the elaboration on the citizenship rights was good and i have to agree that foreign workers are hardworking and willing to take lower wages which employers will prefer to hire compared to singaporean which is unwilling to do hard labour and wants high pay jobs
i thought that the presentation was generally okay, except that you could explain more about the charts. ( the chart on income inequality was explained so it was good. ) The whites vs. black comparison could be in a table form like what you did in the korean-american community which was also good.
In my opinion, the information you all presented was very detail, especially the the present-day of Singapore part. However, you all may want to discuss more on the common discrimination and prejudice that existed in USA since the 1990s. I believe there are some prejudice and discrimination you all lacked of, such as the health care discrimination, why did the Whites have priorities but not the Blacks during emergency? Are there any discrimination or prejudice against the Black kids in schools? Nonetheless, the presentation was very informative and the solution idea could be very effective in my opinion.
i really liked the part where you guys put up graphs (esp the economic situation one) and the details of the ppt.
But i realised that there was not any information about the religion situation in USA.
we all have watched the video on the 911 incident that Ms Cindy has shown.
Do you think it was right for the bush administration to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility due to the 911 incident? was there any other reasons for the setting up the detainment facility?
Foreign immigrants have always played an important part to contributing to the economic and social development of Singapore. Their willingness to take on jobs of the lower wages for jobs that requires long hours is what Singaporeans should learn from.
Singaporeans should learn to be more flexible in their selection of career choices.
When searching for a suitable job, applicant’s ability and interest should be the crucial factor in deciding whether to accept a particular job, instead of merely looking at the pay to judge if the job should be accepted.
Our group’s presentation has a total of 89 slides. But, we are only given 25 minutes to present. Therefore, due to the time constraint, we had to focus on the main points that should be emphasized for the presentation.
We understand that discrimination is a major issue that happened in USA. Therefore, we have classified all the discriminations into 3 main categories (as seen in the presentation). As a result, you might feel that it was not sufficiently elaborated.
We have extracted the main issues and discriminations that occurred most commonly in USA to elaborate in our presentation. However, to address your concern raised: Why did the Whites have priorities but not the Blacks during emergency?
Due to the stereotype that Blacks are poor, many hospitals in USA feel that Blacks are unable to foot the medical bills. Therefore, this has led to many hospitals taking in the Whites patients, as they feel that the Whites are of financial stability to pay off the bills that was incurred.
The difference in the financial stability between the Blacks and the Whites can be seen in one of the chart illustrated in our presentation.
Is there any discrimination or prejudice against the Black kids in schools?
As seen from our presentation, we have mentioned that many Blacks faced difficulties in enrolling into a suitable school for education. Even if they were enrolled into the school, they were often bullied by their peers (who were the Whites) and were treated as inferior. This is due to the fact that most of the students enrolled into the schools are the Whites, and Blacks are a minority in the school.
The upbringing of the children has an impact on influencing the mindsets of the Whites. Parents might instill the thinking that Blacks are the inferior race in USA and do not deserve the respect of others.
In USA, the main discrimination was based on the differences in their skin color instead of the differences in their religions and beliefs.
The main religions in USA are either Christians or Catholics and have the same belief towards God.
Both Whites and Blacks religion are a mixture of Christian and Catholics.
Therefore, we have focused on the main discrimination between the Whites and the Blacks which is racial discrimination, political discrimination and income inequality.
Thank you for your question regarding the 911 incident.
However, we were told to focus on the main issues that occurred during the mid 1990s. Since 911 incidents occurred in 2001, this is out of our scope.
However, to address your concern rose:
Do you think it was right for the bush administration to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility due to the 911 incident? We feel that this question depends on one’s view and opinion.
In our group’s opinion, we feel that since Bush is the government of USA. He has the ability and power to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility. But, he should not arrest anyone based on their nationality, appearance and religion, without giving them any trial or arrest them without obtaining sufficient evidence.
Were there any other reasons for the setting up the detainment facility?
911 has not been the only terrorist attack in USA. There have been many attacks happening prior to 911, such as the assassination of Meir Kahane by Al Queda on 5 November 1990.
The 911 incident was one of the gravest terrorist attacks that occurred in USA. This has given USA a concrete reason to set up the Guantanamo Bay to detain those people suspected of being involved in previous attacks or terrorist acts.
USA’s is a superpower in the global market. By having its world trade tower bombed by the terrorist, it impacts all countries around the world.
The implementation of Guantanamo Bay detainment facility acts as sending out a stern signal to all countries to show that even though its world trade tower was bombed; they have the ability to detain the suspects or criminals involved in these acts, to show that they are still the superpower of the world.
You say that the major victim is the African American, but you never state the other victims due to discrimination, because to my knowledge, I know that there are other minorities in the USA who are treated unfairly.
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair? You say that the discrimination it is due to that fact that they used to be slaves to the whites, which is a fact I’m sure everyone attending the WISP classes already know, are there any other reasons? I was hoping for a fresher insight to this issue.
Where are the evidence that many deem the blacks to be poor? Also, you mention that the Blacks are rejected by Universities or Colleges, are they able to at least gain knowledge before college levels?
Then, are there any statistics showing that the Blacks have the potential to study at a college or is it based on assumptions?
You said that the Blacks have low access to medical facilities; hence they are always denied opportunity to obtain medical treatment. Are you saying that not one of the Blacks was treated when they get ill, even those who are able to afford the treatment?
Are they any other reasons as to why the Blacks are deemed to be poor? And are there any other reasons they were not able to apply for housing loans which Whites can under the same conditions?
You said that many of the blacks are unable to hold ownership to their homes, however, your charts shows that the number of Blacks with home ownership is not lower than the Whites by a large percentage. Aren’t you contradicting yourself by saying that?
Next, where is the evidence that proves that Blacks find it harder to be promoted to higher ranks? Could the reason not be that they were satisfied with their current position?
What do you mean it could be due to the high level of authority when you state it as a reason the Blacks could not be promoted to higher ranks?
I feel that racism could be one of the many reasons apart from lack of education, which is still not yet proven in your presentation.
Then, since you say that the Blacks would find it hard to find a job, what kind of jobs are you referring to? There are all sorts of jobs, be it low paying ones which can be seen in the example from Singapore where Singaporeans ourselves are not willing to do. If it is hard to find high paying jobs, I’m sure the Blacks would not mind the low paying jobs just so they could feed themselves.
For income discrimination, you say that the average net wealth of the Blacks is very low compared to the Whites. However, does it mean that they do not have Blacks who are rich among them? Examples of those can be seen from Black actors, singers and even hosts. Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest in the entertainment industry in US.
