Motivational speaker, ‘wealth coach,’ and influencer Chinkee Tan is under fire for a post he made on social media regarding being ‘safe’ from the current crisis happening in Israel, which many have deemed to be insensitive and offensive.
In his post, which seems to have been posted originally on LinkedIn and subsequently removed, he talked about their supposed visit to Israel right before everything went to chaos. He was very thankful that they were safe, putting on readers to imagine what could have happened ‘if war broke out when we were there.’
His post continued and wrote, “This reminds us all to trust in God’s timing and goodness, even when things don’t make sense. We might question why things happen, but God is always looking out for us. Our plans might get delayed, but if we believe in God’s guidance, His plan for us will come together.”
This clearly did not sit well with people who saw the post, as social media users interpreted this as a very insensitive take, and very dismissive of the plight of the people who are actually in the center of the crisis. The post, which has also been shared on LinkedIn Memes For Go Getter Teens, a public Facebook group that makes fun of cringey LinkedIn-related posts, was poked fun at for its ‘main character syndrome’ energy.
The motivational speaker has since issued an apology on X (formerly known as Twitter), in which he acknowledges the insensitivity of his post.
"A Sincere Apology and Reflection on My Previous Post"
I deeply regret my previous post where I expressed insensitivity regarding the cancellation of our trip to Israel. I thank you for calling my attention and I apologize for what may have seemed as a thoughtless response. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/KlhM20knxn
— chinkeetan (@chinkeetan) October 13, 2023
The said apology does not appear on his official Facebook page, which has a wider audience of over 5 million followers.
Let this be a reminder that before posting anything in relation to social issues or current events, we should first educate ourselves about the issue at hand before pressing send out of our own impulses. Emotions can really cloud our thoughts and so it’s okay to step back for a while and think about the consequences of our own actions. These are sensitive times as a war is breaking out and a lot of lives are being killed and so we must stretch our empathy to them. Put yourself in the shoes of those people who are there right now experiencing this and think about what you would feel.
When in doubt, just put the phone down and don’t post anything.
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Featured image: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
