There are very few things in life which I won’t abide at a profound level. Having spent years listening to people’s problems and issues, I have learnt that while the truth is always singular, our readings of it change depending on who we are and our own experiences. However, something which I have zero tolerance for is racism.

This week, while much of the world wallowed in sadness at what happened in Christchurch, there were also a significant number of people (and I use the term as loosely as possible in this case) who decided to air their disgusting views. This was of course to be expected, but what I didn’t expect was someone to bring it to my own backyard, or more specifically, my personal social media wall.

If you have nothing to say about something which requires zero discussion, then just say nothing at all

I had been writing till late and had come across a series of photos commemorating the Christchurch victims. Simple in design and format, with just a photo and a bare description of who each person was, they made for a poignant tribute to the fallen and one which I instantly wanted to share with the online community. My caption was equally simple, and as far as I was concerned, I was simply trying to share in what should have been an objectively sad moment for humanity by raising awareness. Yet no sooner had the photos gone up than someone decided to spew venom all over the entire thing. I was aghast.

He started slow, relating how thousands of Christians had been killed too last year. I felt that I replied somewhat fairly, stating that compassion shouldn’t be limited to those belonging to one’s religion or creed and that just because I had posted about this one thing today, it didn’t mean that I didn’t have the same level of sadness towards other atrocities.

My tone wasn’t aggressive in the least, yet his following comment left me in absolutely no doubt that his issue was with the fact that I had posted about Muslims being slaughtered.

I was beyond disgusted. I told him he was a racist, that he had no place on my wall and promptly defriended him. With all the unhappiness already in existence, I’m in no mood to bandy with other people’s poison.

Every single day I read godawful, unkind, incomprehensible comments based on nothing but prejudice and ignorance and I’ve truly had enough. If you have nothing to say about something which requires zero discussion, then just say nothing at all. If you feel that you might be racist, do yourself and everyone else a favour and try to understand where your prejudice is coming from and work on changing your outlook. It is beyond flabbergasting to me that people still judge each other on skin colour, creed or culture in what is meant to be the most enlightened time the world has experienced to date.

Above all else, understand that not every single post you see requires you to have a reaction. I am not the colour of my skin or what god I choose to kneel in front of, I am what I choose to do unto others.

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