Class this week made me think of an article I saw some time back on a forum. I can barely remember the details but it's something like the poster went to the bank with his mom and she got robbed. She recalled seeing a strange Malay man in the dark alley near the bank so she suspected it was him.
Soon, many furious forum members appeared and asked him why must he mention that it's a Malay. Is he being racist? Hence, he changed it to 'a dark skinned man' then more people came and asked why does he have to describe the skin colour of the man. This is still racist.
Now, why is it racist when he was just describing what his mother saw? Why should he even say it's a man then? Is he sexist? Should he have just stated that his mom saw a human being in the alley? Would someone come along and call him 'species-ist'?
It wasn't as though his sentence was "The suspicious man in the dark alley robbed my mum. He must be Malay". Now THAT is racist.
Racism is a very sensitive topic here and we try to avoid remarks that sound racist and could offend others. However, sometimes some people just think too much.
Like this picture here :
I think many of you didn't notice the dolphins there but young innocent children immediately recognize the dolphins. Why? Because their mind is not trained to see the two people. Just like how they don't see racism. It only exists because we believe in it.
/endrandompost
Soon, many furious forum members appeared and asked him why must he mention that it's a Malay. Is he being racist? Hence, he changed it to 'a dark skinned man' then more people came and asked why does he have to describe the skin colour of the man. This is still racist.
Now, why is it racist when he was just describing what his mother saw? Why should he even say it's a man then? Is he sexist? Should he have just stated that his mom saw a human being in the alley? Would someone come along and call him 'species-ist'?
It wasn't as though his sentence was "The suspicious man in the dark alley robbed my mum. He must be Malay". Now THAT is racist.
Racism is a very sensitive topic here and we try to avoid remarks that sound racist and could offend others. However, sometimes some people just think too much.
Like this picture here :
I think many of you didn't notice the dolphins there but young innocent children immediately recognize the dolphins. Why? Because their mind is not trained to see the two people. Just like how they don't see racism. It only exists because we believe in it.
/endrandompost
Posts
Nice thought out post!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we can stay away from racism living in a multi-racial country. I faced this freaking issue even when I dealt with the registrar in my faculty office. I needed a day off to attend funeral and you know what he said?
ReplyDelete"Kita orang Melayu tak ada rules macam ini, ada pun you Chinese saja. Kalau kita orang Melayu tak ada apply for leave, you orang Cina tak boleh ambil leave juga."
I mean, WTF?!
we cannot satisfy everyone. racism is a very big thing. me myself have a lots of experience. not to be racist here. just a situation i experience. i once get thrown by a card on my face, just because i have a pale face (i was sick, and cannot take a leave) at the counter (when working at a supermarket once). she said to me, "you org melayu mmg bodoh x reti buat kerja". what do you expect me to answer. i think to the positive side. i have a lot of good Chinese and Indian friend who respect me. for me its not about the race. but it is about civilization.
ReplyDeleteGosh.. Some people need to be taught manners!
ReplyDeletethey say that if you can't find the dolphins after 6 seconds, your mind is too corrupted. I couldn't find it even after 1 minute!!!
ReplyDelete