Political Discrimination
Sorry to repeat this question so many times, but are there really no other reasons other than education which caused them to be discriminated politically? What do you mean by “high level of authority when given a verdict”? From your point given, you said that biasness and stereotyping of the blacks are due to your interpretation of “large portion of jail inmates are black”. However, does it not mean that it is not due to racism that leads to the rise of the increase in number of Blacks in jail in the first place? Could the blacks been arrested and put to jail with the already existing biasness towards them which caused them to be guilty of whatever offences that they were given? We do not really feel that it is as simple as just saying that “it could be due to the stereotype that most Blacks are criminals”, according to your group. We feel that you lack in depth in your thinking and claims. Also, does the large number of Blacks in jail mean that all of them are guilty of their charges?
You said that one of the factors was the Rodney King incident, however could you elaborate on what you mean by the oppression faced by the Blacks? It is not stated clearly. As for the chart of the vicious cycle for the economic situations, it would be best if it were said out loud as it is difficult for us to read. Also, it is not elaborated or explained.
Similarities
You said that the majorities discriminate the minorities, however, why is it so?
For the education system, you said that it focuses more on the needs of the majorities, however I feel that it is not true, it is purely based on results. Evidence can be seen from an example of the o level examinations. Names were not written on the examination paper; therefore, it is highly unlikely that discrimination of the races can be done. You also said that in Singapore, everyone is given equal opportunities regardless of their race or religion, however, you did not make a comparison to the US. Then, you said that credibility and financial status are the key criteria in deciding whether a loan will be granted for the case in Singapore. You did not give evidence to prove this statement, and there is no comparison to the US social treatments as well.
Under Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots? Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions? Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions? What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained. Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption. Then as for the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain? For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen? Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader? So do other countries, who are not known as global marker leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
Solutions
How can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better?How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion? On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”? As for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation? There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English.
In conclusion, we feel that your topic on the USA is already acknowledged through lessons in class. Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class, therefore we were hoping for new and fresher ideas that you could provide. Nonetheless, good job, no big errors seen but we feel that your claims in every point should be clearer. Thank you, please reply accordingly so that we can keep track of your answers.
Under Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots? Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions? Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions? What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained. Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption. For the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain? For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen? Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader? So do other countries, who are not known as global marker leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
How can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better? How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion? On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”? As for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation? There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English.
In conclusion, we feel that your topic on the USA is already acknowledged through lessons in class. Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class, therefore we were hoping for new and fresher ideas that you could provide. Nonetheless, good job, no big errors seen but we feel that your claims in every point should be clearer.
Thank you, please reply accordingly so that we can keep track of your answers.
You say that the major victim is the African American, but you never state the other victims due to discrimination, because to my knowledge, I know that there are other minorities in the USA who are treated unfairly.
We seek your understanding that we are unable to cram other minorities into the presentation and not go too far beyond 25 minutes. Therefore, we only focused on African Americans even though We do know that there are many other minorities in USA, such as the Latin Americans. Since African Americans are the major victim, we decided to zoom in and talk only about African Americans, as mentioned in the presentation. This is due to the fact that our group was only given 25 minutes to present and that the instructions as well as Ms Cindy did say to focus more on the African Americans.
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair?
Unfair is defined as not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics. This definition was taken from Dictionary.com Below is the reference. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/UNFAIRLY
You say that the discrimination it is due to that fact that they used to be slaves to the whites, which is a fact I’m sure everyone attending the WISP classes already know, are there any other reasons? I was hoping for a fresher insight to this issue.
Slavery has created a core stereotype that ‘Blacks are inferior to the Whites’ in US. It is because of this stereotype that there are many other stereotypes such as ‘Blacks are poor’ or that ‘Blacks are criminals’ in US. These stereotypes are what have been causing discrimination of the Blacks in many areas such as medical insurance or education.
Where are the evidence that many deem the blacks to be poor?
As stated in our presentation, on the overall Blacks income are not as high as the Whites. This can be seen in the chart during our presentation at 02:53. As a result, the stereotype that ‘all Blacks are poor’ has arisen. Also, you mention that the Blacks are rejected by Universities or Colleges, are they able to at least gain knowledge before college levels? Then, are there any statistics showing that the Blacks have the potential to study at a college or is it based on assumptions?
Even though we do not have any statistics to show that Blacks have enough knowledge to get into a college, I believe all of us know that we should not apply for any college which we do not have enough qualifications for. Therefore, the fact that they have applied for the college already shows that they do have enough qualifications to get into the college. However, the school would be concerned about the school fees and would not want to accept these students.
You said that the Blacks have low access to medical facilities; hence they are always denied opportunity to obtain medical treatment. Are you saying that not one of the Blacks was treated when they get ill, even those who are able to afford the treatment?
As stated in our presentation, most Blacks have low access to medical supplies. However, if the situation comes whereby a White a Black are both admitted to the emergency unit together, the White would be treated. This has resulted in the statistics of 886,000 of Blacks deaths could have been prevented if they have received the same medical treatment, as mentioned during our presentation at 14:24.
Are they any other reasons as to why the Blacks are deemed to be poor? And are there any other reasons they were not able to apply for housing loans which Whites can under the same conditions?
Blacks deemed to be poor is just a stereotype. However due to this stereotype, many blacks are unable to obtain good jobs, and resulted in them being poor. This can be seen in the income inequality chart. Since blacks are being discriminated, the people would not want to sell them the housing loans. In addition, the Whites perceived all Blacks to be poor, and would not sell them the housing loans as they fear that they would not be able to pay up.
You said that many of the blacks are unable to hold ownership to their homes, however, your charts shows that the number of Blacks with home ownership is not lower than the Whites by a large percentage. Aren’t you contradicting yourself by saying that?
I believe that we are not contradicting ourselves as the chart stated that the number of Whites that are able to hold ownerships is 36% while Blacks only have 23%. There is a significant difference of 13%. Furthermore, this is when we are considering the other minorities in USA which we have categorized as others.
Next, where is the evidence that proves that Blacks find it harder to be promoted to higher ranks? Could the reason not be that they were satisfied with their current position?
I believe that if any of us were offered the chance to be promoted to higher ranks, none of us would reject. Therefore, the reason that the Blacks are satisfied with their current position would seem unlikely. There is no concrete evidence to show that blacks find it harder to promote to higher ranks as there is no employer who would want the society to know that they promote people based on their skin color and not based on their ability. However if you were listening in the previous WISP classes, it was mentioned that Blacks find it harder to promote to higher ranks. This can be further seen in the movie Crash which has shown the many stereotypes in USA.
What do you mean it could be due to the high level of authority when you state it as a reason the Blacks could not be promoted to higher ranks?
As mentioned in our presentation, since high ranks also come with a high level of authority, Whites would prefer to promote the Whites than the Blacks.
I feel that racism could be one of the many reasons apart from lack of education, which is still not yet proven in your presentation.
For this question, you have yet to state that what racism could be the reason to. As a result, we are unable to reply you.
Then, since you say that the Blacks would find it hard to find a job, what kind of jobs are you referring to?
There are all sorts of jobs, be it low paying ones which can be seen in the example from Singapore where Singaporeans ourselves are not willing to do.
