To be truly woke we need to be truly non-judgmental: Ali Zafar

Singer-actor feels social media forums are being used to impose a false sense of 'self-righteousness'

Entertainment Desk | September 28, 2020

Singer and actor Ali Zafar took to social media on Sunday to elaborate on what he feels is the central problem with spreading hate and letting campaigns that direct individuals go unchecked. He deemed the very idea of one being “more woke than the other” stemming from “intellectual arrogance”. “To be truly woke we have to be truly compassionate, humble, non-judgmental and introspective,” he wrote on Twitter.

— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) September 27, 2020

According to Zafar, adopting an attitude of intellectual superiority can eventually lead to wars. “All the conflicts in the world are essentially based on one principle. ‘My belief/ idea/ideology is better than yours’. This could lead to a distasteful table talk to big wars. ‘I am right, you’re wrong. Let’s fight.’ Social media is a new reflection of the same human behavior.”

On the subject of social media bandwagoning, Zafar noted that such action is primarily the result of people trying to satisfy their core human needs. “Many of us on social media are inclined to quickly jump onto popular opinions, narratives, hashtags or fads to seem or look ‘cool’ or ‘woke’, without fully examining, researching, or understanding facts. This essentially stems from our six core human needs,” he elaborated.

Among other things, The Kill Dill star talked about the importance of introspection. “Understanding the self leads to all other understandings. To learn about the self, the journey is more inwards. Your inner reality is what is projected as your external reality. Hence a lot of the conflict you experience on the outside is primarily inside you,” he said.

Stressing on the importance of making ‘hate campaigners’ accountable he suggested the concept of establishing ‘online social media courts.’

“What do you think about the idea of online social media courts? Slanderers, abusers and spreaders of fake news operating in the garb of freedom of speech being instantly exposed for unethical, immoral and unlawful actions with facts and stripped off their self-proclaimed righteousness,” wrote Zafar.

Zafar argued that damage has already been done in the course of the time it takes for all legal proceedings to come to a close. “By the time the slanderers are brought to justice and exposed, the damage is done as the narrative that could be based on malicious intent or agenda spreads like wildfire within minutes and conventional legal recourse can take years,” the Channo singer shared.

Elaborating further on the issue, Zafar noted that the idea of ‘Freedom of Speech’ is not one that should be absolved completely of responsibility and ethics. “A common tool to defend slander is the argument of ‘being silenced’ or ‘freedom of speech’ etc. Whereas there is ample literature and laws available explaining and defining the ethics and responsibility that come into play with that freedom,” he said.

To be truly woke we need to be truly non-judgmental: Ali Zafar

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