Racism(social issues)
by Anup Shah
Racism is a very touchy subject for some, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that it is just words. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (World War II being an example.)
Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed. From the institutionalized racism, especially in colonial times, when racial beliefs — even eugenics — were not considered something wrong, to recent times where the effects of neo-Nazism is still felt. Europe is a complex area with many cultures in a relatively small area of land that has seen many conflicts throughout history. (Note that most of these conflicts have had trade and resource access at their core, but national identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.)
Racism has also been used to justify exploitation, even using “pseudo-science”:
Debates over the origins of racism often suffer from a lack of clarity over the term. Many conflate recent forms of racism with earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict. In most cases ethno-national conflict seems to owe to conflict over land and strategic resources. In some cases ethnicity and nationalism were harnessed to wars between great religious empires (for example, the Muslim Turks and the Catholic Austro-Hungarians). As Benedict Anderson has suggested in Imagined Communities, ethnic identity and ethno-nationalism became a source of conflict within such empires with the rise of print-capitalism.
In its modern form, racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world, and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered, fought, and ultimately subdued, theories about “race” began to develop, and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races (see Eric Wolf’s Europe and the People Without History).
Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution. Some took Darwin’s theories to imply that since some “races” were more civilized, there must be a biological basis for the difference. At the same time they appealed to biological theories of moral and intellectual traits to justify racial oppression. There is a great deal of controversy about race and intelligence, in part because the concepts of both race and IQ are themselves controversial.
— Racism, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, May 1, 2004
In “the century of total war”, and the new millenium, Europe is seeing an alarming resurgence in xenophobia and racial hatred.
A short review from the Inter Press Service highlights the rise of neo-Nazism in 2000 in Europe and suggests that “far from being a fringe activity, racism, violence and neo-nationalism have become normal in some communities. The problems need to tackled much earlier, in schools and with social programmes.”
Ethnic minorities and different cultures in one country can often be used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis. That is one reason why Nazism became so popular.
In France, May 2002, the success of far right politician Le Pen in the run for leadership (though he lost out in the end) sent a huge shockwave throughout Europe, about how easy it was for far right parties to come close to getting power if there is complacency in the democratic processes and if participation is reduced.
In various places throughout Western Europe, in 2002, as Amnesty International highlights, there has been a rise in racist attacks and sentiments against both Arabs and Jews, in light of the increasing hostilities in the Middle East.
Earlier in 1998, in an area of Germany a right wing racist party won an unprecedented number of votes.
In Austria, the Freedom Party was able to secure the majority of the cabinet posts. The party is an extreme far right party, whose leader, Jorg Heider, has been accused of sympathetic statements towards the Nazis. The European Union has reacted to this indicating that Austria’s participation may be in jeopardy. This Guardian Special Report has much more in-depth coverage.
In Italy, there are attempts to try and deal with the rise in undocumented immigrants from Tunisia. The reactions from the right wing have been labeled by some as being “openly racist”.
In 1997, Human Rights Watch noted that, “The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe, and the problem is getting worse.” In April 1999, London saw two bombs explode in predominantly ethnic minority areas, in the space of one week, where a Nazi group has claimed responsibility. The summer of 2001 saw many race-related riots in various parts of northern England.
Spain has seen increased racial violence lately. The growing economy invites immigrants from North African countries such as Morocco. However, the poor conditions that immigrants have had to endure and the already racially charged region has led to friction and confrontations.
Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities, according to the BBC. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high, especially against ethnic Albanians, who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s, the BBC notes, Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targetted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.
So far, the above represents an incredibly tiny number of examples and details. Many, many more events haven’t been mentioned, as it is admittedly difficult to keep up with all the different items. For more details and up-to-date information, one web site to check out the UK-based Institute of Race Relations and their subsection attemping to document the rising support for the extreme-Right in local and central government in Europe, building on a platform of populist anti-immigrant policies.
http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Racism.asp
MY VIEW
Why did i choose the topic on racism? The reason is very simple. I feel that it is one of the more serious social issues our world is facing.
I remember when i was in secondary one, we read a book called Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. It is about racism in the olden days of Americans. The whites did not like the idea of blacks calling themselves American and they also see themselves superior to the blacks. In the book, the whites could murder or steal from the black people without getting punished and the black people were also too afraid to report on the whites as they may end up getting punished.
Even in Singapore, where many people think that we are one big harmonious family and people of different races are treated equally. I agree only to a certain extend. From newspaper articles, i have read about Singaporeans practicing racism, from scholars to working adults. Although the majority population can live with one another peacefully and harmoniously, there is a minority of the population who just think that others, who are not the same race as he or she, is inferior.
Indeed, racism is a "touchy" sunject which one should not try and mess around with. A wrong word or a slip of tongue can land you in big trouble not only with the ethnic group you have insulted but also the law. One could be fined or jailed for being racist or do anything that is related to racism. I feel that our law is right to get tough on those who are racist. Racist people are a bane to the society. They not only spoil the harmony among the people but also tarnish the country's image and may lead to severe consequences. Do we want Singapore to be like Europe like what the article had mentioned, to be among the few places people would think when issues of racism are being discussed? Certainly not! In fact, if we are a racist society, Singapore would be in big trouble! Civil wars happening every now and then, citizens of different races refusing to live together....etc. Would we be able to enjoy the peace and prosperity that we are enjoying now if we are a racist country? No! Come to think of it, we did use to be racist in the olden days, where chinese and the malays were fighting among themselves. Many innocent people who just want to live in peace got killed just because a few racist jokers started making niose! Luckily our government did a good job in handling the situation then. Even till this day, our government goes all out to crack down on racism which occurs most frequently in blogs. Many people think that their blog is a private place and thus vent their personal frustration on a particular race. Due to their carelessness and ignorance, they were caught by the government and severly punished.
Some examples of consequences should Singapore face if she was a racist country are relationship and ties with other countries, bad image and population problems. Let us look at relationships and ties with other countrys. If you noticed, we are surrounded by countries of different ethnics, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand...etc. If we were racist, these countries whom we have close ties with will be broken due to our racist beliefs. Much of our food, materials and other products come from these countries. How are we going to survive if we do not have close ties with them and worst, all our other neighbouring countries or maybe the whole world hate us? Won't we be vulnerable then since we are such a small country after all? Also, even if we are racist, there are always people who tolerate people of other religion and just want to live in peace, they may just end up migrating to other countries where peace and harmony prevails. Singapore would lose much of its man-power from the already little man-power we have.
it is our responsibility to curb racism. I am guilty of not playing a part in helping to curb it but i have since promised myself to help fight against racism. One does not need to command the military to stop racism. Simple things like disapproving of someone else's racist jokes or comments, and being sensitive to people's feelings can help stop racism. I sincerely hope that to those who are reading this entry now to help stop racism so that not only Singapore but the world can be a more peacful place to live in.