If it is hard to find high paying jobs, I’m sure the Blacks would not mind the low paying jobs just so they could feed themselves.
We are referring to jobs in general, be it high paying jobs or low paying ones. Since they are unable to get the high paying jobs, many blacks have took up the low paying ones. This has further resulted in the income inequality in USA.
Income discrimination Yes, of course there are definitely blacks who are rich and we did mention that in our presentation. Since it is Average Net Wealth, you should understand that it is only an average estimation of what was the black’s income in average as a whole. And Average Net wealth is being calculated by taking the wealth of all blacks and divided equally among the blacks population.
Political Discrimination There will be other reasons that caused them to be discriminated politically like what our group mentioned in our presentation if you did listen to the presentation carefully and clearly.
We believed you know that only judge can give a verdict and the judge are the ones with the highest authority. Hence isn’t it obvious that when giving a verdict, you need to be of high authority or else anyone can give a verdict and sentence people to jail.
Racism in the first place was a result of biasness and stereotypes. Hence we are just illustrating an example of such instances of these discriminations whereby “large portion of jail inmates are blacks” and this was due to racism which was caused by biasness and stereotyping.
Like what you mentioned “the blacks could have been arrested and put to jail with the already existing biasness towards them which caused them to be guilty of whatever offences that they were given” which was the same question as “Also, does the large number of Blacks in jail mean that all of them are guilty of their charges?” We believed that the answer to your questions was already mentioned in the presentation where we said that “These could be due to the discriminations that the whites had towards the blacks and result in the judges unable to maintain an Impartial Attitude when passing a verdict to a black”.
You mention that it is not as simple as saying “it could be due to the stereotype that most Blacks are criminals”. But since we are using the word COULD, it means that that is one of the possible reasons. We are not saying that it is definitely the one and only reason but a possible reason. Furthermore we do have evidence to support our assumption where we stated that “Results have shown that black youths are 6 times more likely to be jailed for their first offence when compared to white youths”. Of course our group may not have thought of all possible reasons but it is also impossible for us to mentioned and explain every single point with a given time limit for the presentation.
You said that one of the factors was the Rodney King incident, however could you elaborate on what you mean by the oppression faced by the Blacks? It is not stated clearly.
Blacks have been facing oppression for a very long time due to the discrimination. The instances of oppressions faced by the Blacks have been well elaborated by one of my team-mate, Weiling. Please ensure that you do listen to the entire presentation because every part is linked together.
As for the chart of the vicious cycle for the economic situations, it would be best if it were said out loud as it is difficult for us to read. Also, it is not elaborated or explained.
Thank you for your suggestion. We hope to seek your understanding. Our group has 89 slides and the time limit for our presentation was 25 minutes. Therefore, it is not possible for us to go through everything in detail. As for the chart of the vicious cycle, because of the limit time that we have, that is the main reason for us to state there in detail and clearly. If you find it difficult to read the slides, alternatively, you can click full screen and pause the video in order to read through the slide at your own pace. Thank you.
Similarities
You said that the majorities discriminate the minorities, however, why is it so?
The key reason for the majorities to discriminate the minorities was due to stereotypes and prejudice. I believed that if you had listened to our presentation carefully, your question was already addressed when we listed out the stereotypes that Chinese who was the majority race had on the minorities. (For the case for Singapore) As for USA, we also had mentioned it in our slides regarding to USA.
When we say that the education system focuses more on the needs of the majorities, we were referring that sentence to the SAP schools. As there was no SAP schools set-up for the minority races.
You also said that in Singapore, everyone is given equal opportunities regardless of their race or religion; however, you did not make a comparison to the US.
I think if you really did listen to our presentation carefully, the comparison was being made in the very following slide on health care. As for other comparisons, it was already being told in the start of our presentation when we mentioned instances of discriminations and unfair treatment that was faced by the blacks such as employment.
I believed that it is already very obvious and everybody in Singapore knows that whether a bank or financial institution grants a loan, the credibility and financial status are the key criteria. You may want to visit any bank’s website such as DBS and review their credit granting requirements. As already stated in the previous paragraph, the social treatments of USA were already mentioned in the start of our presentation and the very following slides.
Under Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots? Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Foreign immigrants are popular among Singapore employers due to their willingness to work for long hours at low wages. Therefore, Singapore employers prefer to hire foreign immigrants due to this crucial factor.
Singaporeans are unhappy as they feel that it is the foreign immigrants have snatched away many of the job placements. Therefore, this has resulted in an increase in racial tensions of the Singaporeans towards the foreign immigrants.
This build up of racial tensions towards the foreign immigrants may result to a riot if the situation is not well addressed. Therefore, we have commented that the foreign immigrants were the innocent party as they were just coming to Singapore to work for the purpose of seeking a better standard of living and are willing to work for low wages even if it was for long hours.
Scapegoats have similar meaning to being an innocent party. Therefore, our group feel that since they are the innocent party, they are also the scapegoat as Singaporeans will feel that they are the ones who have caused their job placements to be reduced.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions?
We are not saying that the Whites are superior, we agree like what you say it is in their mindset and thereby, it is perceived to be so.
In our previous slides on difference between Singapore and USA, we did mention that USA promotes racial harmony, however if you compare to what the Singapore government are doing it pales in comparison. For example, in Singapore if you verbally says racist things, you would be arrest, whereas in USA there is freedom of speech.
Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions?
Yes, the investigation was done on anyone that came from Iraq, as the following extract proves. “law enforcement officials focused special investigative efforts upon foreign nationals from middle eastern countries, often in disregard of any other factors warranting suspicion. In December, federal investigators began voluntary interviews with more than 5,000 young middle eastern men who entered the United States within the last two years from countries that were linked to terrorism. Federal officials have contacted administrators at more than two hundred colleges and universities to gain information about students from middle eastern countries.”
What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained.
We are sorry that we did you get the chance to explain it due to time constraints. Below is an extract of the racial profiling due to the incidence of the bombing of Pearl Harbour. All Japanese were forced to leave California due to their nationality. “Then, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, by January and February 1942, Attorney General Warren directed the preparation of maps showing all Japanese-owned lands in California, called upon the state's district attorneys to enforce the Alien Land Law against Japanese landowners, and said the presence of Japanese in California provided the opportunity for a repetition of Pearl Harbor. And by March he advocated the exclusion of all Japanese from within 200 miles of the California coast.” (Santa Clara Univeristy)
Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption.
We believe that FEELING discriminated is the same as BEING discriminated. Discrimination is often spurned first by thoughts and as it gets worse it turns into action.
For example,A young African-American schoolteacher reports being routinely pulled over when she is in a car in his suburban neighborhood in San Carlos, California, where only five other African-American families live.
Does this means that she merely felt discriminated?
This figure was derived from “Racial Profiling in America: Racially Biased Policing: Determinants of Citizen Perceptions, George Washington University, Dept. of Sociology,Washington DC, 2004 (survey conducted in Dec. 2002).
For the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain?
