Racism

I had a view about the gahmen using the hard hand of the law to punish the 2 racist bloggers in Sg and I think this article is exactly what I think.


Today
20 Sep 2005

EDUCATION IS THE KEY, NOT A GAG AND FINES
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Recently, a Muslim friend made a remark about the 17-year-old boy who was charged for racist remarks on his blog.

He said that blogger had to be taught a lesson because "this is Singapore. Like it or not, people should be taught to respect other races".

In the last few weeks, two others have been charged for similar offences. Some people are calling for the arrest of a Government scholar who made racist remarks on his blog months ago.

While many feel it is right for the Government to send out a zero-tolerance message, it is, however, worrying when they agree that the judiciary should apply the full force of the Sedition Act to individuals who make racially-insensitive remarks.

They also find appealing the suggestion that, like in some other Commonwealth jurisdictions, the penalty for crimes with a racial element should automatically be increased.

But in the many commentaries and views expressed so far in the media, few have paused to ask: "Why did the youth write such things?"

The root of the problem may run deeper.

Some of my peers went through school and never had the opportunity to get to know an ethnic minority friend. I have met some people in their late 30s who have never visited Little India, Geylang or Arab Street.

From the time we get our birth certificate to our death, one word persists: Race.

Race matters when we seek partners, get married or search for housing.

Race is also an issue when you are in the workforce. Your race decides which self-help group your monthly donations go to and how others perceive you.

For example, I recently decided to stop the monthly contributions to my self-help group for several reasons.

I do not believe in having to be a member of a particular race to make a difference for that group. As a Singaporean, I prefer to make an annual donation and divide it among all the self-help groups.

When I stop-ped contributing, I was blamed by some of my friends from ethnic minorities for "selling out my own kind".

As long as race matters, we will have racists. We will also have individuals who find others racially insensitive or those who sell out "their own kind".

The solution lies not in penalising such persons, but rather in understanding their way of thinking and engaging these thoughts constructively.

By punishing racists, we risk aggravating racism. For fear of sanction, people may stop sharing their real thoughts on the issue of race. And these thoughts could gestate in such a way that they become ideologies with a cult following.

It cannot be denied that there are benefits in a zero-tolerance-to-racism policy. The legislature and modern Singapore's brief history have provided some very strong grounds to do so.

However, we cannot rule out alternative ways to deal with the issue. We should make the punishment fit the crime in more ways than one.

For example, why not empower our judiciary to get these youth to serve in the communities they make fun of. Such youth may then be in a better position to understand that community.

Perhaps, the current review of the laws will pave the way for such measures.

The show of brute force through the long arm of the law and the heavy hammer of the judiciary may provide a quick fix. But education and a culture of allowing people to learn from their mistakes can take us to greater heights.

The writer, a corporate counsel, contributes this in a personal capacity.


It seems odd that when the Prime Minister is trying to make Sg more open, things like this shows that it is not so. Another incident concerning bloggers was caustic.soda who was sued by a gahmen agency because of his remakes made on his blog, which I think the are very mild compared with the things people say about him in their private conversations. And if people are people, this 'sayings' can be more damaging to a person's reputation than a blog can. Simple reason being that people read blogs and webpages with a pinch of salt (like reading the newspaper) whereas they tend to believe (sometimes like gospel truth) what others say, especially when that person is a close friend or family member. The phrase "word of mouth" wasn’t coined for no reason.

All people that I know believed that it akin to an elephant crushing an ant. Who in the right mind would want to go against a gahmen agency with millions?

These 2 incidents are so now etched into the minds of Sg. So is the gahmen going back on its word to have a more open society and the law going to be used on everyone that doesn't agree with the gahmen's paradigm? I hope not. I believe that Sg is starting to become a mature society and it would be a shame if the gahmen is moving back to treating the Sg people like kids. I sometimes wonder if the Sg gahmen thinks that they are the only mature people around who are the only ones that can make the right decisions for Sg.

At this point in time, we don’t have ‘freedom of speech’ in Sg but I’m hoping that with PM Lee S L’s leadership, we would be able to see some real changes to becoming a real open society where different opinions and views are not taken as unlawful but as a mature society showing its concern for the country. I mean if I don’t care about a country, why would I bother to say things about it, good or bad. Criticisms, constructive ones, are bore out of concern but we also have to acknowledge that there are people who will criticise for the sake of criticising. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with those black sheep as they are usually few.

