By Ben McEachenTuesday 6 Dec 2022Hope MorningsTrendingReading Time: 2 minutes
Sydney writer Amal Awad and her family were very surprised – and alarmed, offended and angry – when her elderly parents were recently swept up in a “social experiment” that attracted nasty online comments about them.
In the centre of Sydney, Amal’s mum and dad were approached by a man with his arm in a sling. He was holding a bottle of water.
Another man was next to him, filming on his phone.
Unsure of what was going on, the couple did not stop to help the man open the water bottle.
This odd, unexpected interaction later surfaced as a TikTok video about everyday acts of kindness.
As Amal told Hope Mornings, her parents were presented as the bad guys. The people unable to stop for a few moments to help someone else.
Amal described it as “hurtful” that someone would involve a random member of the public, like her parents, in such a staged video.
“We were obviously very hurt and distressed by the comments but I felt it was important to set the record straight,” Amal said.
“I would love to stop even one [other] person going through this.
“I think it is such a violation, to be used in someone else’s experiment in this way, without your permission.”
From this troubling incident, Amal raised many questions and challenges to anyone making similar videos – and the rest of us who watch, share and comment on them.
“It was, like, five seconds,” Amal said about the viral video with her parents.
“What would you even know about this person [in the video]? What clue could you possibly have about somebody?
“I just think it is wild that anyone thinks they are in a position to judge, because you don’t know what you would have done in that situation.”
“Can we just take a moment, pause, and not project everything we are feeling on to another person?”
When Hope Mornings asked if she suggested we all should pause and reflect before pressing “send” on a comment, Amal went even further.
“Can we do that in our lives, in general?” Amal said.
“Can we just take a moment, pause, and not project everything we are feeling on to another person?”
Listen to the full interview with Amal Awad in the player above.