Police office need to be independent to ensure that it does not affect them from making a realiable decision. This meant that their decision should not be affected prejudice or discrimination, for example even before investigation starts they should not assume that a particular race has commited the crime.
For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen?
Singapore government adopted five statements as the nation's Shared Values on 15 January 1991. Below is one of the statement. “Racial and religious harmony: Recognises the need for different communities to live harmoniously with one another in order for all to prosper.”
Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader?
A superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests. Thereby with this power, America does not have to count on cohesiveness as one of the factor to bring about growth of it country.
So do other countries, who are not known as global market leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
Most countries do believed in it. Like MM Lee's own pledge: 'Harmony is a base for stability, growth and progress.' For example, riots in country hurts tourism, reducing the country tourism income, this is similar to the situation of Thailand a few months ago.
How can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better? How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion?
The implementation of “World Ethnic Festival” can help Singaporeans to better appreciate other ethnic races as it will allow them to understand different ethnic group’s cultural and religious beliefs. As what was mentioned in our slides, the World Ethnic Festivals will showcase both local and foreign exhibits and performances. Therefore, allowing people to appreciate people of their different race or even their own race. Therefore, as they learnt to appreciate other ethnic races, this will reinforce the importance of social cohesion as they will treat and respect each other better, as they now have a better appreciation towards the different races.
On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”?
With regards to your question on influential media, it is important to keep in mind that our target audience are the primary school children. The usage of interactive games and videos will enhance their learning experience and arouse their curiosity. This will motivate the children to continue surfing this interactive website and play the games, or to look at the videos to gain a better understanding of the value behind the games and videos.
You mentioned that “when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to”. It is important to keep in mind that in our presentation, we mentioned that the usage of the interactive websites will be implemented as part of their curriculum. Therefore, the teacher will act as an important role, to ensure that the students are doing the right thing.
As for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation?
Whether the period of time is lengthy or not is a subjective issue. If the program were to be implemented on a one day basis, would the students be able to learn and meet the objectives that were set for this program? In our group’s opinion, 2 week is a suitable period of time for the program to take place. During the 2 weeks stay, students will definitely be able to learn more and meet the objectives of the program. The target audience for this program will be the secondary school students.
Yes, there will definitely be students who are not interested to attend the program. However, please bear in mind that not all students in the school will be selected to undergo this program. Students who have volunteered or are recommended by their tutors or peers will undergo this special program.
There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English. With regards to your question, the “program” refers to the implementation of one day educational tour for the foreigners. As what was mentioned in our presentation, this is one of the challenges that will be faced, not an advantage that it will overcome the communication barrier as what you have asked. My team-mate who was presenting, did not mentioned that this will HELP to OVERCOME COMMUNICATION BARRIERS. Instead, she mentioned that it will result in A LANGUAGE BARRIER. I think you might have heard it wrongly, and therefore posted this question. We would advise you to listen to the presentation again, as each part is closely linked.
Lastly, please listen to our whole presentation carefully before posting any questions as each part is linked and please categorized them properly. Many of the questions that you posted is either addressed in our presentation if not it is being repeated or irrelevant.
All of us know that the topic on USA was acknowledged in class. However, what we touched on in class was in general but our presentation was mainly focusing in the Mid 1990s as told in our questions. At the same time, we feel that if you were listening attentively in class, there would not be some many questions being posted since you mention that “Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class,”
And please reply to our questions that we had posted for your group since Saturday. Though we had to prepare for presentations tomorrow, we still tried our best in answering every single questions u had, despite it was being posted very last minute at 8p.m today.
For a lot of questions, you did not answer accordingly to our questions. Our questions are not as simple as how you answered to them, and there are still some doubts and questions even after your reply.
However, we will get back to you on those that are still unclear.
Also, if we did not pay attention in class, we would not dare to post questions as such in public, so please try to understand the depth of our questions before you judge. Thank you very much.
Do not worry about the reply to your questions. Our group has made sure that each of your question is properly answered before we post it because we seek in quality answering and asking of questions.
We will post everything to public after we have collaborated all our answers from the others, you don't have to worry because it will not take too long.
I understand that more could be explained on the Latasha Incident and how it affected the overall conflict between the African Americans and Korean Americans. Hosting of “World Ethnic Festival” and International Day are suggestions that are mentioned in their suggestions but they are already in place in Singapore and in the form of events such as Racial Harmony Day and International Friendship Day as well. I feel that further improvements can be made on their suggestions towards avoiding the 2061 reality.
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair?
Unfair is defined as not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics. This definition was taken from Dictionary.com Below is the reference. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/UNFAIRLY
This is an example of how for a lot of questions, you did not answer accordingly to our questions.
It is not obvious that we are not asking questions that are so shallow? If we were really asking for the definition of the word 'unfairly', we would take the time to search the definition of it from the web ourselves. It would not take up too much of our time anyway.
To make my question clearer, i am referring what you were presenting in your slide. At 1:14,you said that: "It is common for Blacks to be perceived as inferior in the eyes of whites, therefore treated unfairly. "
Why do you say that they are treated unfairly, which also means how do you define being treated unfairly? Meaning they are treated unfairly in what sense?
I believe that we are not intellectually challenged, definitely not to the extent whereby we do not even understand the meaning of what "unfair" means. What we wanted to seek from you is the elaboration in terms of the unfairness. We were hoping to learn something new and fresh from you through your explanation. since you emphasized on your 89 slides so much, we were hoping to see more of the key points which could leave an impact on the readers of your presentation, so that we all learn more about racism. However, good job girls. do check our replies at our web page.
the elaboration on the citizenship rights was good and i have to agree that foreign workers are hardworking and willing to take lower wages which employers will prefer to hire compared to singaporean which is unwilling to do hard labour and wants high pay jobs
ReplyDeletebtw, this is jian wei
i thought that the presentation was generally okay, except that you could explain more about the charts. ( the chart on income inequality was explained so it was good. ) The whites vs. black comparison could be in a table form like what you did in the korean-american community which was also good.
ReplyDeleteHannah(china)
In my opinion, the information you all presented was very detail, especially the the present-day of Singapore part. However, you all may want to discuss more on the common discrimination and prejudice that existed in USA since the 1990s. I believe there are some prejudice and discrimination you all lacked of, such as the health care discrimination, why did the Whites have priorities but not the Blacks during emergency? Are there any discrimination or prejudice against the Black kids in schools?
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, the presentation was very informative and the solution idea could be very effective in my opinion.
Cheers
Jin Mingfei ( Malaysia Group )
hey!
ReplyDeletei really liked the part where you guys put up graphs (esp the economic situation one) and the details of the ppt.
But i realised that there was not any information about the religion situation in USA.
we all have watched the video on the 911 incident that Ms Cindy has shown.
Do you think it was right for the bush administration to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility due to the 911 incident? was there any other reasons for the setting up the detainment facility?
