“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions, but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable for the injury.” John Stuart Mill
When St. Albert’s Jesse Lipscombe had racial slurs hurled at him from a man in a car last week, it was not the first time he faced verbal assault for the colour of his skin. Feeling the sting of racism is, unfortunately, not uncommon for him. It is also a frequent experience for other racial minorities says Edmonton human rights activist Ahmed Abdulkadir.
What was unusual is that a video camera was rolling, capturing the slur, Lipscombe confronting the man, the man’s denial and then another slur as the car speeds away. The video footage of the racist encounter has gone viral, having been viewed more than 400,000 times.
Edmonton mayor Don Iveson praised Lipscombe for his courage in confronting the issue. Iveson said it’s necessary for people to speak up, and he called on people to share their stories about confronting racism, sexism and other hateful remarks using the social media hashtag #makeitawkward.
The mayor added that young people especially have a responsibility for calling out any hateful remarks towards a minority. The idea behind the make-it-awkward campaign is simple – when you tell your friend, your sister, your uncle or a coworker that they are out of line, you make it awkward for the person to repeat the message.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman, a city cited for its racism issues, has called on people in every community to take up the charge.
The make-it-awkward campaign is an important one. It gives people the language to start shutting down hateful comments right away at their dinner tables, gatherings at the office, the arena and on the street. This campaign needs to be extended to written word, online forums and social media. This needs to be a wider campaign.
For too long too many people have resorted to awkward silences when racist comments or so-called jokes are uttered. This is no laughing matter. People are being hurt. Research is documenting that racism not only hurts feelings, it creates poor health for those who experience it, promoting higher levels of cardiovascular disease and other health issues.
Lipscombe’s action sets an example for all of us to follow. It says we are tired and we are not going to take it any more. Lipscombe has started the conversation. It is up to each of us to do our part to say racial or personal attacks are not OK.
The Internet provides ample opportunities for taunting, bullying and humiliating others. The make-it-awkward campaign is an opportunity to use the Web in a positive way.
The colour of a person’s skin or culture shouldn’t matter in our society. Let’s not only make it awkward. Let's make it stop.
