Se nederst. Kim Møller, Document.dk.

Seneste historie på Amnesty Internationals hjemmeside er historien om hvorledes Bahrain slår hårdt ned på sine kritikere. Oppositionsfolk har fået hårde domme “for at bruge deres ytringsfrihed”, og regimet finder sig ikke i ‘folkelige protester’. Menneskerettighedssituationen i landet er under al kritik.

En historie mangler. Amnesty International i Danmark har netop lanceret en engelsksproget ‘Don’t Label’-kampagne mod diskrimination, der blandt andet inkluderer et add-on til browsere, der automatisk erstatter stødende ord med neutrale. På kampagnevideoen ses en midaldrende hvid mand, der fra bilen blandt andet kommenterer muslimske grønthandlere. Altså, ‘grønthandlere’. Præcision i sproget fremmer generaliseringer.

Kampagnen opridses af Branding Magazine.

“Amnesty International in Denmark wants to erase prejudice. Known throughout the world as an organization that isn’t afraid to speak up against regimes and governments that commit horrendous human rights abuses, this time they are asking us to look at ourselves and the language we use instead.

The film for the project, created by Mindshare Copenhagen, sees a middle-aged man driving through the streets of Copenhagen. As he drives around he makes comments about the people that he sees, all of which use derogatory labels about sexuality, appearance, religion, and race. All of a sudden we get to the end of the film and it is rewound to the beginning, this time however the language he uses has changed subtly.

He still makes comments, but now the terminology he uses is more general, no longer inciting hatred of certain groups. As the website comments,

‘By getting rid of discriminating words that reinforce negative images of certain groups of people, that keeps them in stereotypical roles, you regain your objectivity and help create a more equitable society.’

We are encouraged to look beyond the stereotypes that have been ingrained in the world around us and change our words to change our perceptions.

They have even gone so far as creating an add-on for your browser that removes these words from the pages you browse so that you aren’t influenced by a negative agenda. It’s a simple message, but also a powerful one that makes you take a look at your own internal monologue and edit out your own prejudices.”

Opdate. Bjarke Windahl Pedersen fra Amnesty International fortæller i en email til Document, at de “intet har med kampagnen eller materialet at gøre”. Et mediebureau har ‘lanceret’ det som en Amnesty-ting uden organisationens “viden eller godkendelse”.

I lyset af de nye oplysninger har jeg fjernet Amnesty International fra overskriften. Jeg beklager.