Hogwash Tsunami
So it seems that I had gone for a longer hiatus than I had planned for. I guess when work does catch up to you; it comes in torrents reminiscent of a tsunami.
Heh. It seems there had been a lot of subjects running about in the blogosphere at the moment, from the discriminatory revision of the penal code against homosexuals, unequal protection accorded to women in marriage, HDB’s discriminatory refusal to rent flats to foreign workers, tightening of laws against web users, and before I know it, GST is going to be raised to 7% in the pretext of using the bulk of the taxes to strengthen social nets for the needy. I know some or most are probably going ‘bullshite’ all this while as they read the news.
So, there seems to be a whole load of bad news out there. Oh well, and so we have been telling others that no one is discriminated in our country, neither is our government homophobic, that we won’t resort to welfare to help the needy lest developing crutch mentality, or tell others that we take a light touch on bloggers commenting on issues. And sometimes you wonder, if our country is truly a place for everyone, or a place where its leaders do not put their money on where their mouth is.
Will be taking a short break for the moment due to work constraints, and will perhaps be back to write some more in due time.
Till then,
Azmodeus
~ by azmodeus on November 16, 2006.
Posted in Musings, Political, Social and Economics
Take care dude. I miss your insightful comments. Do pop by some of my latest entries and leave some of your thoughts. It never fails to make me see another dimension of things.
Cross posted from here.
My apologies for the late reply, as I had not dropped in since my last reply. And my apologies if, in my poor choice of words, seem to be promoting segregationist policies.
To Azmodeus, I did some reading and although there is no clear evidence that your theory of the development of Hutus and Tutsis are necessarily more correct than mine, I can give you the benefit of doubt. That said, it doesnt detract from my basic point that the two races are practically indistinguishable, and yet they still found the capacity for immense hatred. And your example of minorities in China is a straw man. Yes they exist, but they are almost entirely packed into the border provinces. Try and befriend an average PRC student ask if he had met any of those races in life before.
First off, let me explain to you why I am so disgusted with this blog post.
Now if a non-Chinese expresses concern about SAP school, I can understand, because SAP schools are almost always 100% Chinese. But for an SAP student to accuse SAP schools as a breeding ground for racists, is an utter disgrace, not least because it is untrue. For starters, perhaps Aaron can detail to us what scientific methods he used to deduce that SAP students are more racist than non-SAP students. In my working life, I have met many highly racist people, none of them from SAP schools. What Aaron Ng said of SAP students, is no different from Straits Times suggesting IJ convent girls are easy. Are we racially insensitive, yes. But more racist? Please prove it.
Even though the Chinese is the majority race in Singapore, the Chinese in power are not from the Chinese schools. The Mandarin speaking Chinese community constantly feel under siege by those who dislike our “Chineseness”, and when we get too pushy with issues, we get labelled “Chinese Chauvinists”. This is where I feel solidarity with the Malay community, because they too are constantly cautioned from “playing the racial card” when they are seek to assert their racial identity.
Some people see SAP schools as evidence that the Chinese majority promoting racial segregation, I see it as an appeasement for the destruction of “Nantah”. And even if people like Aaron Ng fail to shut the SAP schools down, most SAP schools are in ill health and will follow Nantah soon anyway. The strong ones like The Chinese High is/was the exception, not the norm.
That said, I like to mention that two of my closest buddies are Muslims, one is hypersensitively orthodox, and one is lapsed. That is how I have such a nice perspective of Islam, beyond mere reading. One would check for halal certs before eating while the other eats kway chap with me, while elaborating why the Prophet outlawed pork back then (because they were dirty, but not any more) .
One of them fit the lazy mat stereotype nicely, initially. He leaves work right on time and refuse to work on weekends. It turns out that he had a family business to help run, and when the business folded, my goodness, he was raring for work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But it was a process that took several years to develop. Which is the point I failed to make clearly earlier on. Superficial contact with other races in a secondary school setting may not enhance racial understanding at all; in fact, it might even reinforce racial stereotypes. There are plenty of opportunities to bond after secondary school, and maybe it might even be more conducive then as we are more mature.
Did I mention I used to play hockey in university with a team that was almost entirely Indian? Even then, given the deep friendships I have with other races, I cant say I am not racist, and I seriously doubt anybody can declare that they are not racist either. It is a beast we have to contain, every day of our lives. And when the conditions turn rough, when we let our guard down, when we feel threatened, the beast breaks out.
I like Chiaw’s analogy with banning liquids on planes, because that is exactly how I see it too. You think Malays and Indians will cheer if SAP schools shut down? You think non-Muslims will feel happier if madrasahs are shut down?