Sexualism / sexualist

Discovered something very interesting in wikipedia today. I realised that my use of heterosexist is wrong/flawed. Below is a snippet of heterosexism.

Heterosexism has been suggested as alternative to homophobia, in part because it uses a parallel structure to sexism or racism. This parallel approach, however, is logically flawed, as the literal meaning of the word would therefore be "a belief that one type of heterosexuality is inherently 'better' than another type of heterosexuality" (see the dictionary definition of, for example, racism). A true parallel construction can be found in the word sexualism.

So the word that can really replace homophobia is sexualism, which I presume would be the right word to used. I've always figured that homophobia is like a fear of GLTB people, which doesn't really mean the person hates us (personal view). So sexualist would be the word from now.

Aches and pains

My back doesn't hurt so much now but my arm gets tired rather easily and at this point in time, my right shoulder feels like it has been lifting heavy weights the whole day, like when I do a workout at the gym where my trainer is too enthusiastic. Well, comes with compensation. When a muscle is healing, the others around it try to compensate and because it is not its usually ‘job’ it gets tired quickly.

Can’t do much work now. My shoulder aches too much to type/use the mouse for long. So reading a lot now. Really can’t wait to go home and rest it.

So ridiculous

When to see the doctor at 1PM. Went early so that I can register (since it was my first time). Didn't get to see the doctor until 1:30PM (even though I had an appointment, so much like Sg where an appointment doesn't mean shit). Then got to see the doctor for 2 mins. What a bloody waste if my time! He didn't do anything but tell me what I already knew ("this happened because some of your muscle fibres... blah, blah") and told me to go the chemist (Sg's equivalent of pharmacist) and get some pain killers that had muscle relaxant in it, an on the shelf drug! If I know that was all, I would have just to the chemist in the morning and not suffer until 1:30PM with the pain. So ridiculous.

I found out from one of my colleague that the medical here in Au is not totally free. Their 'medi-care' thingy is free only for certain things. First off, medical here is NOT free. If you visit the doctor and want it to be free, you'll have to visit a gahmen one and if my visit to the doctor is anything to go by, it would be a long wait. If you go private, you'll be able to 'claim' a percentage of what you paid. Hospitalisation is also 'claimable'. Ambulance service is expensive unless you take up an insurance. If you go to the A&E, you have to pay for it, in full. No claiming.

Gosh, you pay so much in taxes and realise in the end, the medical is not free or even well subsidised. You have to pay for all drugs that you get even if the doctor prescribed it. So even (like me) you can get the doctor's consultation for free, you'll still have to pay for the medication. You'll still have to go to the chemist to get it. From what I can tell the only people that benefit from the high taxes, through welfare, are the young, able bodied people who are too lazy to work.

I really pray that nothing will happen to me during my stay here. I really don't fancy having to pay for my medical bills.

Bad bad bad

Gosh, woke up today with a sprained upper back (somewhere in my right shoulder blade area). It really hurt like hell when I sat up from bed. Have no idea how it came about. Going to see the doctor later at 1PM. Will write more after. Ouch!

Turning to a couch potato

Gosh, realised today that I'm really turning into a couch potato. I'm watching more TV now than I've ever watched in Sg. In Sg I hardly watch much TV, maybe 2 hours a week. Yup, a week. I was that active. Going to the gym, dancing, yoga, dinner with friends, going out with T, etc. so much so that I hardly have time for myself. Now, I have so much time on my hands and I don't know what to do with it except to watch TV. So pathetic!

At least in the coming week I'm going to make things change. I'm starting my personal training at my gym this week. After such a long break (of not doing weights seriously) I don't even know if I'd be able to lift the weights I used to lift. Anyway, it is the least of my worries since I'm paying someone else to do it. I hope to take up a package with this trainer of mine, will talk to him about it after and see how much it would cost me.

Told T about this cute guy (Chinese or at least Asian) that was at class today (gym class). He was really cute and had the type of body that I drool over. :P He was doing the class in front of me (his side was facing me), so I kept stealing glances at him. Can't help but feel that I know him from somewhere, just can't seem to place it.

The 2-Variable Intuition Test

I found this test and did it for fun. :)

Very Well-Rounded You have: 70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and 62% EMOTIONAL INTUITION

The graph on the right represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored above average on emotional intuition and above average on scientific intuition. (Weirdly, your emotional and scientific intuitions are equally strong.) Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake. Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences. Try my other test! The 3 Variable Funny Test It rules.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 56% on Scientific You scored higher than 38% on Interpersonal

Link: The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

First month

Wow, I have been working here for a month already! So cool. I have been in Australia for 7 weeks already. Wow rather fast, almost 2 months already.

