“Oh no! Not again,” is what most netizens are crying out loud. This time, it’s UK’s MP and shadow public health minister Diane Abbott. Her Twitter exchange with journalist Bim Adewunmi about the Stephen Lawrence trial prompted accusations of racism. Abbott wrote on the microblogging site: white people love playing ‘divide & rule’ We should not play their game#tacticasoldascolonialism.
UK minister Ed Miliband has condemned her use of words. She issued a public apology and also claimed her comments were “taken out of context’’. However, the apology has come a bit too late. Her tweets went viral and millions across the world including MPs, ministers, journalists, economists and civilians joined the hullabaloo. “If a big name like Diane Abbott says something which makes sense and I can relate to, I retweet,” says Syed Irfan, a software professional.
While the MP says her tweet was not a racial slur, many others disagree. When you take a closer look, what you discover is that the issue here is bigger than the racial comments. The heart of the matter is —are social sites the right medium for elected public officials to express complex thoughts?
It isn’t like the World Wide Web was waiting for Diane’s comments, but when she tweeted, it created a sensation. The matter did not end with the retweeting. With a flurry of comments against her, it began to appear as an online proxy war. “It was interesting to see how the ‘power’ tag affected the conversation. But I think such big names need to follow a code of conduct while using the social media to express their thoughts or any internal information. They need to maintain the sanctity of their office,” says business developer Navin Tucker Richard.
For Diane, it has been a long innings online. Despite her apology and explanation, netizens haven’t yet forgiven her. The 140 characters of her tweet, have harmed her gutsy image. Like Matthew Carr, television broadcaster and author of The Infernal Machine says, “Diane Abbott was careless but she didn’t deserve the sharkfest.” Many agree with the celebrated author, “If the people’s people are speaking their mind, let us help them be more transperent,” says academician and media professional Sachin Tantry.