Singapore's racial harmony is superficial?

 

That was a comment I happened to hear from someone speaking in the TV on racial harmony. Of course it is superficial. What do you expect when race is a distinct difference between people of all countries, brought up differently, have different values, religions, cultures, way of life, food, mannerism, behaviors, values etc etc. Originally each race was raised in their specific area and slowly spreaded out to neighbouring countries until colonialism gave it a hand in transporting people en mass to far away land and expecting these people to live together harmoniously. It could, under the domineering power of an authoritarian colonial power and when the people were just migrants with little rights could be jailed or expelled if they think too highly of themselves as individuals or a race.

After colonialism, the same shit that was created and left to fester in ex colonial countries started to ferment not to gel but to exert their rights and differences and all became different and expect and demand others to accord them the rights to be different, to be themselves. Whatever melting pot is only good theoretically. No ethnic group would voluntarily give up their identity to be something that they are not. Only the idealists would think that this is possible. There are few exceptions when the differences are marginal, like Thailand. 

Racial harmony at best is superficial, yes, and with the races being controlled or regulated by rule of law or force, to keep them from wanting to exert their differences and rights over others. They have to tolerate others to maintain some form of harmony and peaceful coexistence. With having a lid over them, it would just blow up.

If you listen to the comments by the difference races about what they felt were racism, how sensitive they are at the slightest comment, intentional or unintentional, with or without malice, you will know that racial harmony cannot exist without a heavy hand or rule of law to keep the racists and over sensitives in check.

The differences are not going to go away. The likes and dislikes, the idiosyncracies, the prejudices, the biases etc etc are human nature, not racism per se. But in the eyes of the racists and over sensitives, if they are not checked, everything would be seen and alleged as racists.

I say, stop the farce, stop thinking that there would be a melting pot where difference races would be stewed and turned into something else to live happily ever after.  Even if there is only one race, a homogenous nation, there will be prejudices and personal biases to disturb the peace and harmony. 

The best a multi racial country can do is to regulate and control the differences and occasional outburst to prevent them from becoming a norm to upset the balance and artificial harmony. The problem is not to expect everyone to become 'chap cheng' and thus become one race of sort. The solution is to keep the lid on and come down hard on the racists. This requires a lot of sensitivity and judgement to avoid allowing the real racists to set the agenda and narratives to attack the non racists being branded as racists. 

Accept the differences and biases and prejudices but do not let these to affect people of other races. Keep your differences, biases, prejudices and what not to yourself. Do not impose on others of how special you are and others must bend to your preferences and way of life and likes and dislikes. Every race is difference and should be allowed to be different but not to insist that others must be like them and be like them. Keep your differences within your race, your community, your homes and yourself and respect others to have their own differences that may be different from yours and may be disagreeable to yours.

And stop being too sensitive as long as there is no malicious intention. And stop stirring shit at every instance as racist and every little slight as racism. Everyone must live with the differences of others. If one likes kopi instead of tea, you cannot be offended by the mere mentioning of kopi or tea. If one likes green, another likes red, or black, you have no right to scream racism if the colours are waved in front of you or simple spoken.

It is the intolerance of the racists, many cupboard racists, that posed the more threats to racial harmony, thinking that what we have in Singapore is superficial and thus unacceptable, not good enough. What is good enough, what is real and possible? Everyone be like you?

All the talks today is going the wrong way to think it is possible to have real racial harmony as one people. Grow up and stop behaving like childish little boys and girls. Singapore is about the best that you can find in the whole wide world.

Singapore's racial harmony is superficial, what is your ideal solution? Whatever you can think of, whatever anyone can think of, there will be others to disagree with you. The only country with the highest degree of racial integration and harmony is Thailand. But they still have the Muslim South that is not integrated and not in harmony. The other country that has even better racial harmony is China. With 46 ethnic minorities living peacefully together with the exception of separatist movements by a small group of Uyghur terrorists trained by the Americans to create social unrest and instability in China. Other than this, the 1.4b people are living together quite comfortably as one nation and one people. 

In China, no minorities need to feel insecure or threatened in the streets. There is no violence against the minorities because of race or the colour of his skin.  The only violence was from the Uyghur terrorists, beating and killing the Chinese majority. But they have been kept under control and peace and harmony have returned to China.

Stop hallucinating and have a life. Stop talking for the sake of talking. about superficial racial harmony or racial discrimination or racism.  If you cannot accept that others are different from you, how can there be racial harmony? Everyday watching what other people do or say to find an excuse to scream racism! If you have this in you, you are a racist. Period.