Still haven't got used to the erratic weather, doubt I ever will. Have been living in USA (San Francisco and Portland) and the weather has NOT been as erratic as this. It can be very cold and then very hot all in a span of 1 hour. And the clouds, gosh, it can be bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky and then in 5 min the dark clouds can appear and then it will rain.

Stupid weather.

Next generation iPod mini, the iPod nano

Gosh, the new iPod nano (just unveiled today) is just so small and beautiful! I'm so tempted to get one but then I don't even use my iPod now since I don't have long journeys anymore.

My current iPod is the 2nd iPod that own. I had the 1st gen iPod, the original :), then T bought me my current one (3rd gen) the year before (2003) for my birthday.

Trust in God

This hymn is playing in my head again.

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His word will still remain
He will do something new today

This usually happens when I have a lot of things on my mind about the future (should I, would I what if...) and realised that I'm stressing myself out for no reason whatsoever. This hymn makes me rethink my position and realise that God will bless me in whatever the future holds. God will not make send me anything I cannot handle. So I should just give God my life and let God be the driver and hope that I'll not be a back seat driver.

T is back in Singapore at last :). He returned very late (3AM Melbourne time). So tonight can chat with him. Hooray. :)

So excited

I'm so excited, T is returning to Singapore today. He was no vacation since Saturday, so we haven't 'spoken' since Sat. Wow, 3 days. It is really funny, we are not living together and furthermore, not living in the same country and yet our daily (or almost daily) 'chatting' on the net and webcaming makes it tolerable to being apart. During these 3 days, it was really difficult. It was amazing.

During these 3 days, I realise how much I truly love him. How much I really cherish him. We do have our differences but we seem to work them out all the time, our communication is really wonderful. He has a 'we can work everything out' attitude.

So here I am waiting patiently for him to return and come online. :)

I miss my life

As much as I said that I've settled down in Australia (since it has been 6 weeks), somehow it doesn't feel like home. I miss T a lot and I think that is the major reason why I'm not really settling down. The other is the fact that I'm all alone here. No friends except for my roommate. I think that if T was here, it would feel more like home but then again it might not.

I've written to HDB to see if I'd be able to buy a HDB flat while still working here in Australia. If that is possible, I'll ask my parents to have a look around (in Holland V) and see if there are any good buys. And maybe get them to legally buy it. I hope that it is possible. It would be in 3 years (or actually 2.5 years) but no harm it finding out things earlier.

I really do miss my life in Singapore. My being so busy and having loads of friends. I think I do miss my Singapore routine.

I'm so bored

Gosh, I really need to find friends. Friends of my own. After a month here, I'm starting to get bored with my routine. I was so active in Singapore, not only because of going to the gym but also my other activities like ballroom dancing. But now, I only go to the gym and it is not as fun as in Singapore because I have no friends in the gym. So I don't know how long I can keep this up before I get bored out of my mind.

It will be difficult to make friends here and now, especially when I'm not studying. I wonder where can I make friends from? Well, if God willing, I should move out of my routine and start going out with social gay groups. That is provided I can take the first step. Well, it will happen, just have to venture out of my comfort zone (again). :)

Freezing... indoors

Today is so ridiculous! The office is much colder than it is outside, it is windy outside. Can you imagine how awful it is. As much as I like the cold, this is ridiculous for an office. My fingers are so cold that it is clamming up, I can hardly type and it is my work progress so much slower than it is suppose to. Gosh. There were people moving in and out trying to fix the problem but until now (they started since yesterday) nothing seems to have been done. I really can't wait to go out into the heat. This is almost as bad as my company in Singapore; Very cold inside, very warm outside but here it is very cold inside but warmer outside. Less of a contrast.

Last night I had the shock of my life. A return ticket to Singapore in December will cost me AUD1400 or so. I couldn't believe it. I have never paid that much for a plane ticket before except when I was going to New York. The prices I checked was from zuji.com and it only had Singapore Air and Qantas so it could be rather high because of that. Those 2 airlines have never been known for cheap fares. I'll be going down to a travel agent this weekend to check out the prices and maybe make a reservation. I just hope I'll just have to spend about AUD1000 on it. If I went back at some other time it would cost much less. Well, what to do, if not for my parents, I wouldn't bother at all but wait until next March or so to return and do some shopping.

