On Wednesday, British activist, actor and podcaster Jameela Jamil gave her followers a simple message: “Think before you speak.”
As the world witnesses the 12th day since Hamas attacked Israel, it’s advice perhaps we all need to tune into, especially US President Joe Biden.
On his visit to Israel on Wednesday, Biden said it was “the other team” – not the Israeli government – who was responsible for the devastating bombing of the al-Ahli Arab hospital.
In those three words, an attack on a hospital that killed at least 500 Palestinians, a conflict that has taken the lives of thousands, President Biden painted a picture of a football game, where it’s one team versus the other, a rivalry, a derby. And people should “take sides”, as it were.
People have “taken sides” in big political issues for decades. It’s been the communist against the capitalist, the Catholic against the Protestant, and most recently in Australia’s case, Yes against No.
In each instance, governments and campaigners used slogans and taglines on various forms of media to capture the attention of its target audience, whilst simultaneously diminishing those whose lives are impacted by the wars, conflicts and inequality.
The only difference is now, we have every form of media working all at once – radio, television and the big one, social media.
Social media has been developed into a polarising weapon. Thanks to echo chambers, algorithms and, the key ingredient, politics, it has become easier for people to “take sides”.
Taking sides is fun in a sporting match. Everyone dresses up in team colours, you might post a pic on social media, maybe even take a light hearted dig at the opposing team.
It’s less fun when thousands of innocent women, men and children are callously murdered.
Of course, in Australia at least, we have the privilege of freely speaking online, to an extent. And it’s important to engage in these issues and to not put your head in the sand.
But as Jameela Jamil said, it’s just as important to remember that speaking on social media runs the risk of shrinking complex issues, where human lives are at stake, down into bitesize, inflammatory language.
Not even language, Words. Characters. Emojis.
“Please don’t give in to the social media born and driven tendency to speak in soundbites and slogans and cliches, because you see on some subconscious level that that’s what gets the clicks and the claps and the attention and the circulation,” Jamil said.
“The big part of why I became well known on social media is because I used to speak like that, and I feel incredibly embarrassed now that I used to reduce huge subjects down to 140 characters or 280 characters.
“I spoke callously in a way that I immensely regret, and you are going to regret the way that you are inappropriately using slogans to try to diminish other people’s points.”
Jamil’s final words rang familiar in my mind, coming off the back of the failed referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament over the weekend.
“So please, just think before you speak and hold onto your heart.”
I used to think that advice goes without saying. But after the failed referendum, after President Biden spoke of the conflict in Gaza as a match to be won… now, I’m not so sure.