Regards,
Isabel
Jian Wei:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
Foreign immigrants have always played an important part to contributing to the economic and social development of Singapore. Their willingness to take on jobs of the lower wages for jobs that requires long hours is what Singaporeans should learn from.
Singaporeans should learn to be more flexible in their selection of career choices.
When searching for a suitable job, applicant’s ability and interest should be the crucial factor in deciding whether to accept a particular job, instead of merely looking at the pay to judge if the job should be accepted.
Hannah:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your suggestion.
Our group’s presentation has a total of 89 slides. But, we are only given 25 minutes to present. Therefore, due to the time constraint, we had to focus on the main points that should be emphasized for the presentation.
Mingfei:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments.
We understand that discrimination is a major issue that happened in USA. Therefore, we have classified all the discriminations into 3 main categories (as seen in the presentation). As a result, you might feel that it was not
sufficiently elaborated.
We have extracted the main issues and discriminations that occurred most commonly in USA to elaborate in our presentation.
However, to address your concern raised:
Why did the Whites have priorities but not the Blacks during emergency?
Due to the stereotype that Blacks are poor, many hospitals in USA feel that Blacks are unable to foot the medical bills. Therefore, this has led to many hospitals taking in the Whites patients, as they feel that the Whites are of financial stability to pay off the bills that was incurred.
The difference in the financial stability between the Blacks and the Whites can be seen in one of the chart illustrated in our presentation.
Is there any discrimination or prejudice against the Black kids in schools?
As seen from our presentation, we have mentioned that many Blacks faced difficulties in enrolling into a suitable school for education. Even if they were enrolled into the school, they were often bullied by their peers (who were the Whites) and were treated as inferior. This is due to the fact that most of the students enrolled into the schools are the Whites, and Blacks are a minority in the school.
The upbringing of the children has an impact on influencing the mindsets of the Whites. Parents might instill the thinking that Blacks are the inferior race in USA and do not deserve the respect of others.
Isabel:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
In USA, the main discrimination was based on the differences in their skin color instead of the differences in their religions and beliefs.
The main religions in USA are either Christians or Catholics and have the same belief towards God.
Both Whites and Blacks religion are a mixture of Christian and Catholics.
Therefore, we have focused on the main discrimination between the Whites and the Blacks which is racial discrimination, political
discrimination and income inequality.
Thank you for your question regarding the 911 incident.
However, we were told to focus on the main issues that occurred during the mid 1990s. Since 911 incidents occurred in 2001, this is out of our scope.
However, to address your concern rose:
Do you think it was right for the bush administration to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility due to the 911 incident?
We feel that this question depends on one’s view and opinion.
In our group’s opinion, we feel that since Bush is the government of USA. He has the ability and power to set up Guantanamo Bay detainment facility. But, he should not arrest anyone based on their nationality, appearance and religion, without giving them any trial or arrest them without obtaining sufficient evidence.
Were there any other reasons for the setting up the detainment facility?
911 has not been the only terrorist attack in USA. There have been many attacks happening prior to 911, such as the assassination of Meir Kahane by Al Queda on 5 November 1990.
The 911 incident was one of the gravest terrorist attacks that occurred in USA. This has given USA a concrete reason to set up the Guantanamo Bay to detain those people suspected of being involved in previous attacks or terrorist acts.
USA’s is a superpower in the global market. By having its world trade tower bombed by the terrorist, it impacts all countries around the world.
The implementation of Guantanamo Bay detainment facility acts as sending out a stern signal to all countries to show that even though its world trade tower was bombed; they have the ability to detain the suspects or criminals involved in these acts, to show that they are still the superpower of the world.
(:
Racial Discrimination
ReplyDeleteYou say that the major victim is the African American, but you never state the other victims due to discrimination, because to my knowledge, I know that there are other minorities in the USA who are treated unfairly.
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair?
You say that the discrimination it is due to that fact that they used to be slaves to the whites, which is a fact I’m sure everyone attending the WISP classes already know, are there any other reasons? I was hoping for a fresher insight to this issue.
Where are the evidence that many deem the blacks to be poor? Also, you mention that the Blacks are rejected by Universities or Colleges, are they able to at least gain knowledge before college levels?
Then, are there any statistics showing that the Blacks have the potential to study at a college or is it based on assumptions?
You said that the Blacks have low access to medical facilities; hence they are always denied opportunity to obtain medical treatment. Are you saying that not one of the Blacks was treated when they get ill, even those who are able to afford the treatment?
Are they any other reasons as to why the Blacks are deemed to be poor? And are there any other reasons they were not able to apply for housing loans which Whites can under the same conditions?
You said that many of the blacks are unable to hold ownership to their homes, however, your charts shows that the number of Blacks with home ownership is not lower than the Whites by a large percentage. Aren’t you contradicting yourself by saying that?
Next, where is the evidence that proves that Blacks find it harder to be promoted to higher ranks? Could the reason not be that they were satisfied with their current position?
What do you mean it could be due to the high level of authority when you state it as a reason the Blacks could not be promoted to higher ranks?
I feel that racism could be one of the many reasons apart from lack of education, which is still not yet proven in your presentation.
Then, since you say that the Blacks would find it hard to find a job, what kind of jobs are you referring to?
There are all sorts of jobs, be it low paying ones which can be seen in the example from Singapore where Singaporeans ourselves are not willing to do.
If it is hard to find high paying jobs, I’m sure the Blacks would not mind the low paying jobs just so they could feed themselves.
Income Discrimination
ReplyDeleteFor income discrimination, you say that the average net wealth of the Blacks is very low compared to the Whites.
However, does it mean that they do not have Blacks who are rich among them? Examples of those can be seen from Black actors, singers and even hosts. Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest in the entertainment industry in US.
Political Discrimination
Sorry to repeat this question so many times, but are there really no other reasons other than education which caused them to be discriminated politically?
What do you mean by “high level of authority when given a verdict”?
From your point given, you said that biasness and stereotyping of the blacks are due to your interpretation of “large portion of jail inmates are black”.
However, does it not mean that it is not due to racism that leads to the rise of the increase in number of Blacks in jail in the first place? Could the blacks been arrested and put to jail with the already existing biasness towards them which caused them to be guilty of whatever offences that they were given? We do not really feel that it is as simple as just saying that “it could be due to the stereotype that most Blacks are criminals”, according to your group. We feel that you lack in depth in your thinking and claims.
Also, does the large number of Blacks in jail mean that all of them are guilty of their charges?
Los Angeles Riot
ReplyDeleteYou said that one of the factors was the Rodney King incident, however could you elaborate on what you mean by the oppression faced by the Blacks? It is not stated clearly.
As for the chart of the vicious cycle for the economic situations, it would be best if it were said out loud as it is difficult for us to read. Also, it is not elaborated or explained.
Similarities
You said that the majorities discriminate the minorities, however, why is it so?
For the education system, you said that it focuses more on the needs of the majorities, however I feel that it is not true, it is purely based on results. Evidence can be seen from an example of the o level examinations. Names were not written on the examination paper; therefore, it is highly unlikely that discrimination of the races can be done.