Another incident happened last night that I couldn't understand. I had a 'depression' attack. I became so down at about 9PM or so and it was so weird. I realised one cause was because I miss T so much. It seems after so long (about 3.5 weeks) this feeling has not really subsided. I think I'm just getting used to it and not really miss him less. Is that how people really cope, by getting used to things? I just hope attacks like that wouldn't happen too often. It is bad enough last night, T was so worried and was wondering what was happening to me. I couldn't even understand it. Maybe I just need more friends to have that human contact that a 'people person' like me craves. :P

So lost today

Today is another day where I'm letting the future get to me. I know that I'm suppose to all God to lead me for my coming here was part of God's divine will. What God has in store for me (and T) I really cannot comprehend. And basically that is the problem. I keep having this feeling that I want to get back to Singapore as fast as possible, I don't know if that stems from either:

1) The fact that I'm more or less alone here and have no friends as yet
2) That T is not here with me and I'm feeling his absence more and more
3) The unknown future (like how to deal with my parents visiting me and T when T comes over, should I buy a house here...)

So many things and too much to worry about. That is my problem, I know in my heart that God has sent me here for a reason and I'm to find that out. Whether I'll be stay in Australia for the rest of my life and another matter altogether, but that is what I'm worrying about. I really like it here but there are too many unknowns at this moment (parents, T, friends or lack there of) that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Gosh, Lord, I really need to calm myself down and put all my trust in you, knowing that you'll bless me in my life and that in the end everything will turn out well if I just let you guide. I just hope that I'll be able to do that, letting the Lord guide me that is. Being human, we tend to believe in our own power, thinking that we have control of our lives and planning for the future would be the only way to go but we keep forgetting about the parable of the rich man and his rich harvest (the one where he wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones but the Lord called him a fool because he was going to die that night). I must remember that and forget about my worries because with God in the drivers seat, we can sleep comfortable in the back knowing that things will turn out right.

Saving Face

It really is watching shows like this that allows me to really really appreciate NO censorship. "Saving Face" is a movie by Alice Wu (written and directed). The movie is not bad. The beginning part really played up the Chinese community, the cultural aspects of things. It's portray of the Chinese community and its cultural was very accurate but the ending was a let down, Alice allowed her wants and fantasies to overshadow the reality of the situations. Thus it became a typical Hollywood happy ending (girl gets girl, mother gets her man), even though it is really culturally not possible. Not for majority of the Chinese community anyway.

There was this part where Wil came out to her ma but her ma's reaction was typical, "我是个好妈，你不可能是 gay". Like the 2 are linked!

I would recommend people to watch this movie, as it really shows the "face" of the Chinese and how much one generation has changed in its thinking.

Synopsis of Saving Face:
For 28-year old New Yorker Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang (Michelle Krusiee), life is a juggling act between a promising career as a surgeon and her responsibilities as a dutiful daughter. Like the #7 train she takes to visit her Chinese family on a weekly basis, Wil is perpetually in transit between two worlds. The expectations of the Flushing, Queens society she is from and the desires that alienate her from it have made Wil content to live below the surface -- even if it means playing an inadvertent game of charades with her widowed mother (Joan Chen) and the old world Ma represents. The masquerade is comic even in its pain as Wil tolerates Ma's weekly set ups with eligible Chinese-American boys at the Friday Chinese socials; but it quickly becomes a farce when Ma's mask cracks first.

One night, Wil comes home to find Ma on her doorstep -pregnant. Disgraced by the Chinese community, and with no where else to go, Ma moves in with her daughter, making it difficult for Wil to nurture a budding relationship with gorgeous dance Vivian (Lynn Chen). As her carefully compartmentalised worlds collide, Wil is forced to find her mother a husband, placate her girlfriend, and choose between breaking a cycle of keeping up appearances, or risk losing the girl she loves.

SAVING FACE is a romantic comedy about a daughter struggling to understand her mother's heart, which ultimately allows her to understand her own. It is the story of unspoken loves, contemporary and cultural taboos, and the journey of two women towards living their lives honestly.

TGIF

My first week of work and today is the last day, TGIF!

Work has been slow the past week and the people here are different from the ones in Singapore. I've been left alone most of the time, unlike in Singapore wherever I went to a new company, most people will try to make me feel welcome, asking me out for lunch and etc. Over here it really is 'each for his/her own'. Culture shock, yea in a way but I think it should be expected. I think I was lucky in my past 2 jobs in that the people were all friendly. Well, it will take time but I think I can break into the culture sooner or later (I hope sooner though).

