Racism... Lives?

Either I've been living too long in la-la land, or people with deep racial issues are just a small minority. If you have been following the news, you would know that 3 chinese boys were arrested for posting racist comments on their blogs. Not just closed down the blog, but actually got charged in court for it.

Ok, the truth is, a little racism lives in all of us. Who hasn't passed a racist comment before, or heard and told racist jokes? If your hand is not up with mine, you're obviously lying. Sometimes, it can be more subtle. I know of people who would not sit next to an Indian, hold their breath when an Indian walks pass, and other countless little things that may not seem much, but when added together, can actually speak volumes of a person's preference (or avoidance) of a certain race(s).

But what was written in the blogs was so much worse. One guy spoke about his hatred for Malays and Muslims and he wanted to kill them all and blow up a mosque. When I read that report, I was truly horrified. Does racism really run that deep in Singapore? Singapore, where there are multi-racial celebrations, where you have classmates of different races since primary school (unless you belong to one of those atas Chinese schools), where Singapore makes it a perogative to have a racial mix when it comes to HDB housing. Under so many influences, can people still develop such intense dislike?

I remember back on September 11, 2002, the 1st anniversary after the 9/11 attacks. One friend of mine jokingly said that she didn't want to see Fadz cos she was afraid that "his religion" might be planning another attack on that day. I was amazed at the thoughtlessness of that comment. Perhaps because I'm dating a Muslim, whenever such comments are made, I'm insulted too. Insulted that people can be so myopic and assume that just because a few desperate people - who have nothing else to live for in the world, shunned by society and represent the rock-bottom, dead-end laggards of their country - have taken the cowardly method of claiming religion as their reason for personal suicide, that they represent all Muslims in the world. I even went on an Islam absorbing rampage after 9/11, because I wanted to understand the religion. How to date a Muslim if you think all Muslims are terrorists? And it never ceases to amaze me that people often forget that Islam is actually a religion of embracing life, and that a few fanatics have so completely twisted this message that what they represent is a completely different religion.

And it leads me to think that behind all the thoughtless comments made in joking, how many people actually mean what they say? How many people are really living in terror and nurturing this innate hatred for Muslims? Not just Muslims, but Indians as well?

And isn't this such a vicious cycle? When people around you can't stand you, hate you, despise you, isn't it any wonder that these people in turn will retaliate in the worse possible way? What, you think they will just meekly accept their fate and let you step all over them? Remember, when a frightened animal is cornered, it bites back with the intention of killing. Kill, or be killed.