In a speech made to the student body after Racial Harmony Day, Raffles Institution (RI) principal Aaron Loh cautioned students against microaggression.
This was after a photo of an RI student wearing a Foodpanda uniform with a dark-skinned face mask for Racial Harmony Day started circulating on the internet.
The photo sparked public outcry as many felt it was disrespectful towards minority groups and gig workers.
The speech was made to Year 5 and 6 students. An audio recording of the speech and an AI-generated transcript was later posted on Reddit.
According to the transcript, a similar speech was given to Year 1 to 4 students the day before.
Source: u/Desperate_Vanilla808 on Reddit
Principal Loh started his speech by updating the school that they had spoken to the two students photographed in the viral post.
The school was glad that it had not been the intention of the students to offend any particular group.
However, they have meted out disciplinary actions towards the two students accordingly.
“While of course, we are happy that that’s not their intention, their intention may be not to cause hurt, but the hurt that eventually is caused, or the offence that it caused is real,” he told the students.
He explained that actions, regardless of intentions, bring consequences, giving an example of committing a crime and getting punished for it.
So the intention is not everything, just because you don’t mean it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have an effect on other people.
He continued by saying that Racial Harmony Day also serves as a day to practise sensitivity towards minority groups.
He recalled his speech on Racial Harmony Day when he reminded the students that ” it’s not just about putting on ethnic dress and even learning about the real culture”.
He urged students not to engage in casual racism in the form of playful joking, including “making a joke out of the fact that somebody else is maybe less financially well off than the average Rafflesian”.
Mr Loh emphasised that RI does not tolerate microaggression and casual racism, which he believed is equivalent to bullying.
“Rafflesians should be held to a higher standard than that,” he said.
He urged recipients of microaggression to inform the teachers about it, and bystanders to speak up about any incidents they witness.
Moving on from the viral incident, Mr Loh also addressed how some students have been reacting towards this incident.
He asked the students to not pin the blame on the two students in the photo as it would cause them further stress.
He also urged students to stop giving angry responses to online comments that are directing hate at the school, saying that it “doesn’t help” with the situation.
“People may be trolls, doesn’t mean that you are also a troll,” he said, urging students to practice restraint.
Furthermore, he asked the students to “think three times” before posting things online.
“Your online behaviour has an effect, not just on you, but on other people and on the school,” he told the student body, highlighting the need to be aware of social media posts that may incite another similar incident.
Mr Loh ended his speech by telling the students to be “very careful” of how they portray themselves online.
“You are Rafflesians. Straight away as Rafflesians, some people are already gunning for you. It’s not fair, but it’s the truth.”
Also read: Chelsea player Enzo Fernandez’s racist chants towards French national team sparks uproar
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Featured image adapted from Mokkie Mok on Google Maps, Reddit.
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