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Herald Malaysia
01-08-2025
- Business
- Herald Malaysia
When outrage rules
It began, as these things often do, with a video clip from a high-profile concert. A well-known married CEO was caught on camera, not with his wife, but with another woman. Aug 01, 2025 By Patricia PereiraIt began, as these things often do, with a video clip from a high-profile concert. A well-known married CEO was caught on camera, not with his wife, but with another woman. The footage spread rapidly, and within hours, social media had passed its verdict. Memes blossomed, jokes snowballed, and commentary — scathing and relentless — fuelled a digital firestorm. The internet had found its latest spectacle, and many joined the frenzy with unrestrained glee. Be honest — were you one of them? Did you join in the commentary, or pass along the memes with a laugh to friends and family?To be absolutely clear, the CEO's public failure of fidelity is not something to minimise or excuse. Betrayal in marriage is a serious matter, one that damages trust, relationships, and moral credibility. As Christians, we are committed to the sanctity of marriage and to upholding the truth about human dignity and acknowledging wrongdoing does not justify mob episode is a sobering reminder of how quickly we abandon the Gospel's call to charity when social media hands us the illusion of consequence-free judgment. The digital culture thrives on exhibitionism, instant affirmation, and harsh condemnation. It does not seek witnesses in the Christian sense — it seeks influencers. As St Augustine noted in his commentary on 1 John 1:2, a 'witness' is, in Greek, a martyr — one who suffers for the truth. Not one who builds a platform on someone else's this leads us to a pressing question: How can we, as Catholics and as the Church, engage with social media without becoming complicit in its moral distortions?We are not called to retreat from public discourse. Social media, like any form of communication, can be used for good. It can foster authentic relationships, shine light on injustice, and invite others into deeper communion. But it must not become the dominant space where our moral instincts are formed. If we try to share the Gospel through the same mechanisms that reward outrage and exhibitionism, we risk diluting its power and distorting its message. In a recent Commonweal book review, Professor Eugene McCarraher noted that institutions —including education and even the Church — are increasingly at risk of being shaped by a culture dominated by materialism, performance, and utility. Social media, he suggests, does not form us in virtue but in reaction. In response, the Church must commit to forming believers who are not tossed about by the storms of digital culture, but rooted firmly in the enduring truths of the Gospel. We don't need better platforms. We need better witnesses — those who live the Gospel with integrity, even when no one is watching. Martyrs not necessarily in blood, but in daily courage: men and women who patiently and consistently choose truth, mercy, and love over popularity or we participate in the digital mob, even against someone who has acted wrongly, we risk becoming what Augustine called 'cutters off' — those who divide rather than heal, who shout rather than listen. Sin must be named, yes. But the Christian way is to speak truth with love, not with mockery. Scandal is real. So is sin. But so, too, is redemption. And the Gospel commits us to the hope of restoration — not public humiliation. Pope Paul VI's words in Evangelii Nuntiandi still resonate: 'Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.' If our digital voices are not grounded in a life transformed by the Resurrection, then they will ring hollow —no matter how clever or viral our content becomes. It is time to rekindle the fire of the 'dynamite inherent in the Church's message.' The Gospel is not a polished marketing slogan — it is the radical, life-altering truth of God's love, revealed in the empty tomb. If the Church seems silent or sidelined in today's world, perhaps it is because we have buried that dynamite under safe phrases and institutional one wise pastor said, a Church rooted in the Incarnation must communicate in incarnate ways — by being present in people's lives, not just on their screens. That is where authentic evangelisation happens: in the slow, quiet work of love and accompaniment, not in the frenzy of judgment and when the internet erupts in scorn, as it did over this recent scandal, maybe the most Christian response is not a share or a post, but a pause. Maybe it's choosing not to amplify the spectacle. Maybe it's praying — for the CEO, for his wife and children, for the woman involved, for everyone who watched and commented. And maybe it's looking inward, examining where we, too, fall short and need grace. Let us not become passive consumers of scandal, nor loud distributors of shame. Let us be witnesses. Even if it means stepping out of sync with the digital crowd. Because in that quiet space — where judgment gives way to mercy and spectacle to sincerity — the Gospel can once again be heard.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jack Draper: I must have made it – people are noticing my haircuts
