MAY 1 — Many Malaysians’ mass rage and xenophobic rants against Rohingya refugees in the social media, over the past fortnight, has been unprecedented.
Most of the time, our keyboard crazies lash out on “the other” Malaysian, the one born into a different ethnic group or religion.
This rage is understandable. We are all fearful about the next couple of years. Unemployment, economic recession, and political uncertainty make people unhappy, angry, even irrational.
But there is no excuse to ape all the uncivilised cybertroopers out there, triggered by racist trolling from Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and other desperate politicians.
Think before you type.
In two or three years from today, unemployment will improve, the economy will recover somewhat, and oil prices will shoot skyward again, like a geyser.
Our economy goes up and down, boom and bust. People with many degrees even give it a fancy name, the economic cycle, as if we were all just pedalling gently through a leafy park.
So most of us will recover, and the rage will recede. But those racist Facebook comments and hate tweets will survive in the cybersphere forever.
One day, your children, or grandchildren, will find your name on the internet, proudly spewing hate speech against Rohingya and other refugees who have escaped torture and war.
This may be long after you will have forgotten about your hate speech, or even after you are dead and gone.
Economic growth and security comes and goes. Your words of hate will live forever.
The Rohingya and other refugees, on the other hand, will still be suffering hunger, prejudice, and cruelty. Their suffering will be caused partly by this deluge of racist poison you have contributed to, that will fill the swamps of the internet until the end of cybertime.
Of course, you could always use a fake name. Now that would be something to be really proud of — something you could teach your grandchild, when you dangle him or her on your knee.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