You also said that in Singapore, everyone is given equal opportunities regardless of their race or religion, however, you did not make a comparison to the US.
Then, you said that credibility and financial status are the key criteria in deciding whether a loan will be granted for the case in Singapore. You did not give evidence to prove this statement, and there is no comparison to the US social treatments as well.
Social Fractures and Divisions
ReplyDeleteUnder Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots?
Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions?
Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions?
What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained.
Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption.
Then as for the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain?
For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen?
Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader? So do other countries, who are not known as global marker leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
Solutions
How can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better?How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion?
On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”?
As for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation?
There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English.
In conclusion, we feel that your topic on the USA is already acknowledged through lessons in class. Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class, therefore we were hoping for new and fresher ideas that you could provide.
Nonetheless, good job, no big errors seen but we feel that your claims in every point should be clearer.
Thank you, please reply accordingly so that we can keep track of your answers.
Social Fractures and Divisions
ReplyDeleteUnder Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots?
Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions?
Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions?
What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained.
Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption.
For the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain?
For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen?
Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader? So do other countries, who are not known as global marker leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
Solutions
ReplyDeleteHow can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better?
How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion?
On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”?
As for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation?
There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English.
In conclusion, we feel that your topic on the USA is already acknowledged through lessons in class.
Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class, therefore we were hoping for new and fresher ideas that you could provide.
Nonetheless, good job, no big errors seen but we feel that your claims in every point should be clearer.
Thank you, please reply accordingly so that we can keep track of your answers.
1st Post
ReplyDeleteYou say that the major victim is the African American, but you never state the other victims due to discrimination, because to my knowledge, I know that there are other minorities in the USA who are treated unfairly.
We seek your understanding that we are unable to cram other minorities into the presentation and not go too far beyond 25 minutes. Therefore, we only focused on African Americans even though We do know that there are many other minorities in USA, such as the Latin Americans. Since African Americans are the major victim, we decided to zoom in and talk only about African Americans, as mentioned in the presentation. This is due to the fact that our group was only given 25 minutes to present and that the instructions as well as Ms Cindy did say to focus more on the African Americans.
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair?
Unfair is defined as not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics. This definition was taken from Dictionary.com Below is the reference.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/UNFAIRLY
You say that the discrimination it is due to that fact that they used to be slaves to the whites, which is a fact I’m sure everyone attending the WISP classes already know, are there any other reasons? I was hoping for a fresher insight to this issue.
Slavery has created a core stereotype that ‘Blacks are inferior to the Whites’ in US. It is because of this stereotype that there are many other stereotypes such as ‘Blacks are poor’ or that ‘Blacks are criminals’ in US. These stereotypes are what have been causing discrimination of the Blacks in many areas such as medical insurance or education.
Where are the evidence that many deem the blacks to be poor?
As stated in our presentation, on the overall Blacks income are not as high as the Whites. This can be seen in the chart during our presentation at 02:53. As a result, the stereotype that ‘all Blacks are poor’ has arisen.
Also, you mention that the Blacks are rejected by Universities or Colleges, are they able to at least gain knowledge before college levels? Then, are there any statistics showing that the Blacks have the potential to study at a college or is it based on assumptions?
Even though we do not have any statistics to show that Blacks have enough knowledge to get into a college, I believe all of us know that we should not apply for any college which we do not have enough qualifications for. Therefore, the fact that they have applied for the college already shows that they do have enough qualifications to get into the college. However, the school would be concerned about the school fees and would not want to accept these students.
You said that the Blacks have low access to medical facilities; hence they are always denied opportunity to obtain medical treatment. Are you saying that not one of the Blacks was treated when they get ill, even those who are able to afford the treatment?
As stated in our presentation, most Blacks have low access to medical supplies. However, if the situation comes whereby a White a Black are both admitted to the emergency unit together, the White would be treated. This has resulted in the statistics of 886,000 of Blacks deaths could have been prevented if they have received the same medical treatment, as mentioned during our presentation at 14:24.
Are they any other reasons as to why the Blacks are deemed to be poor? And are there any other reasons they were not able to apply for housing loans which Whites can under the same conditions?
ReplyDeleteBlacks deemed to be poor is just a stereotype. However due to this stereotype, many blacks are unable to obtain good jobs, and resulted in them being poor. This can be seen in the income inequality chart. Since blacks are being discriminated, the people would not want to sell them the housing loans. In addition, the Whites perceived all Blacks to be poor, and would not sell them the housing loans as they fear that they would not be able to pay up.
You said that many of the blacks are unable to hold ownership to their homes, however, your charts shows that the number of Blacks with home ownership is not lower than the Whites by a large percentage. Aren’t you contradicting yourself by saying that?
I believe that we are not contradicting ourselves as the chart stated that the number of Whites that are able to hold ownerships is 36% while Blacks only have 23%. There is a significant difference of 13%. Furthermore, this is when we are considering the other minorities in USA which we have categorized as others.
Next, where is the evidence that proves that Blacks find it harder to be promoted to higher ranks? Could the reason not be that they were satisfied with their current position?
I believe that if any of us were offered the chance to be promoted to higher ranks, none of us would reject. Therefore, the reason that the Blacks are satisfied with their current position would seem unlikely. There is no concrete evidence to show that blacks find it harder to promote to higher ranks as there is no employer who would want the society to know that they promote people based on their skin color and not based on their ability. However if you were listening in the previous WISP classes, it was mentioned that Blacks find it harder to promote to higher ranks. This can be further seen in the movie Crash which has shown the many stereotypes in USA.
What do you mean it could be due to the high level of authority when you state it as a reason the Blacks could not be promoted to higher ranks?
As mentioned in our presentation, since high ranks also come with a high level of authority, Whites would prefer to promote the Whites than the Blacks.
I feel that racism could be one of the many reasons apart from lack of education, which is still not yet proven in your presentation.
For this question, you have yet to state that what racism could be the reason to. As a result, we are unable to reply you.
Then, since you say that the Blacks would find it hard to find a job, what kind of jobs are you referring to?
There are all sorts of jobs, be it low paying ones which can be seen in the example from Singapore where Singaporeans ourselves are not willing to do.
If it is hard to find high paying jobs, I’m sure the Blacks would not mind the low paying jobs just so they could feed themselves.
We are referring to jobs in general, be it high paying jobs or low paying ones. Since they are unable to get the high paying jobs, many blacks have took up the low paying ones. This has further resulted in the income inequality in USA.
2nd Post
ReplyDeleteIncome discrimination
Yes, of course there are definitely blacks who are rich and we did mention that in our presentation. Since it is Average Net Wealth, you should understand that it is only an average estimation of what was the black’s income in average as a whole. And Average Net wealth is being calculated by taking the wealth of all blacks and divided equally among the blacks population.
Political Discrimination
There will be other reasons that caused them to be discriminated politically like what our group mentioned in our presentation if you did listen to the presentation carefully and clearly.
