Respect & Making Ourselves Heard on Social Media

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Sometimes I post things that interest me lately. Like the recent live action anime and web dramas that I stumbled upon on the internet or through social media. But I try my best to mix up a little with some things that I hope will benefit others too here, like my recent fitness post.

I used to rant here a lot in my younger days but as I grow older, my focus is mostly on self betterment, whether physical, mental and health. It's a journey that I am always on for as long as I am still capable of doing so. This morning, I was watching a recorded Zoom webcast and in a past week, another recorded web conference where people could post questions to qualified individuals. And also in one of the IG stories too. And then to think about how there are so many people there who are conflicted in their thoughts and actions making them to wonder if they are ever doing the right things. Adding on to that, they also feel rather depleted and lost as they find themselves at the crossroads. I dunno, sometimes I feel bad like they do ask legit questions as a reality check on their lives to see if they have strayed away from the righteous paths. At the same time, they are doubting their capabilities and giving themselves pressure that they're not doing enough.

However, other people may beg to differ. I don't know if it's burnout or if they think too much. But I liked how the answers given were that they should simply keep believing themselves and have faith. They are doing their best already and shouldn't feel bad about it if they happened to stray a little but to just keep on moving and have faith that they will learn along the way and do better. For as long as they are already trying. If however we falter, or move away from the path, it's not as though it's the end. They have to just continue on this journey towards self betterment and doing things with the right intention, and hopefully, things will be a lot smoother for them, keeping in mind their faith. Making mistakes are part of it. It's how we come to terms with it and then move on from there that matters.

At the core of it all, we are just human beings. We make mistakes. Recently, there has been a lot of noise on social media recently. I suppose because many people spend more time on it as most activities are now done at home or stopped until further instructions from the government. Latest news is that from June 19th onwards, most activities can resume already but we still need to bear in mind safety measures to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus.

Anyway, so the noise lead to waves throughout social media and while some people like me who go to social media not for 'hot news', there are others who use it to reach out to even more people on more serious issues. This is especially so when they have many followers or they simply encourage people to repost so that others may catch on and spread the message as well.

For unaware people like me, coz I honestly spend more time on YouTube than IG, when I spot a trend going on, I naturally will catch on and see what's up. Some are cryptic like they don't name people while others feel the need to name, not to bring shame (I hope) but to make people realise their mistakes. 

So the recent issue was the use of derogatory terms of women on a local popular podcast. Coz some people decided to raise it and then it becomes viral when others catch on and further flaming the fire. The main issue was being tackled differently. Some were more direct like straight calling them out while others turn into a learning point that hey, we are not what they make us to be which is objectifying as sexual subjects. We women are so much more than that. 

To prove the point, those with larger following encouraged others to submit their personal stories or dedications to prove that we women have gone through so much in life and therefore it's unfair to talk about us in such degrading manner.

Personally, I prefer to look at the broader picture. Of course I would disagree with such remarks. Going beyond sexist remarks, even racist ones too like the mother & son duo who said some derogatory terms on IG live and then challenging others to prove them wrong. And then the increase in domestic violence as more people are forced to stay at home due to the pandemic. 

It's a big issue for the podcasters because they're the no.1 show locally so there are many listeners so it means that they have a responsibility to give valuable content, rather than to say demeaning words.

I don't support such words but honestly, they do produce good content and to not give credit to them and then simply bashing them for these, will dismiss their hard work too. But you know, just like anybody else, we still need to be told if some things are offensive to say online in order to avoid normalising such words, such as the mother and son who felt nothing wrong to say those racist remarks on an IG live. If there's a need to apologise, we apologise and be sincere about it. That's important as well. Not to apologise and then make fun of people saying things that oh we're not open minded enough to accept.

At times I question myself what is really going with the world. People say or do things as they please. So I understand if people are upset and in order to not normalise the situation any longer, and by giving a voice to the voiceless, they use the power of social media to bring the message across. Broader picture as in the sense, we don't just stop here. We also have to educate. It's how we can progress forward, not backwards.

We have been fed with so many information that it can be hard to be discerning on what is right. Therefore it comes down to one of the most core values which is respect. Respecting ourselves and others.

When we respect ourselves, we learn to love ourselves and trust that we will do our best by continuing to learn and improve. And also to treat ourselves kindly. Like I struggle too. I think most people do even those who seem to have it all or have their lives that may seem perfect to others. So I guess that's one of the reasons why nowadays I'm drawn to other people's personal life stories, their struggles and stuffs while others simply know how to hide behind the monitor criticising. If we learn how to respect ourselves, we can also learn to respect others as well. 

Maybe these people think they know better. Or they think these remarks were just made out of jest, they were not out to offend anyone and if they ever feel offended, it's just them not being able to be more accepting or not being open minded enough. 

Talking about saying words that objectify women, how about us women as well? Are we guilty as well? I really do think that some guys are fiiiineee and it's not because I'm treating them like sex objects or something and I do still acknowledge too that these Korean oppas have talent besides their their fine physical appearance. I mean it's obvious they work hard to get such physique like perhaps countless hours to look that good on TV and it's just a knee jerk reaction if we happened to stare, hehe.

The guys got the flak because they were on a podcast where thousands tuned in to them hearing them talk openly online on both serious and non serious issues and their fantasies as well. They didn't say terms like oh women are only good for this and that, we men are more superior, women are just good in the kitchen or bed...stuffs like that. Only stuffs that well, people will casually say to their buddies or close friends. But again, if there were women who were offended by those casual remarks, it's still an issue to be concerned of. It's not because they were not being open minded enough. If we think in that way, we will normalise a not so good situation.

However in general, I admire some of these podcasters, not just them, because they are so intellectual especially when they share opinions or bring in people of differing views so we will have the two sides of stories.  There's much for me to learn because I'm not very intelligent, haha. Probably you can tell if you read my posts here. Not all podcasts are of interest to me though or that at times I do get bored if the headlines kinda misleading and the content just skimmed through the main issue and talk about other things mostly.

But it doesn't mean I look down on myself due to my lack of intellect just because I admire their intellect. I am pretty open minded and don't easily judge others as do some people who are supposedly intelligent but drop hurtful casual remarks like they're nothing. 

Everyone's journey is different so it helps to be more understanding and respectful through our words and actions. We can still remain open minded and continue to create noise by making more people aware of the underlying issues that often just get swept under the carpet. Let's be united and not divided :))