We're better than this.

Yesterday, someone on my FB 'friends' list shared something which I found highly disturbing. It was a post by this chick where she was complaining about this group of Chinese Nationals at a food centre. The group of 4 were occupying two tables which could have sat 8. An uncle and an auntie approached them and asked them whether they could share the table, since there was clearly enough space.The Chinese nationals asked them to go away, or refused to share, or something to that effect.

She took a photo of the group and posted it on Facebook. Below is a screenshot of what was posted.

While I do not condone the way the Chinese nationals behaved, I feel that what she said was out of line. It's a negative and hurtful over-generalization of a whole group of people who are actually just here to make a good living for themselves. I won't comment on the effectiveness of our immigration policies (some people say that Singapore won't be where we are without foreign labour), but the point is that they're here, and our policies and laws have allowed them to come here, and we can't tell them that they have no right to be here, because they're legal.

Immigration is an unavoidable reality. Badmouthing certain nationalities does not help the situation - it only makes it worse because it creates an atmosphere of hostility. We stereotype them as being this way or that. While stereotypes are founded on actual incidences, they should be taken with a pinch of salt and should not cloud our perception of individuals. I feel that some Singaporeans have a very unfair view of certain nationalities. The sad thing is that they're vocal about it, and it makes all of us look bad. To make things worst, the vocal minority may even affect the way the majority behaves - herd-mentality and all that.

So maybe the way things are done back in their home country are different. For example, maybe in China, it's normal to talk too loudly on the bus. Maybe that's the norm there. Some of the things which we think are uncouth behaviour may just be a result of insufficient integration - they don't know the way things work here. We can't expect them to know these things from the get-go. Maybe it's just a matter of time until they learn. Or maybe they just need to be told. Why don't you tell them how things are done, since you so firmly believe that they're in the wrong?

What I'm saying is that while there are definitely some shitty nasty people among them, we shouldn't be so quick to judge and generalize. We need to extend some sort of understanding towards them, and be tolerant instead of hateful. 

Sadly, not all of us are tolerant. I had one of those "faith-in-humanity-is-lost" moments when I looked at the other comments as well as the number of 'likes' that those comments received. Just check out the screenshot below, and you'll see what I mean. Look at the one by Elven Yang! I mean, just look at it! Holy balls. So much venom!

Something is wrong here. The post itself got more than 3,700 'likes' and was shared over 800 times. When I went to see the kinds of comments that accompanied the 'shares', I was even more disappointed. I took the liberty of taking a screenshot of more flavourful ones. Initially, I was contemplating blurring out the names, but if it's on Facebook, and I can see it; I'll take it that I can post it here as well. I'm just going to stop at 10.

It's sad, isn't it? It's been said that Singaporeans are xenophobic and racist...maybe there's some truth in that.  But I believe that we're better than this. We first need to realize that this negative stereotyping is unhealthy and destructive. There's no point in letting anger between two parties simmer - it's going to conflict, and it's not going to end pretty. We also need to be tolerant of the differences that may exist, and if we cannot condone the differences, then let them know what they're doing wrong. 

And if they know what they're doing wrong, and they still insist on doing it, then we can feel free to tell them (the guilty party) that they're shitty people, and we can post about them on Facebook.

So the Facebook post was right in pointing out that group of 4 were behaving like pieces of shit. But the reaction that it spawned was so hateful. It made us, as a country, look bad. It showed how close-minded we are, how intolerant we are, and how much venom we carry in our veins. It's a negative trend that must be stopped because we're clearly growing in the wrong direction.

As I'm typing this, I begin to fear the negative reaction that I might get. I might be kicking the proverbial bee-hive, stirring the hornet's next. Maybe I'm even over-reacting, and making a big deal out of nothing. But I just had to say something about it, because if I didn't, maybe no one else will, and I'm afraid of what would happen if we let this sort of thing go on unquestioned. Be tolerant, be friendly, and remember that we were all immigrants once. 

Peace.