“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said Martin Luther King Jr. It’s beyond tragic how we as humans are far from unity and coexistence for all people; regardless of who they are, it’s just not that common in our society.
Russia’s war on Ukraine is a sad event full of painful stories that deserves coverage – but what about the ongoing food crisis happening in Afghanistan resulting in the malnutrition of over 95% Afghans facing food insecurity? Where is the media coverage for that?
States like Somliland are being burned to flames, lives are being lost and social media users decide to stay silent and uneducated. Yet the moment Notre-Dame de Paris had only its upper walls destroyed, most of Facebook changed their profile pictures to grieve for the loss of a property damage.
The few times that American news media outlets cover events hardly anyone knows about is oftentimes performed in a bias when covering (political) events. Take CNN, for example, where they wrote Israel had “the third attack in Israel in a week”- yet Israel is the country who killed five times as many Palestinians in 2022 then in 2021.
Where’s the social media awareness for the times Israeli police stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy month of Ramadan and injured more than 150 Palestinians? Hardly anyone speaks out for Muslims on social media since a majority of the world sees them as terrorists rather than humans who believe in a different religion.
Every issue is equally as important, whether it’s racism, gender equality, political or religious rights. Why can’t people treat these topics equally? Why does the world hit the mute button on speaking up for justice when it comes to the oppression of minorities?
Although minority oppression is an ongoing situation, social media helps raise awareness now more than ever, which is why people need to stop being selective about who they stand up for — unless they don’t care for the rights of others. Hate crimes against Asians have been on the rise ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, and are still ongoing.
In April, a 70-year-old Sikh man visiting New York from India was beaten up, the police investigated this as a possible hate crime. He experienced severe bruising and a broken nose. Photos of the incident showed the victim sitting in his splattered blood.
Unfortunately there was hardly any coverage or awareness spread regarding this incident on social media. Why are people silent when it comes to Sikh oppression?
If it was a white celebrity was brutally attacked, the entire world would be reporting it on social media. When the Black Lives Matter movement progressed, everyone seemed to not only make it a trend to post about, but also ensured that word was being spread daily.
It’s not fair for the world to stay silent when minorities suffer. If one truly believes in the idea of justice, they should speak up for every issue and not just one of them.
Some ways to educate oneself on current global oppression is by check non-biased news outlets, such as Al-Jazeera News, The New York Times and BBC World News. It’s important to take the first step in learning about what’s happening around the world so that you can spread messages of helping the oppressed.
We are living in a world where social media is powerful, and to be selective on who you stand up for means you don’t care for humanity. None of us are free until all of us are free.
Resources for minority oppression:
- Somalia Relief
- AAPI hate
- Palestine Relief
- African Emergency Aid
- Kashmir Relief
- Black Lives Matter
- Homelessness support
- Mental Health Donation
