There has been a virtual explosion of racist materials on the internet. Unlike the "real world" where the barriers to dissemination of such materials are high, internet has become a perfect medium to make hate literature available to a large audience with little or no legal consequences.
As if to mock at such a disturbing situation, there exists a hyper-sensitivity to racist slights, mostly perceived, from corporations. Recent brouhaha over a so-called "racist" HP computer is an example.
In Dec 2009, HP was hit by claims that its computers were "racist". A video posted, on the internet, by two people working in an electronic store in Texas - showed that the Webcam was not able to able to follow facial movements of a black man while it was able to do so of a white woman. In the video, Desi, a black man, said " I am going on the record and I'am saying it, Hewlett Packard computers are racist".
HP took this issue seriously and investigated if there was a technical glitch. It put the following explanation on a blog - "The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe the camera might have difficulty 'seeing' contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting."
While HP was able to defuse the "crisis", the pair who had posed the video - Wanda Zamen and Desi Cryer were surprised to see the response to a video showing what was essentially an entertaining glitch. This what both said in a blog -" We thought the video was funny and decided to post it on You Tube. It was our intention to provide a good natured chuckle to our fellow man, and honestly we did not imagine that so many people would watch and react to the video. We do not really think that a machine can be racist, or that HP is purposely creating software that excludes people of color. We think it is just a glitch...."
I wish Desi had not made the "racist" charge in the video however jocularly.
Even Microsoft and Intel had to go on a back foot for so-called "racist" photos.
In August 2009, Microsoft faced charges of "racism" for editing a photograph to change a black man's face to a white man's face while the color of his hand was unchanged. The altered photo was posted on the website of the Polish business unit. Microsoft has since apologised for the gaffe and pulled the image.
Well, a white face with black hands showed poor quality check at Microsoft - did not merit raising the "racist" bogey?
In August 2007, Intel apologised for an advertisement for micro-processors
which was widely criticised as racist. It showed six black sprinters crouched in a start
position in front of a white man wearing a shirt and chinos in an office. The
accompanying slogan read : " Multiply computer performance and maximise the power
of your employees".
I am not sure the photo would have attracted "racist" charge if it was an Asian instead
of a white man? Or if all sprinters were Asians crouched in front of a black man?
Racism is real and has a devastating impact on the people affected by it. False alarms
of racism, as had happened in the above cases, will lead to caricatures of outrages.
