Does discrimination arising from stereotypes exist in Singapore? Appln. Qn 2

Stereotypes, in our modern day context are just a group of people with unique abilities of some sort. These stereotypes can be related to anything under the sun. Race, religion, colour, language, attitude are a few of the many stereotypes that have been brought up in recent times. When relating this to our country, Singapore, it is apparent that such discriminations arising from stereotypes are not a common sight. However, one cannot immediately jump into a conclusion in stating that there is clearly no discrimination arising from stereotypes in Singapore. Truly speaking, as long as there are differences amongst certain groups of people in a society, there is bound to be such discriminations.

If one is to say that Singapore is a great country where every citizen lives united with one another, bearing in mind social cohesiveness and the list of laws governed by an uncorrupted government, the only person that may believe this assumption is a Singaporean himself. A foreigner on the other hand, will not spare a thought in actually believing this. It’s merely a fairytale story to him. It is thereby obvious that it is impossible to create that dream country where everything goes well and there is no more room for improvement. Hence, I agree that discrimination arising from stereotypes do exist in Singapore.

Race/Religion is one of the main factors that led me to such a conclusion. In our multi-racial society, there is still this small group of people who feel that Indians and Malays are a class of their own and in which case, the Chinese have the upper hand in making every decision in this country. These groups of people have been termed as “racists”. They create this stereotype in our innocent minds that Indians and Malays are not true Singaporeans merely because of their skin colour. Basically, they are not “white”. Well, such stereotypes are created for the sake of expressing certain opinions and differences that we Singaporeans have within our society. However, these are the opinions that are best kept a secret rather than flaunting it out to the masses and just sparking off more problems. A clear example to this is the recent case where a Racist blogger who happens to be Chinese, expressed his sensitive views towards the Malay population on his blog. The racist blogger was then brought to court for making such racist remarks. This shows that there is still discrimination arising from stereotypes occurring in Singapore.

Another fundamental factor to prove that this issue still stands in Singapore is the stereotyping of students from top notch schools and institutions of being geniuses and child protégées since young. Students, who are streamed into schools of lower status as compared to these institutions, immediately feel a sense of hatred and anger towards the “geniuses” of the lot, arising from mere inferiority complex. The stereotyping of these individuals as “geniuses” makes the remaining group of students seem unwanted and useless. Thereafter, there comes a point where these students drop out of schools and take the wrong paths in life to turn into criminals rather than leaders of the future. These students feel that there is no use spending so much time in their academic work, as ultimately the “geniuses” will be the ones who attain scholarships, recognition from higher authorities like the Ministry, and a well-to-do life. Moreover, clashes may even occur between these two groups of students over reasons that are pointless. In the end, due to stereotyping, not just one party suffers but the whole lot suffers too.

Hence, from the above examples I have clearly shown that discrimination arising from stereotypes will always happen unless stereotypes are not formed in the first place. This subject is evident in Singapore itself, when touching on issues such as race and the area of academics. Therefore, I reinforce the fact again, that stereotypes will exist as long as there are differences in the views of groups of people. Moreover, as long as these stereotypes exist, discrimination will be apparent.