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Could the Leslie Jones incident help end hate speech?

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Alberto E. Rodriguez

Firstly, what the hell?

Sentimentality toward childhood classics and wariness about their remakes are normal. The use of racially charged insults like 'ape', 'orangutan' and 'coon' about cast member Leslie Jones is unfathomable and intolerable.

The reactions remind me of a (somewhat painful) childhood memory from my school days in Canada. When faced with the standard teasing that comes at this age, the insults thrown my way (being only 1 of 2 Indian girls in my school at that time) were very different to the teasing toward my classmates.

Theirs were still tough pills to swallow ('bitch', 'slut', 'fat', 'ugly'), but mine were racially charged. Names like ‘burnt cookie’ and ‘brownie’ seemed humorous and harmless, but the one that really struck a nerve was 'Paki’. Although essentially an abbreviation for a Pakistani, the intention was to use the colour of my skin as a reason to make me feel inferior. 

In a predominantly all white school where white cultural superiority wasn’t questioned, the attack was an easy one. 

This leads to my next question: why? So many people responded with similar reactions filled with hate. Aside from the obvious ignorance and absurdity involved, are those who attacked completely unaware of the repercussions of breaching hateful conduct policies and shaming on social media sites? The likes of Penny Sparrow who got fired from her job and the criminal investigation of Dani Mathers based on their social media rants? 

W24 has decided not to publish the tweets that Leslie Jones received, but if you need to, you can view them here.

WARNING: Highly offensive.

Twitter was slow to react, but eventually permanently deleted the account of British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, notorious for his controversial views on rape culture, feminism and racial inequality.

Milo originally wrote a less than glowing review of the film and fueled the influx of hurtful comments that caused Jones to leave Twitter.

The incident has brought to light Leslie Jones' racially charged comments on her own Twitter account.

In fact, many users who have also violated Twitter’s policy still have their accounts intact. Twitter did comment that they haven’t done enough and are under the process of updating the tools for identifying violations and enforcing punishment. 

Does the hatred originate from an ‘all boys club’ mentality that would reject the idea of their beloved ghost battlers being female? Donald Trump is a perfect example of a member from this club and shares his two cents.

Some have even gone so far as to say that it has ruined their childhood, which signals much deeper issues probably worth looking into. Peter Feig told Indie Wire that he loves working with women and that he chose to cast an all-female ensemble because he feels women aren’t getting the roles they deserve. 

It’s not all bad news though. Most people with a head on their shoulders aren’t judging the film before having seen it and are positive about the strength of the characters that have been cast. The hype has potentially even incentivized people who normally wouldn't have watched the film to do so.

Aside from the fact that the plot of Ghostbusters past or present probably didn’t and won’t be molding any minds, hopefully the whole debacle, at the very least, will help to answer the call of putting an end to hate speech. Period.

Watch the trailer:

RELATED ARTICLES: How online harasser finally got banned for attacking Leslie Jones

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