SINGAPORE: Singaporeans online have criticised a netizen who mocked a group of local activists and authors, labelling them as “woke social justice warriors” (SJW).
The netizen, who goes by the handle LaksaTang on Reddit, posted a meme featuring a two-panel comparison, juxtaposing historical figures with contemporary Singaporean activists.
The first panel of the meme highlighted influential figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., tagging them as “woke people from the past” who were “aware of social issues that marginalised groups face.”
The second panel, however, took aim at modern-day Singaporean activists, specifically author and Jom chief editor Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, journalist Kirsten Han and activists Kokila Annamalai and Suraendher Kumarr, referring to them as “woke people (of) today.”
The meme included the text: “Work people from the past – Individuals who are aware of social issues that marginalised groups face. Work people today – self-proclaimed SJW that stirs drama and starts protests over anything that can get them attention.”
Tang added in the title of the post he published on the SingaporeRaw subreddit: “Life is good for the SJWs today, that’s why they got time to do what they do”
He swiftly drew brickbats in the comments section of his post.
One commenter, JH Melvin, implied that the netizen who posted the meme could be a supporter of the ruling party as he said: ...