There should be political-religious maturity in order to avoid hate speech
HYDERABAD: Hate speeches have become a nuisance for our country as they promote bigotry and violence among the masses. It covers many forms of expressions which incite and justify hatred, violence and discrimination against a person or community on the basis of religion, race, nationality, ethnicity and gender.
Moreover, it persuades people to believe in the negative stereotypes regarding select groups and to engage in harmful conduct against them, while normalising discrimination and constitutive harm, which involves indirect effects related to power imbalances.
If left unaddressed, it can lead to violence and conflict on a wider scale. Given this, hate speech can qualify as an extreme form of intolerance which contributes to hate crime.
The pathway to extremism starts with frustration, then involves engaging in hate speech with others, and eventually viewing violence as necessary before carrying out acts of violence or destruction for the benefit of an extremist group.
Moreover, political figures resort to criticising personal choices of their opponents, rather than acting maturely and sticking to their ideological differences in order to promote a healthy discourse in the country. There should be political-religious maturity in order to avoid hate speech.
As Pakistanis, we must first take ownership of the country, and work for the moral uplift of our society. The country cannot develop further unless we unify our people. Hate speeches directly affect our national integration as it is directed against various ethnic and cultural groups.
Social media is a far more free-wheeling and unruly entity. Majority of the users do not adhere to any ethics or manners. They upload content that uses abusive and derogatory language against others. We need to abide by community guidelines while sharing content online and social networking websites also need to work with the government to remove baseless and unauthenticated material. We should utilise our energy to work for our country’s development and betterment.
Ishaque Junejo
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2019.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
