Scenario: Social Callout

Group Size: 4-15

Scenario

You are reasonably new to the military and spend many of your evenings off duty surfing the web and viewing social media. One evening you notice a recent anonymous post on a popular social media site you often visit that accuses a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member from your unit of racist comments and discriminatory behaviours towards a certain ethnic group within your unit. You are shocked because you have never witnessed this these types of behaviour within your unit, nor even heard rumours to substantiate such a bold claim.

Categories

• Principles: Respect the Dignity of all Persons
• Values: Integrity, Courage
• Cultural themes: Service, Identity, Teamwork
• Misconduct types: Hateful Conduct, Racism
• GBA Plus themes: Not Specific
• Audience: Defence Team

Facilitator’s Guide

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the ethical principle of “Respect the Dignity of all Persons” in relation to Hateful Conduct.
• Discuss what to do about observing Hateful Conduct by a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member or Department of National Defence (DND) employee.
• Discuss posting and viewing personal views/beliefs on social media in relation to one’s role as a CAF member or as a DND employee.

Facilitation Questions

1. What is the problem in this scenario? Open group discussion.
2. What are the facts? What are the assumptions? Open group discussion.
   • Facts: Accusations are posted to social media.
   • Assumptions: You should not assume that what is posted is true.
   • Consider that your ethnicity or background may influence you’re not being aware of comments such as those that are occurring, as you may or may not be part of this group.
3. What considerations are at play with respect to Defence Ethics and the military ethos?
   • Consider “Respect the Dignity of all Persons” in relation to this scenario. If there are allegations, they should be reported through the chain of command.
   • Discuss integrity, courage, and duty in relation to this scenario. The member reading the social media posting should bring it to the attention of the chain of command to address. If the behaviours did occur at the unit, action would need to be taken to rectify the situation. If this is unsubstantiated gossip, the member who posted the content on social media should be dealt with, as appropriate, and the post be removed.
4. How has social media impacted the DND Code of Values and Ethics? Open group discussion.
   • Personal versus professional use of social media, including relevance of a person’s rank and professional identity.
   • Possibility for posts to go “viral” – i.e., reaching a huge audience via reposting.
   • Reminder of the rules related to social media use for CAF members. Re: DAOD 2008-8 re: cyber security, use on DND/CAF computers, personal responsibility for content posted (incl. being a representative of the Crown).
   • Discuss with reference to Defence Ethics, the military ethos, and relevant policies.
5. How might this report affect the new member?
   • Re: Their feelings of safety and sense of belonging in the military.
   • Recruitment and retention effects.
   • How would your perception of the CAF change if you were a member of the group that the CAF member was saying discriminatory things about? How can we use intersectionality to view this scenario through different perspectives?
6. If you were this new member, how would you deal with this situation? How should you deal with this situation. Why?
   • Open group discussion.
   • Inform the chain of command.
   • If you are a member of the ethnic group being discriminated against, who could you talk to or reach out to for support in the CAF?