By:
Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun,
Malaysia (pg 19) July 25, 2013
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe
354% of white people who kill black
people in American states with the 'Stand Your Ground' law are more likely
found justified compared to if a white person kills another Caucasian person,
according to research by Urban Institute's Justice Policy Centre which drew on
FBI data.
This was on the news over the weekend and it drove
home the point that we all have that 'us versus them' gene intrinsically
intertwined in us even in the 'greatest democracy in the world', where everyone
is said to be treated equally.
354% is an eerily alarming statistic, but what would
it be like here though in multicultural Malaysia? I shudder to think. According
to the World Values Survey, Malaysians ranked one of the least
racially-tolerant people in the world.
Findings that were rubbished so quickly by the same
authorities who asked the racially laced question "What more do the
Chinese want?" a day after the election results were announced when
clearly it was an urban-rural factor that tipped the scales.
Malaysia's ethnic complexities are well documented in
our daily lives and though we may find ourselves frustrated by the box we're
forced into, we ourselves are inevitably equally bigoted towards others who are
different from us. This is something we are socialised into because nobody is
born racist, we learn it.
Unfortunately, in this country we learn it too well,
too soon.
Take for example the latest incident of SK Seri
Pestina in Sungai Buloh where photographs of the children who were not fasting
having their recess in the changing room spread like wildfire on social media.
Whatever the explanation and reasons given, a deeper
question needs to be asked – what have these children learnt about race and
religious acceptance? And how do we undo the damage done?
Every unity initiative has fallen short. Perhaps we
need educators like Jane Elliott who devised the "Blue Eyes/Brown
Eyes" exercise over 30 years ago in response to Martin Luther King Jr's
assassination.
After labelling children as inferior and superior
based on the colour of their eyes, the students in Mrs Elliott's class were
exposed to what it was like to be a minority.
The effects were astounding. It showed how quickly
children exhibited discriminatory behaviour. It also exposed how those
discriminated fared lower in an academic exercise when they were in the
minority group, but performed far better when in the superior group.
Explaining this powerful video here will not do
justice. But this exercise though 30 years old, has so much to teach us in
today's world, especially so in today's Malaysia where empathy has gone missing
and racial-religious lines are drawn clear through our laws, policies and
everyday lives.
Singapore may not be the ideal example but last year a
lady was fired from her job for posting a racist comment on Facebook and their
prime minister spoke about zero tolerance in incidents like this.
Singapore also fared much better in the World Values
Survey with 9.9% of Singaporeans considered intolerant compared to Malaysia's
29.9% who said that they would not like being neighbours with a person of a
different race.
At the heart of the matter, is the fact that Malaysian
society is not cohesive. Yes, the love of food may bind us together but if you
peel away the layers of superficial one-ness, there is deep-seated xenophobia
and it is only getting worse. This is a serious problem.
It does not help that there are different strokes for
different folks. When racist comments and religious insults are spewed,
reprimand depends on which side of society one belongs to.
This is not just racial but takes into account one's
political affiliation too. What the authorities are really saying is we'd
rather spend time monitoring what is put online, than catch people who steal
and harm.
So we spend tonnes of taxpayer's money hauling up
people who share opinions on their personal websites while our crime rates hit
the roof. Talk about priorities in order.
Tolerance of intolerance is what Malaysians are
constantly being asked to both excuse and support when it is convenient to the
authorities.
Of course empathy goes out the door because we have
successfully built a country that thinks not in a currency of unity but in a
'them versus us' mind-set and somehow this needs to stop.
Natalie would love to hear your comments about the
Jane Elliott's 'Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes' experiment (video).
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
