Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday December 01 2015, @08:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the public-humiliation dept.

A campaign called "Racismo virtual, consequencias reais" (Virtual racism, real consequences) has been launched in Brazil:

The campaign is called "Virtual racism, real consequences" and it's backed by Criola, a civil rights organisation run by Afro-Brazilian women. The group collects comments from Facebook or Twitter and uses geolocation tools to find out where the people who have posted them live. They then buy billboard space nearby and post the comments in huge letters, although names and photos are pixelated.

Criola's founder Jurema Werneck says the campaign is intended to encourage people to speak out and report racism. "Those people [who post abuse online] think they can sit in the comfort of their homes and do whatever they want on the internet. We don't let that happen. They can't hide from us, we will find them," Werneck tells BBC Trending. There are laws against racial abuse in Brazil, but Werneck thinks the authorities haven't done enough to enforce them, and that many people are afraid to speak out against racist abuse.

[...] The campaign was sparked by an incident where a popular black weather presenter became the target of crude racist remarks. The insults were hurled at Maria Julia Coutinho after her photo was posted on the Facebook page of Nacional Journal, a prime-time news programme.

Ironically, the photo was posted on 3 July, which in Brazil is a national day against racial discrimination - and the racially charged comments were quickly overwhelmed by thousands of messages expressing support for Coutinho. "I just printed of all the comments on this post and I will report them to the appropriate authorities. Racism is a crime," said one Facebook user.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1) by drpylons on Tuesday December 01 2015, @08:36PM

    by drpylons (5057) on Tuesday December 01 2015, @08:36PM (#270340)

    This trend annoys me and worries that it will continue to gain more momentum than it already has in the past 5 years alone. Shaming people for their actions does not alleviate the core problem and creates further divergence instead of illuminated understanding within the offender and offended. It's just more proof that the Mind Police are always with us no matter who the current "team to root for" is. Again: this is another form of "beating a drum in search of a fugitive:" just because it feels good to publicly shame those who misbehave doesn't make the shame-giver a saint, it makes them just as much of a sinner in some ways. (An example a bit closer to home would be unaccepting Christians demonizing gays for being sinners-- in essence, making them a type of sinner as well).

    But it's just easier to point at someone and call them evil, because it sells and buys so much more easily. It sucks that the truth is so boring.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2015, @03:23AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2015, @03:23AM (#270473)

    > Shaming people for their actions

    This is shaming people for their words. It is about as pure an example of freedom of speech as you can get - one side says something the other side says something in response.

    > does not alleviate the core problem

    What do you suggest would alleviate the core problem? Do you advocate the ludovico technique?