Think Before You Act

Original post HERE: 24 Mar 2011
Discrepancy due to failure to export/import blog

I know this post came kind of late, but most of us should already know or have heard about the blonde UCLA student, Alexandra Wallace and her racist rant on Youtube. Opsss! Correction; she is an ex-student by this time. She has already decided to leave the university after her family received death threats.

It all started when she posted her video onto YouTube and it went viral, literally. In her three minute video, she lamented about how the University of California in Los Angeles [UCLA] admits what she labels as "hordes of asian people" into the school. She also criticizes that the asians are ill mannered and invites their families into the dormitories on the weekends. What really pissed most people off is how she actually faulted Asian students for disrupting her studies at the library by calling family members in the wake of the tsunami. Speaking in a fake Asian language -- "Ohhhh. Ching chong ling long ting tong" -- she chastised them notably for talking on their cellphones in the library. Even if it didn't affect her, she didn't have to make things worse. If something that disastrous possibly happened that threatens the lives of your family, who wouldn't get uptight? That is totally uncalled for! She should have tried to use a little fraction of her brain before she blurted that out, or to make the whole video in the first place. Unfortunately, it was too late. Despite removing the video after it had over a million hits, her video was copied and reposted by other users. More and more people watched and got enraged. Well, not all. Some who watched the video light-heartedly suggested their preference that she did the video topless. If you haven't watched that video yet, clicking here will bring you to the video.

She has sInce apologized through facebook and the campus newspaper. In her letter to the Daily Bruin Friday, the student said she was "trying to produce a humorous YouTube video," but instead "offended the UCLA community and the entire Asian culture."

"I am truly sorry for the hurtful words I said and the pain it caused to anyone who watched the video," she wrote.

"Clearly the original video posted by me was inappropriate. I cannot explain what possessed me to approach the subject as I did, and if I could undo it, I would. I'd like to offer my apology to the entire UCLA campus. For those who cannot find it within them to accept my apology, I understand."

"Especially in the wake of the ongoing disaster in Japan, I would do anything to take back my insensitive words. I could write apology letters all day and night, but I know they wouldn't erase the video from your memory."

"I made a mistake. My mistake, however, has lead to the harassment of my family, the publishing of my personal information, death threats, and being ostracized from an entire community. Accordingly, for personal safety reasons, I have chosen to no longer attend classes at UCLA," she wrote.

In case the university by any chance decides take disciplinary action and expel her, maybe it was a good idea for her to quit school before that happened. But really, the school never intended to discipline her, and she disclosed her decision to withdraw only after she was informed of the school's verdict. Below anyway, is my favorite video response to Wallace's.

I liked the 7chins and the gibberish that sounded like Korean with a quick statement of "Dirty Asians"

However, I am not totally without sympathy. As David from the response video says, violence only begets violence. What Wallace did was hurtful and inexcusable, but the response has been far more egregious. As much as death threats that went all the way out, even to her family members who weren't involved to being with. Quitting school probably doesn't solve the problem; her entire family might have to reolcate to another residence in order to avoid the harassment. What keeps me wondering is, is she going to enrol in another school? Would it help? I mean, the whole world knows about her now, not just UCLA. Would she still get the same treatment wherever she went? Perhaps, she needs to change the family name? Or even to surgerically alter her looks to avoid being recognized?

The conclusion: Actions always have consequences. It is important to think over our actions carefully as they may bring grave consequences. These were teenagers acting stupidly without thinking through to the consequences. They got caught up in the impulse and didn't think at all. We all have crazy impulses but mostly we think before we put them into action and realize that they are crazy. If in doubt give yourself more time to think, think again and only act once you are sure, or don't act at all. If you want to avoid doing things that you will regret, make sure that you think through your actions beforehand. The consequences of unthinking action may cause hurt feelings or embarrassment, which could have been avoided if you'd taken the time to think. Think before you act and avoid a lot of grief and heartache in your life.

Wallace had to delete her YouTube account, probably her Facebook account too, or whatever in the internet that has to do with her. Threats, Quit school, relocate, all these trouble! In this internet age, it is very easy to be loved, hated or shamed by the whole world, overnight.