Living in a multicultural and multiracial society like Singapore, we must be extra sensitive and careful with our usage of words towards the other ethnic groups. This is to prevent any racial conflicts in order to maintain peace and harmony in Singapore.
I was at a fast food restaurant enjoying my lunch with a few of my friends when I overheard the conversation of a group of people which consisted of both Malays and Chinese sitting right next to us. They were on the topic of the F1 races and the following was part of their conversation:
A: How I wished I could catch the F1 race “live” at the grandstand. But the tickets are way too expensive!
B: Why not? I think you can just join the crowd outside the race circuit if you want to watch the race without tickets.
A: I don’t think that is possible. I’m sure there will be a lot of CISCO auxiliary police officers standing on guard to prevent the crowd from watching the race in order to protect the interest of those have bought the tickets.
B: If that is the case, carry one big piece of roast pork with you when you are approaching the block out area!
(For clarification with regards to the joke that B has made:
Muslims are not supposed to consume or even touch pork. What B actually meant was that if you were to carry one big piece of roast pork and were to approach the CISCO auxiliary police officers, they would shun away, in the sense, making way for you to watch the F1 race.) ** Note: In general, most of the CISCO auxiliary police officers are Malays**
On hearing that, almost everyone burst into laughter except their Malay friends. Their Malay friends looked really offended and one of them even commented that the joke that B made was not funny at all. Shortly after, B realized that he had made an offensive comment and thus, he quickly apologized and attempted to change to another topic.
Understanding cultural norms and values of the various ethnic groups here in Singapore is especially important as Singapore is a nation made up of many different ethnic groups of different cultures and religion. Being well-informed of the different cultures and values of the various ethnic groups will not only allows us to prevent conflicts between racial groups but also allows us to communicate effectively with other people of different racial groups.
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6 comments:
wow..really insenstive..but actually I used to crack racial jokes when I was younger. After being friends with some Malays over the years, it has made me more sensitive to their feelings.
Your problem is one that resonates throughout Singapore...I wonder if we need to find a solution or just let it be?
Haha...if we could find a solution that would be best.
To watch F1, they could work as drink servers or ushers there. In fact, I have the opportunity but considering the fact that there are so many projects to be done yet, I decided to spend time on finishing projects.
In Malaysia, sometimes I crack racial jokes too when I was young but never in front of other races. I believe it's important to cultivate being sensitive to environment since we are young by our parents. The consequences could be devastating if we were not sensitive.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Michelle. It does show
cultural insensitivity. Both Tom and Carolyn admit to having "cracked" similar "off" jokes when they were young. Like Tom, I wonder how this could be handled, and I suspect that the fault lies in education. What do you think?
I guess most, if not all have cracked this kind of racial joke before. But for me, I'll try not to say it in front of my Muslim friends. It's difficult for us to gauge whether our Muslim friends are able to take this kind of joke. So the best solution is that, don't do it in front of them. It's better to be careful with the usage of words than risk losing these friends, isn't it?
Anyway, my racial jokes were far more 'deadly' than that. So I guess, it's time for me to stop that as well.
Well, I think that education does play a part, whether in schools or at home. In schools, other than the annually Racial Harmony Day, we do not really have any other activities to promote or really emphasize that these kinds of racial jokes should not be made, needless to say, when we are back at home. Thus, this rather touchy issue is left untouched. Finding a solution to this problem is definitely not an easy task. If this problem is not dealt with properly, many unintended consequences may surface and cause things to worsen.
haha.. zhenyun, I totally agreed! we definitely would not want to risk losing a friend like that. (:
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