My scanner wasn't working. Dont know what's wrong with it. For those who were wondering what Mr Lui was talking about during assembly, this is what the article in the Straits Times Forums (15/3/08) read:
STUDENTS SHOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE TRULY RACE-BLIND
RECENTLY, I was having lunch at KFC Far East Plaza when a group of St Joseph's Institution (SJI) students came in. They were rowdy, like many teenagers, so i thought nothing more of it. After all, boys will be boys. However, before long, i noticed something intriguing. In the midst of all the noise they generated, i saw Chinese, Malay, Indian and Caucasian boys in the group and they were obviously "colour blind". It was a multiracial group but, remarkably, they were interacting interlectually.
Being multicultral isn't quite the same as being intercultral. We have achieved racial harmony, but that dosent mean that we are interlectual. A CHinese may not discriminate against,say, an Indian, but it doesn't mean that he will treat an Indian as he would treat a fellow Chinese.
For example, as a Chinese, I may be more careful with my jokes when interacting with an Indian friend, lest my jokes, which are shaped by Chinese culture, offend him. I will bear in mind that he is an Indian aand try me best to be cultrally sensitive. While this is intuituvely a good thing, i belive it can sometimes be an obstacle to intercultral interaction.
Looking at those SJI boys from where I was, if not for their physical apperacnce, I could not tell who was Chinese, Malay, Indian or Caucasian. I could't detect any sign that they were aware of one another's skin colour. They behaved like there was only one Singapore culture, and not many different cultures among them. I think that's something that many adults cannot achieve, ironically because of our emphasis on being sensitive to other cultures.
It was amazing watching these kids. Wile we often define ourselves in terms of our race, the concept of race is scarecly germane to their fraterninty, which to me is what it should be.
If how those boys interacted reflects an aspect of SJI's school culture, I think the school has done an excellent job in facilitating a truly intercultral community.I congratulate SJI's principal, and hope Singaporeans can increasingly interact like those SJI boys, for whom race obviously means very, very little.
Wong Jock Onn
posted @ 10:13 PM |