2O4 Online Lesson: 4 April 2011

In order for racial harmony to be achieved in a country, racial slurs should be made illegal. Racial slurs more often than not causes misunderstanding, hatred and tension among races in a country. Taking into account that Singapore is a multi-racial society, misunderstandings could worsen and evolve into something worse. hatred between races could cause inefficiency and unwillingness to work or study with each other, which would affect Singapore's productivity and economy. Rising racial tension among races, if left unbothered, would lead to racial riots or prejudice among court cases. However, all these can be avoided should racial slurs be made illegal, and controlled in a country, which would definitely lead to racial harmony. Reflection I have had a personal experience with racial slurs as a slurer. Come to think of it now, I really feel what I did then was unecessary. That was when I was primary 3, and there was this student from china in my class. He was an outcast, ostracised by all his peers. I kind of felt pity for him, but if I ever tried to get close to him, people would address me as the 'guy with the outcast'. So what happened was that one day, he shat on his pants. Yes, I had to be direct. We were all queueing up to let our teacher mark our homework scripts, and he was queueing beside me, and all of sudden blocks of brown 'ice-cream' dropped just beside my legs. I was horrified, and I immediately screamed, "EVERYBODY THE CHEENA CHINKI DOG SHIT ON THE FLOOR COME AND SEEEEE!!!!!". Before I knew it, everyone was laughing at him, and he sat down crying. I was not scolded or reprimanded by my teacher, but when I shouted that sentence, I really did not think or meant for him to be hurt by it. As I grew up, I was disgusted by my own insensitivity towards other races, and that at that point of time, there was no need for me to say that of him. That is also a main reason why till this day I disgust people who use racial slurs, but I too understand that it is just a part of the human mind to do such horrid things!