PETALING JAYA, Oct 1 — It’s easy to retaliate with anger and hatred when someone makes an ignorant comment about race or religion.
But what’s more commendable is educating and engaging in meaningful discussions rather than responding with heightened negativity.
This was the case when Singaporean social media influencer Sheena Phua courted controversy for uploading an Instagram story showing two Sikh men in turbans watching the F1 Grand Prix in front of her.
“Dang! Two huge obstructions decided to pop out of nowhere,” she wrote.
Many people took her caption to be a jab against the religious headgear, but Phua later issued an apology where she claimed that the word “obstruction” was merely referring to the height of the men who were blocking her view of the race.
In response to the debacle, the Young Sikh Association (YSA) invited Phua to visit their Gurdwara (a Sikh place of worship) and learn more about the religion.
Phua took up the offer and spent the day chatting with members of the community, cooking, and sharing a meal with them.
In a post from the official YSA Facebook page, the group explained why they decided to reach out to the fashion and beauty blogger following her comment.
“By her own admission, (Phua) shared that she didn’t know much about the Sikh community. She didn’t have or know of any Sikhs who may have been at school with her.
“Now that we know her better, would it still be fair to say that she should have known better when she initially put up her post that some found offensive?
“We all have our own experiences that inform what and how much we know about others in our community,” they wrote.
YSA also hoped that their move would inspire others to react with kindness and empathy when other people make honest slip-ups.
“Also, don’t we all hope that when we make a mistake and cause unintended offence or hurt, that others will show us empathy, be understanding and forgiving?
“Better yet, when we make mistakes, don’t we all hope that we can expect people will act on their convictions and reach out to us in friendship, as opposed to reacting based on emotions and pointing fingers to blame?”
The post has been shared more than 600 times on Facebook with many users raining praise on YSA members for opening their hearts to Phua.
