton wrote:"A welcoming set of manners is like a passport, allowing freedom and access to people...good manners are essential to gaining the acceptance of others."
I you practice these aforementioned things when posting a comment,then it can go a long way to increase of levels of constructive interactions and minimize conflicts of opinions we have with each other.
Being rude to someone never increases the value of the truth or its impact. Even if what you're saying is true!Vulgar hate speech woefully reflect a serious deficient vocabulary on your part.
A racist bigot will always claim that he or she are not racist. However if they'd be asked to provide you with detailed and truthful information about the mechanics of how people are slandered on the basis of their colour and what are the mechanics for working against being orally defamed on the basis of colour, those same "non racist" persons, will not provide such information in a manner that truth is revealed with the objective of promoting justice and correctness.
It's called being deceitful.Deceit is when you saying things that are known to be false and/or influencing people to believe things that are known to be false.
The most moderately intelligent people around today collectively utilize an extremely simple, yet very destructive and disastrously effective formula in maintaining their supreme position over all other people. And that deceit is primarily achieved through the use of their words on a forum like News24.
More often than not statements are made on News24 that are factual and true,and the evidence backs those up quite handsomely,however they are being tailor made solely for the purpose of maintaining the system of your superiority and not reveal any truth for the purpose of promoting justice and correctness. How sad that is honestly!
So racist language is being used to reveal a statement which is most likely true, however, when asked to use that same "true" statement to promote justice and correctness by revealing how the system is the central cause for the statement, then a racist proceeded to practice his/her racism by attempting to confuse the other person-be they black or white no matter colour their skin is.
Throwing a bunch of words and statements is heckling to the point where hopefully, the other user on this forum will get too confused to continue with the conversation in a constructive, counter-racist fashion. Objective is almost achieved by then, is it not?
Words really are powerful tools of communication. But for our choice of words to accomplish a specific purpose, we need to choose them carefully.
How you come across will either show respect or disrespect for the message you are delivering and reveals much more about your attitude toward the people to whom you are speaking too.
Reference:
1.Dr. Francis Cress Welsing's,The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors.
2.Puchline Magazine.
3.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler.
4.Handbook on Communications Skills,www.cgg.gov.in/publicationdownloads/mar03/softskills.
5.Dr. T. Berry Brazelton.