I was 8 years old sitting on the freezing gymnasium floor in the dead middle of January. Lunch was in 10 minutes but we had already finished our activities for the period. It was time for 'Telephone'. The message that was intended to be passed along was "My favorite food is peanut butter". Julie Masters was the last in line who ended up with "My sister loves pancakes". How is that even possible? And I'm not sure I completely grasped the phenomenon of "warping messages" until I joined Twitter, where everything is subject to warping. Not all is fair in love and Twitter.
The latest Twitter-sphere madness is all thanks to Newsweek. They just released an edition with "#MUSLIMRAGE" as the cover headline. If you happen to be a college student, the phrase "muslim rage" sounds like a really inappropriate fraternity party theme. If you are the rest of the world, that phrase should sound less like a kegger and more like a racial slur. Obviously, Newsweek had one goal in mind: get people talking. I imagine the people at Newsweek were hoping to divert some of Americans' attention away from the Lindsay Lohan versus Amanda Bynes battle-of-the-twentysomething-trainwreck. They certainly achieved their goal, but I have to wonder at what expense?
PRDaily.com provides a buffet of Twitter responses about Newsweek's attempt to reinvent their image, attract a younger demographic, all while indirectly making a mockery of the Muslim population. I do not imagine that "Lost nephew at the airport but cant yell for him because his name is Jihad. #MuslimRage " was the conversation they were intending to start.
My point here? Generating a hashtag like "#muslimrage" is socially irresponsible. The conversation is now circulating tacky, racist comments, hilarious jokes, and too much commotion about everything except what Newsweek's article was about. 2012 is not the time to be taking chances like this, especially with Twitter, my generation's advanced 'Telephone' game. If we, humanity, are aiming at equality for races, genders, and everything in between and outside, #muslimrage is not the way to go about it.
Browse through other feedback and the entire story HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment