Being Equal and Being Identical

I read with great dismay about how a condominium management and residents opted to have non-Indian security guards. What really disgusts me is that how openly they can actually demonstrate their prejudice. Perhaps its just a spillover of the racism bottled within the Singapore society.

I am a minority by race, language and religion in this country and till today almost everyday I feel I am like a nigger in a white man's society being subject to all kinds of prejudice. But when i take a closer look I find that the racism that envelopes this Singaporean society is not just about ethnicity whereby the majority ethnic groups discriminate the minority ethnic groups. Instead I have come across numerous friends who are Chinese but Pernakan in heritage or mixed in parentage or English speaking etc and hence they face prejudice and discrimination for being that slightly different.

I believe I can sum up the racism in Singapore to be that where one is discriminated when he/she is not fitting the "mould" or "norm". This is partly thanks to the great effort that is being to put to ensure everyone is identical. This in turn stems from the flawed belief that if we, a multiracial society, can be identical in outlook and nature then we can live in harmony and avert racial problems. Even identical twins are not exactly identical because they differ in character, tastes, etc etc. Hence it is not possible for two humans to be identical. Instead humans are a diverse creation. They differ in numerous ways. However they are equal. Where one person is advantaged over another person in something, he/she will be disadvantaged over the other person in another thing. This is the reality of creation of Mankind.

Though the Singapore society's ends to achieve racial harmony is valid and respectable, its means by making sure everyone is identical is fundamentally and logically flawed.