Feb 23, 2023, 08:55
The recent death of a 24-year-old Chinese woman who had been bullied online because she dyed her hair pink has triggered a hot discussion. That people are discriminated against for their appearance and behavior in this day and age highlights the importance of promoting a tolerant society where everyone can feel safe and accepted for who they are.
Zheng Linghua, a graduate student, became the target of cyberbullying last July after she posted, on social media platforms such as Douyin, Weibo and Xiaohongshu, photographs and videos of her proudly showing her graduate admission letter to her grandfather on his hospital bed. The cyberbullies went after her for her hair, which she had dyed pink.
Reports say some people likened her to a "nightclub girl," while others linked her pink hair to prostitution. Some even suggested a romantic relationship between her and her grandfather.
Because of the bullying, Zheng suffered from depression. She had sleeping and eating disorders and was even hospitalized once.
Women have long been forced to conform to societal norms about beauty and behavior, this is nothing new. Women who don't conform to these norms are often subject to discrimination and harassment, both online and offline.
People have the right to express themselves — including through their appearance and behavior — freely. Discrimination and violence against individuals who do not conform to traditional societal norms is unacceptable.
The issue of cyberbullying is particularly concerning as it is becoming more prevalent in an increasingly digital world. This type of harassment can have devastating consequences, triggering severe emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. It is imperative that we take steps to prevent and address cyberbullying.
To promote a more tolerant and respectful society, education is crucial. We need to educate people to respect and appreciate individuality and value diversity. We need to encourage people to be open-minded and accepting of others, even if they do not share the same beliefs.
It is also important to strengthen laws and regulations to prevent discrimination and cyberbullying. Online platforms must also take on more responsibility to regulate and monitor the content on their sites to prevent cyberbullying and the spread of harmful misinformation.
In an increasingly connected world, it is more important than ever to respect individuality and to promote a culture of tolerance and respect. We cannot allow discrimination and harassment to go unchecked, whether it happens online or in the physical world.
''Of paramount importance is unity and for unity to hold, the right social tolerance is vital ( the differences in culture, positive ones that is)'' Doesn't this contain a number of contradictions? For example, change is a constant in all societies such as the way pink hair or even pink clothing would not have been tolerated 50 years ago. If a person nowadays is wearing pink hair then they are obviously expressing their individuality and wanting to stand out against the ''unity'' and conformism of the masses.
Furthermore, who is to decide what is ''right'' or what are ''positive'' differences in culture? For one person what is ''right'' for them may not be so for another individual. ''Positive'' cultural differences may also differ according to which cultural background a person is from ( China has more than fifty ethnic minorities ) as well as their own life experiences. For example, they may travel abroad to see where different cultures have very different views about what may be ''tolerated'' in their society.
There are many aspects to this.
At one hand is the need for an understanding society. Understanding that people should be free to choose.
On the other hand there is a need to be proud of yourself totally without the need at all for added things like pink hair, punk dress, brainless intoxication from drinking and a foreign name etc.. All these can lead to the decadance of good social and culture influence. Imagine the whole of China's women having pink hair!!! Why worship people from other parts of the world having non-black hair? Does colour of one's hair make one more intelligent, hardworking or honest? At times one might want to express oneself, usually to identify oneself with a certain group within the society. In this case maybe the K-Pop culture or the US-punk culture which doesn't care about others in a negative manner. To restrict youths from self-expression is bad, as inherently all humans have the good side and the naughty side. How to balance this is vital. Of course common sense dictates that we must always do the right thing which is impossible, but to allow them to follow the wrong influence can be worse damage. Hence how to nurture the society into being majority positive and negligible negative is the way forward. Its like working 70%good-30%not-so-good, then moving towards 72%good-28%not-so-good by letting experiencing the negative experience when doing not-so-good things.. There are many more intelligent choices if one just care to look. This is also about self-esteem, confidence and psychological maturity.
How to mould the society is a never ending task. Everyday something new comes to mind and everyday the need to understand how to address this new thing that comes to mind.
Of paramount importance is unity and for unity to hold, the right social tolerance is vital (e.g. the differences in culture, positive ones that is) though not to the extent of tolerating what can lead to social ills.
''In an increasingly connected world, it is more important than ever to respect individuality and to promote a culture of tolerance and respect.'' This woman posted photos and videos of herself on three digital platforms. If she didn't like the comments made there she could have (a) refused to access those sites (b) restricted comments received to only those from her closest friends (c) tried life without having her phone constantly in her hand and continually checking up on her messages.
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