We believed you know that only judge can give a verdict and the judge are the ones with the highest authority. Hence isn’t it obvious that when giving a verdict, you need to be of high authority or else anyone can give a verdict and sentence people to jail.
Racism in the first place was a result of biasness and stereotypes. Hence we are just illustrating an example of such instances of these discriminations whereby “large portion of jail inmates are blacks” and this was due to racism which was caused by biasness and stereotyping.
Like what you mentioned “the blacks could have been arrested and put to jail with the already existing biasness towards them which caused them to be guilty of whatever offences that they were given” which was the same question as “Also, does the large number of Blacks in jail mean that all of them are guilty of their charges?” We believed that the answer to your questions was already mentioned in the presentation where we said that “These could be due to the discriminations that the whites had towards the blacks and result in the judges unable to maintain an Impartial Attitude when passing a verdict to a black”.
You mention that it is not as simple as saying “it could be due to the stereotype that most Blacks are criminals”. But since we are using the word COULD, it means that that is one of the possible reasons. We are not saying that it is definitely the one and only reason but a possible reason. Furthermore we do have evidence to support our assumption where we stated that “Results have shown that black youths are 6 times more likely to be jailed for their first offence when compared to white youths”.
Of course our group may not have thought of all possible reasons but it is also impossible for us to mentioned and explain every single point with a given time limit for the presentation.
3rd post
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles Riot
You said that one of the factors was the Rodney King incident, however could you elaborate on what you mean by the oppression faced by the Blacks? It is not stated clearly.
Blacks have been facing oppression for a very long time due to the discrimination. The instances of oppressions faced by the Blacks have been well elaborated by one of my team-mate, Weiling.
Please ensure that you do listen to the entire presentation because every part is linked together.
As for the chart of the vicious cycle for the economic situations, it would be best if it were said out loud as it is difficult for us to read. Also, it is not elaborated or explained.
Thank you for your suggestion. We hope to seek your understanding. Our group has 89 slides and the time limit for our presentation was 25 minutes. Therefore, it is not possible for us to go through everything in detail.
As for the chart of the vicious cycle, because of the limit time that we have, that is the main reason for us to state there in detail and clearly.
If you find it difficult to read the slides, alternatively, you can click full screen and pause the video in order to read through the slide at your own pace. Thank you.
Similarities
You said that the majorities discriminate the minorities, however, why is it so?
The key reason for the majorities to discriminate the minorities was due to stereotypes and prejudice. I believed that if you had listened to our presentation carefully, your question was already addressed when we listed out the stereotypes that Chinese who was the majority race had on the minorities. (For the case for Singapore) As for USA, we also had mentioned it in our slides regarding to USA.
When we say that the education system focuses more on the needs of the majorities, we were referring that sentence to the SAP schools. As there was no SAP schools set-up for the minority races.
You also said that in Singapore, everyone is given equal opportunities regardless of their race or religion; however, you did not make a comparison to the US.
I think if you really did listen to our presentation carefully, the comparison was being made in the very following slide on health care. As for other comparisons, it was already being told in the start of our presentation when we mentioned instances of discriminations and unfair treatment that was faced by the blacks such as employment.
I believed that it is already very obvious and everybody in Singapore knows that whether a bank or financial institution grants a loan, the credibility and financial status are the key criteria. You may want to visit any bank’s website such as DBS and review their credit granting requirements. As already stated in the previous paragraph, the social treatments of USA were already mentioned in the start of our presentation and the very following slides.
4th post
ReplyDeleteSocial fractures and divisions
Under Singapore’s education system, what do you mean when you said that the foreign workers will be the innocent party in the riots?
Also, please elaborate on what you mean by “scapegoats”.
Foreign immigrants are popular among Singapore employers due to their willingness to work for long hours at low wages. Therefore, Singapore employers prefer to hire foreign immigrants due to this crucial factor.
Singaporeans are unhappy as they feel that it is the foreign immigrants have snatched away many of the job placements. Therefore, this has resulted in an increase in racial tensions of the Singaporeans towards the foreign immigrants.
This build up of racial tensions towards the foreign immigrants may result to a riot if the situation is not well addressed. Therefore, we have commented that the foreign immigrants were the innocent party as they were just coming to Singapore to work for the purpose of seeking a better standard of living and are willing to work for low wages even if it was for long hours.
Scapegoats have similar meaning to being an innocent party. Therefore, our group feel that since they are the innocent party, they are also the scapegoat as Singaporeans will feel that they are the ones who have caused their job placements to be reduced.
Ideologies and Political System
What is the evidence to prove that the whites are perceived as the superior race? It may be true in terms of their mindset. However, are you implying that the government encourages the citizens to be racist instead of promoting harmony among the races through their actions?
We are not saying that the Whites are superior, we agree like what you say it is in their mindset and thereby, it is perceived to be so.
In our previous slides on difference between Singapore and USA, we did mention that USA promotes racial harmony, however if you compare to what the Singapore government are doing it pales in comparison. For example, in Singapore if you verbally says racist things, you would be arrest, whereas in USA there is freedom of speech.
Also, when they do racial profiling, did they focus on the Iranians without any proofs or suspicions?
Yes, the investigation was done on anyone that came from Iraq, as the following extract proves.
“law enforcement officials focused special investigative efforts upon foreign nationals from middle eastern countries, often in disregard of any other factors warranting suspicion. In December, federal investigators began voluntary interviews with more than 5,000 young middle eastern men who entered the United States within the last two years from countries that were linked to terrorism. Federal officials have contacted administrators at more than two hundred colleges and universities to gain information about students from middle eastern countries.”
What about the case for Pearl Habour? It is stated in your slides but it is not mentioned or explained.
We are sorry that we did you get the chance to explain it due to time constraints.
Below is an extract of the racial profiling due to the incidence of the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
All Japanese were forced to leave California due to their nationality.
“Then, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, by January and February 1942, Attorney General Warren directed the preparation of maps showing all Japanese-owned lands in California, called upon the state's district attorneys to enforce the Alien Land Law against Japanese landowners, and said the presence of Japanese in California provided the opportunity for a repetition of Pearl Harbor. And by March he advocated the exclusion of all Japanese from within 200 miles of the California coast.” (Santa Clara Univeristy)
Then, you said that approximately 32 million Americans FELT that they were victims of racial profiling, is there any evidence to proof this point that those American WERE actually victims instead of their own assumption.
ReplyDeleteWe believe that FEELING discriminated is the same as BEING discriminated.
Discrimination is often spurned first by thoughts and as it gets worse it turns into action.
For example,A young African-American schoolteacher reports being routinely pulled over when she is in a car in his suburban neighborhood in San Carlos, California, where only five other African-American families live.
Does this means that she merely felt discriminated?
This figure was derived from “Racial Profiling in America: Racially Biased Policing: Determinants of Citizen Perceptions, George Washington University, Dept. of Sociology,Washington DC, 2004 (survey conducted in Dec. 2002).
