Thursday, November 29, 2007
talking about racial harmony online in singapore can throw you into pretty deep trouble but i thought what happened was a clear show of how some chinese singaporeans have little regard for our friends from other races.
i don't see how difficult it is to pronounce "thanimay yalay payatha nadugal" (Munneru Valiba). ok it is not easy (seems like "chings" can't roll our tongues), but pronoucing this as "Kanineh yalay mai yi ge, na liang ge" (in chinese, @(#(!@ I buy one, but i take two) ) is some what way off.
i mean, just imagine yourself as the only chinese in a 'ang-moh' dominated society and being called 'chings' or assailed with other racially discriminating verbal abuses/jokes all day long. you won't feel good either right? i for one, will not be able to take it and i'll either start withdrawing from all social encounters, or, in a very likely scenario, flare up and retaliate with similar verbal abuses or physical assaults on these disrespectful bastards.
i admire our indian friends for being able to accept these racist jokes that have been circulating around their living environment all these while. some of them have even learnt to laugh along with the jokes (it's like, achieving enlightenment). so much for eschewing racial harmony in singapore. admittedly, i do agree that promoting racial harmony in singapore has achieved results over the years (if nothing is done, things could be much worst, right?), but i believe we can still do more as individials.
racist jokes, just like dirty jokes, will always be around as forms of entertainment, but as individuals, we have better know the threshold and stop just short of that.
i know too that sometimes, due to peer pressure, i join in these jokes as well, unknowingly, and feel guilty at the end of the day. but i know, that this is non-intentional, and i trust my brain to be smart enough to know when to stop, and when not to start.
this gotta change.
disturbed you at 11:16 PM