So one week gone and work is starting to pick up. According to E, he and R has lots in store for me to do. It will take time and I'll slowly get more and more busy.

T and I are coping with being apart. We have webcamed a lot, so we can see each other. I really miss the intimate moments we have, like when I 'bite' him on the shoulder when there is nobody around (like in supermarkets, bookstores, etc.) my sign of affection :) and of course I do miss the more physical intimate times that we have too. Well, we all have to make sacrifices. I'm just hoping that these 2 years will pass fast so that we can be together again.

Speaking of which, T was wondering if I would ever move back to Singapore again. Well, I told him nothing is carved in stone so anything is possible. I just pray that in the next 10 years or so, we would really see change in Singapore, not just in the economic sense. It wouldn't be easy but if the gahmen decide to repell section 377 from the penal code, then I can say that equality is starting to set in in Singapore. So there would really be a "society built on justice and EQUALITY", which at this moment there isn't.

One week later

Well, I've survived one week (excluding) without T and I survived. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after I've accepted the fact and know that we'll be together sometime later. It seems that I'm rather stong contrary to what I thought I would be. Homesickness is gone too. So now just have work too look forward to.

I went in to the office today and was given a job to do (even though it was suppose to be a familiarisation), but I'm not complaining. It is fun. I've started doing it even though I know I don't have to. I think I'll finish it by today and then when Monday arrives, I'll just have to see if it works with the data. Rather exciting.

Today, it was a bit warmer than yesterday. This week was the coldest week in Melbourne, it seems that it has never been this cold for 20 years. So now warmer weather should be here. :)

Such is the world

At last, my long 'vacation' is coming to an end. Starting work next Monday and I have to go in on Friday to do some paperwork. What is a job without paperwork.

Just opened my bank account today. Gosh, ever since 9/11 all banks have stepped up security. I thought it was only in Singapore but it seems that Hong Kong and Australia too. So I have to gather that all the world has done this. I had such a difficult time getting a savings account opened but at least it is opened now.

There was a problem with my rental agreement so I had to go to the house agent's office to get her to rectify it, then had to travel back to t he bank again to open my account. Such a nuisance but at least it is done.

It was suppose to be cold today with sleet but the sun is out and it is warm. As usual cannot trust weather reports even here. That is what my roommate told me.

Been communicating with T via IM and webcams. It is cool, at least we can see each other and 'chat' even though we are miles apart. I do miss him but hey, we'll get through this and he'll join me soon. I just hope it wouldn't take too long though :P.

Parting

Well, it was a blissful 2 weeks but T has returned to Singapore this afternoon. It wasn't easy but we believe that if our love is strong and true, we'll be able to survive this and in 2 years time he'd return and we'll have our lives together again. Yup, he's going back and will be back in 2 years time.

He just got a new job in Singapore and he wants to make the most out of it before coming over. That is the reason why his 'vacation' had to be cut short by 1 week.

The parting was not really bad. I have this ache in my heart but I know in time it would be manageable. At the end of the year, I'll be going back to Singapore and mid next year he'll be coming back, so our partings are about 6 months long. Only 104 weeks I tell myself wishing I have a time machine to move past this 'difficult' time.

Whether we'll survive 2 years apart is another thing. But I believe that when God shows you your soulmate, God'll not take him away just for the fun of it. So if God willing and us trying, we'll be together again. Until that day arrives, I'll keep myself busy and make full use of my life. I am comfortable being alone, so with T away, I'm more alone now that ever.

Everyone back home (my tons of friends whom I dearly miss) said that it shouldn't be a problem for me to make friends here, with my character. That I really don't know. The culture here is very different and not that I feel inferior to the whites here. Gosh, me feel inferior to anyone? Got to be joking :).

I hope that things work out well for me. I'm still waiting to sign on the dotted line on my job (yup, I haven't started working as yet) this is because of red tape (as usual). I know that I'll gain a lot from this job. I really thank my Lord for this opportunity, even though I did doubt a lot about it when I first arrived.

Today's gospel was about Peter's walk on water with Jesus, it was this that made me realise that I shouldn't doubt Jesus' love and care for me but to know that this opportunity was given to me because Jesus wanted me to have it. So I should cherish it and not waste it. This could be a test for me to prove to nobody but myself that I can survive this, especially with God behind me.