For the case in Singapore, what do you mean by the point “act as an independent party”? Can you elaborate and explain?
Police office need to be independent to ensure that it does not affect them from making a realiable decision. This meant that their decision should not be affected prejudice or discrimination, for example even before investigation starts they should not assume that a particular race has commited the crime.
For the last comparison, what do you mean when you said that Singapore believes that racial harmony brings prosperity? How did it happen?
Singapore government adopted five statements as the nation's Shared Values on 15 January 1991.
Below is one of the statement.
“Racial and religious harmony: Recognises the need for different communities to live harmoniously with one another in order for all to prosper.”
Then, when you said that the USA, known as a global market leader, does not believe that cohesiveness of its people will affect its growth. What does it have to do that US is a global market leader?
ReplyDeleteA superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests. Thereby with this power, America does not have to count on cohesiveness as one of the factor to bring about growth of it country.
So do other countries, who are not known as global market leaders, believe in cohesiveness of its people then?
Most countries do believed in it. Like MM Lee's own pledge: 'Harmony is a base for stability, growth and progress.' For example, riots in country hurts tourism, reducing the country tourism income, this is similar to the situation of Thailand a few months ago.
How can the “World Ethnic Festival” allow Singaporeans to appreciate the other ethnic races better? How did it reinforce the importance of social cohesion?
The implementation of “World Ethnic Festival” can help Singaporeans to better appreciate other ethnic races as it will allow them to understand different ethnic group’s cultural and religious beliefs. As what was mentioned in our slides, the World Ethnic Festivals will showcase both local and foreign exhibits and performances. Therefore, allowing people to appreciate people of their different race or even their own race.
Therefore, as they learnt to appreciate other ethnic races, this will reinforce the importance of social cohesion as they will treat and respect each other better, as they now have a better appreciation towards the different races.
On the usage of the influential media, how did it help people to maintain a harmonious society, when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to? In this case, even if a website is created, how does it assure that people will even look at the site, let alone gain useful information? How does it “set them to think further”?
With regards to your question on influential media, it is important to keep in mind that our target audience are the primary school children. The usage of interactive games and videos will enhance their learning experience and arouse their curiosity. This will motivate the children to continue surfing this interactive website and play the games, or to look at the videos to gain a better understanding of the value behind the games and videos.
You mentioned that “when the internet is unable to force people to do what they do not want to”. It is important to keep in mind that in our presentation, we mentioned that the usage of the interactive websites will be implemented as part of their curriculum. Therefore, the teacher will act as an important role, to ensure that the students are doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteAs for the program that selects students to go the other students’ house from another ethnic group for two weeks, I feel that the period of time is too lengthy. From which level of education are you talking about? Is it Primary, secondary or others? Since the period is such a long time, there will definitely students who are not willing to go through with it even if they are selected. How then will it be solved? If those who are not willing are allowed to skip this program though, how will it improve the situation?
Whether the period of time is lengthy or not is a subjective issue. If the program were to be implemented on a one day basis, would the students be able to learn and meet the objectives that were set for this program? In our group’s opinion, 2 week is a suitable period of time for the program to take place. During the 2 weeks stay, students will definitely be able to learn more and meet the objectives of the program.
The target audience for this program will be the secondary school students.
Yes, there will definitely be students who are not interested to attend the program. However, please bear in mind that not all students in the school will be selected to undergo this program. Students who have volunteered or are recommended by their tutors or peers will undergo this special program.
There is a slide that says the program will help to overcome the communication barrier which I do not think is an issue due to the fact that Singapore has a common language among all the races which is English.
With regards to your question, the “program” refers to the implementation of one day educational tour for the foreigners. As what was mentioned in our presentation, this is one of the challenges that will be faced, not an advantage that it will overcome the communication barrier as what you have asked. My team-mate who was presenting, did not mentioned that this will HELP to OVERCOME COMMUNICATION BARRIERS. Instead, she mentioned that it will result in A LANGUAGE BARRIER.
I think you might have heard it wrongly, and therefore posted this question. We would advise you to listen to the presentation again, as each part is closely linked.
Lastly, please listen to our whole presentation carefully before posting any questions as each part is linked and please categorized them properly. Many of the questions that you posted is either addressed in our presentation if not it is being repeated or irrelevant.
All of us know that the topic on USA was acknowledged in class. However, what we touched on in class was in general but our presentation was mainly focusing in the Mid 1990s as told in our questions. At the same time, we feel that if you were listening attentively in class, there would not be some many questions being posted since you mention that “Your context has basically been what we have already learnt in class,”
And please reply to our questions that we had posted for your group since Saturday. Though we had to prepare for presentations tomorrow, we still tried our best in answering every single questions u had, despite it was being posted very last minute at 8p.m today.
For a lot of questions, you did not answer accordingly to our questions. Our questions are not as simple as how you answered to them, and there are still some doubts and questions even after your reply.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we will get back to you on those that are still unclear.
Also, if we did not pay attention in class, we would not dare to post questions as such in public, so please try to understand the depth of our questions before you judge. Thank you very much.
Do not worry about the reply to your questions. Our group has made sure that each of your question is properly answered before we post it because we seek in quality answering and asking of questions.
We will post everything to public after we have collaborated all our answers from the others, you don't have to worry because it will not take too long.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
I understand that more could be explained on the Latasha Incident and how it affected the overall conflict between the African Americans and Korean Americans. Hosting of “World Ethnic Festival” and International Day are suggestions that are mentioned in their suggestions but they are already in place in Singapore and in the form of events such as Racial Harmony Day and International Friendship Day as well. I feel that further improvements can be made on their suggestions towards avoiding the 2061 reality.
ReplyDeleteYi Hui, china
As to the term unfairly, how would you define unfair?
ReplyDeleteUnfair is defined as not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics. This definition was taken from Dictionary.com Below is the reference.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/UNFAIRLY
This is an example of how for a lot of questions, you did not answer accordingly to our questions.
It is not obvious that we are not asking questions that are so shallow?
If we were really asking for the definition of the word 'unfairly', we would take the time to search the definition of it from the web ourselves. It would not take up too much of our time anyway.
To make my question clearer, i am referring what you were presenting in your slide.
At 1:14,you said that:
"It is common for Blacks to be perceived as inferior in the eyes of whites, therefore treated unfairly. "
Why do you say that they are treated unfairly, which also means how do you define being treated unfairly? Meaning they are treated unfairly in what sense?
I believe that we are not intellectually challenged, definitely not to the extent whereby we do not even understand the meaning of what "unfair" means.
What we wanted to seek from you is the elaboration in terms of the unfairness.
We were hoping to learn something new and fresh from you through your explanation.
since you emphasized on your 89 slides so much, we were hoping to see more of the key points which could leave an impact on the readers of your presentation, so that we all learn more about racism.
However, good job girls. do check our replies at our web page.
Thank you.