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Are
you a racist? Part
1 of 2
26 MAR 07
The
topic this time is a sensitive one but I’m gonna address it
in the way I know best. One of the reasons why I love MY country
is because it’s made up of different races. Chinese, Malays,
Indians and Eurasians- that is Singapore. I love the fact that we
have all these different ethnicities all jam-packed in one island.
You can never go to any part of the country and not see another
Singaporean of a different race. However, every now and then, we
have this person, this certain individual or a certain group that
will rear his ugly head and spoil all the fun and spread mistrust.
And the internet has proved to be a playground for them.. an effective,
“anonymous”, safe haven to spout their hate.
But
let us be fair. Since we are exposed to different races, we are
also exposed to different cultures, habits and way of thinking.
Some of us find these differences interesting while others find
them repulsive. And let us be fair and admit that everyone of
us have been a racist before. One time or another. (If you deny
that, all I can say is to stop reading, Pinocchio.) A fellow individual
wronged you and he/she happened to be of a different race.
Then you start to scrutinize and analyze this race and you dwelled
on it so much that you develop a complex. You harbor this hate
in your heart and you let it grow. It manifests in you and now
you have this disease. You start to not talk to this particular
race, you go online and make racial slurs, you ridicule them every
chance you get even though the remark is irrelevant. You make
condescending nuances and tones and you judge strangers even before
they open their mouths. You, my friend, are a racist. |
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I
have to admit that I have my own experiences of being a racist
and sometimes I am a victim of one. However, I am fortunate enough
to realize that this hate I harbor is wrong and not let it go
out of control. As I grow older, I learn to understand why a certain
race do what they do and by doing so, I have learned aplenty from
them. In the next few paragraphs, I am going to dissect and scrutinize
the different major races in Singapore. And hopefully I can reach
out to the racists out there, to sit back and ponder and perhaps
start healing.
Every
race have it’s strengths and weaknesses. There is no superpower
race in this world that possess only superiority with no flaw
whatsoever. I will not dwell on the negativity; that you can find,
at endless racist forums. I want to share the good side of each
race because believe it or not, some people are still blind to
these attributes that every race possess. Tell them to make a
racial slur, they can give 10. Tell them to name the good that
each race has done, they scratch their heads and can’t even
give one.
So
let me show you the unique attribute that the Chinese, Malays
and Indians got to offer. Let us start with the...
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Chinese
Making up of 70% of the population, you can never go to a spot
in Singapore and not find one Chinese person there. Busy eating
Nasi Ayam at Geylang Serai? Most likely the guy that sell you
your drinks is a Chinese uncle. Little India? You’ll find
some hippie Chinese girl buying beads and incense. I was the only
Malay guy in the whole classroom of Chinese students when I hit
secondary school. Honestly, I’m glad I was. I got totally
nobody to relate with but I still mixed around and manage to learn
some Mandarin words and the occasional Hokkien expletives. Wait
I forgot, I did have one Malay guy friend and he turned to be
this annoying jerk.
I am so at ease with the Chinese community that I can say, that
I have a Chinese Aunt (because a part of my family got interracial)
and now I receive 2 Ang Pows- one on Chinese New and another one
at Hari Raya. And right now, if you have not read the JESC part
1, my Mum is babysitting this Chinese girl by the name of Gigi
(pronounced Jee Jee) and all I can say Gigi is as Chinese as they
come but she is fluent in Malay like any other Malay 5 year old
kid. |
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Nadia
& Gigi. Maybe I'll write an article about these brats one
day:) |
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But
the one trait that I see and I am at awe with the Chinese is ..
their ability to make money. I’m not talking about having
wealth and big cars. Some of other races have that too. I’m
talking about the entrepreneur blood that flows through their
very veins. God gave this gift to them apparently and nobody can
deny this. I am at awe and I am speechless. They can turn $1 to
$2 in 5 minutes and get $100 bucks in 4 days.
For me, if you give me $1, I might spend it in less than 3 seconds.
And my investment will be in a form of a chocolate bar.. I would
have to take a loan of an additional 30 cents more since I have
my eyes on a Snickers.. the roasted almond ones. They seemed to
know how much to charge, when to charge, when to jack up the price,
when to hold, don’t charge too low and have a price war,
calculate hidden costs, business lingos and all that stuff. |
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The
Chinese baby starts his business skills young.
Translation
Goo Gah!: If you buy one, I give you one FREE!
Gee Boo Ga!: I must say that is a pretty good deal! |
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this knack at making money is not only with Singaporean Chinese..
it is a gift that span through what I refer to: the Orientals. If
you are Korean (doesn’t matter North or South), Mainland Chinese
from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan.. whatever.. You will know how to
make money. I read a statistics in the US that states the Koreans
are the bulk percentage that made their own businesses and the Indians
got the majority of top posts in jobs.. (think programming people)
and Filipinos makes the top bulk in other jobs such as administration,
nursing etc. Even when I was in LA with Dan, we were discussing
and he also finds it interesting on how the Koreans manage to get
all these businesses going.
I am also at awe with
how they stick to their business even though they are not making
big bucks - this is hardcore perseverance. I had a conversation
with this Chinese friend who owns a shop and he said that some
months he can pay the rent and sometimes he can’t. I asked
him what did he do when he can’t pay? He said, “ I
borrow from relatives.” Now that is a scary thought for
me. This guy can easily ditch his business and work for others
but he decides to bite the bullet and do things his own way. I
salute!
And
I am also at awe with how they are not choosy with the businesses
they engage in. I can walk along factories and I can see sign
boards like Ah Chuan Timber or Lim Kong Steel and Aluminum. These
are no glamorous jobs people. Imagine sitting in an office and
you have to deal with data after data of steel imports...and trying
to solve problems because the aluminum is of poor quality or the
wood you ordered turned out to be infested with termites.
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Whatever the business, you can be sure the
Chinese are at the forefront. |
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skill in making-money for the Chinese is so widespread that my own
Malay friends say if you wanna start a business, make sure you have
a Chinese friend as your partner. I couldn’t agree less.
I’m gonna stop
here and continue on the upside of the Malays and Indians. But
don’t worry, Part 2 is gonna come fast cause if not racial
riots would occur and we don’t want that now, do we?
I’m part of the
riot squad,
Evil Bunny!
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