You know you've made it when you can't amend your hairstyle without provoking debate on social media. In the case of British No 1 Jack Draper, his recent adoption of frosted highlights provoked a sardonic Instagram post from sometime mentor Andy Murray: 'Not sure if you noticed but I think a bird has s--- on your hair.' A wider discussion then ensued among tennis fandom, thus emphasising the extra visibility that comes with success. 'I've had the same shocking haircut since I was 14, and now everyone's saying I've got a new haircut!' Draper told reporters on Friday, during a break in his French Open preparations. 'I guess more people are taking keen attention.' Nobody was worrying about Draper's styling choices a year ago, when he lost in the first round of this tournament to world No 176 Jesper De Jong. A traumatic five-setter, this result felt extremely demoralising at the time. Yet it may also have been the single most important moment of Draper's season. Perhaps even his career. No sooner had Draper stepped off the Eurostar back to St Pancras than he embarked upon a far-reaching technical and tactical reboot. The project proved so effective that he won his very next tournament in Stuttgart, and now returns to Roland Garros as the world No 5. In the prize-money table for 2025, only two men – multiple major champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – stand ahead of him. 'There's a bit more noise around everything for me,' said Draper on Friday. 'I've always been aware that if I want to be a top player, what comes with that is more attention, good and bad. I'm ready for that. I'm adapting my life. Because I do believe that I can go right to the top. 'I've got my whole circle prepared for that,' Draper added, 'and I feel prepared for that as well, because I've gone through lots of adversity and ups and downs. At the same time, like Andy always said, I'm gonna have a lot of love from people. I'm gonna have a lot of the crowds behind me at Queen's and Wimbledon, and that helps massively.' Will Draper seek out Murray for further discussion about the summer schedule, and the circus that inevitably surrounds British hopes at Wimbledon? 'I'll definitely pick Andy's brains here and there,' he replied. 'I think it's a difficult one, because everyone has different things that work for them. So Andy might say something to me, and I'll be like, 'That's not gonna make me feel my best.' 'I'm yet to speak to Andy around that stuff, but I definitely will, and I know he's always there if I need him.' As expectations ramp up, part of Draper's challenge will lie in managing off-court commitments. With his broad shoulders and square jaw, he has obvious appeal for advertisers, and he fits the odd modelling assignment into his schedule. During a recent appearance for Burberry, he jumped into the Gulf of Persia alongside former It Girl Rosie Huntington-Whitely. His diving technique might have drawn a raised eyebrow from Huntington-Whitely's fiance – former Commonwealth Games diver Jason Statham – except that Statham was 'away on a movie shoot, doing his thing.' Such diversions are increasingly rare, however, for a man who says he is 'trying to protect my energy more'. And efficiency will become even more important once the French Open concludes and he returns to the slippery green grass of home. Focusing on Roland Garros for the moment, Draper has not landed the easiest of draws. His opening opponent in Paris will be Italy's Mattia Bellucci – a former junior contemporary and rival ranked No 66 in the world – which isn't too tough a start on paper. But the level of challenge could escalate quickly with French veteran Gael Monfils and Brazilian prodigy Joao Fonseca also potentially lying in wait before the middle weekend. Most concerning, though, is a likely clash with world No1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Brilliantly as Draper has done to reach No 5 on the rankings ladder, he could really have done with another 20 points – a mere bagatelle – to take him past the USA's Taylor Fritz and into fourth position. That way, he would have been guaranteed to avoid either Sinner or Alcaraz – the new 'Big Two' of tennis – until the semi-finals. 'I've always been someone who's quite wired, I would say,' explained Draper, whose loss to De Jong was his only previous completed match at Roland Garros. 'Someone who wants to achieve things all the time. I want to keep on moving forwards. Like, I have to be progressing, otherwise I'm struggling, you know? 'That on one hand is an amazing quality. But at the same time, the battle is learning how to have my life outside of tennis so that I can relax, I can switch off from the sport, and I can hopefully work out ways to have longevity.' It wasn't only Draper who suffered in Paris last year. Six British singles players entered the French Open, and six went away without troubling the scorers, with the other fallers being Murray, Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie, Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart. On Friday in Paris, Boulter complained about the way such results are received. 'I feel like we've had a few conversations around the Roland Garros period the last few years,' she said. 'I think people can be quite critical of the Brits around the clay-court season right before the grass season. 'As you know, it's not our preferred surface. We don't grow up on it. We don't get the chance to play on it that much as a kid. So naturally our game styles don't suit it as much.'
