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https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156854708967223&id=648012222
Alicia Nicole Peter
8 hrs ·
So on Saturday night, something really unacceptable happened. It was about 4am. I just had supper with my bf at 333 Balestier (best Bak Kut Teh ever btw) and we jumped into this cab to head home.
It was a couple of minutes into the ride, and this jackass of a taxi driver rolled down his window. It was so subtle, I didn’t even catch it, but the bf did. He was like, “Why did you wind down the window?” Apparently, we smelt like curry, and so did the last 4 Indians that he picked up. And he went on to say how sometimes you need to leave the windows down for 30mins after to get rid of the smell. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. IS THIS GUY FOR REAL?
If you know me, you know that I smell of Ferragamo (because that’s my favourite perfume ever) and my bf just smells like responsibility and kindness (I kid you not), so this fool is talking out of his ass. WE JUST HAD BAK KUT TEH FOR SUPPER. So if there really was a smell at all, it’s really his own Bak Kut teh that he can’t stand.
Needless to say, I went off on the fella and blasted him for being a incredibly rude, racist and ignorant person. I was fuming.
The bf on the other hand, was trying to engage in a convo with him because he somehow still believes in “kill them with kindness” (I told you he’s too kind for his own good), which only made me even more frustrated, because this fella didn’t deserve an ounce of understanding or respect from us.
I thought it was important to share this incident with everyone, because lots of Singaporeans still insist that racism doesn’t exist in Singapore anymore. For the most part, I’ve been blessed with a very limited number of racist encounters, but that isn’t always the case for loved ones and friends of mine too. It happens.
I once had a best friend, back in JC. Her name was Audrey and she stayed a few blocks away from me. We used to do everything together. She used to come for my mum’s yoga class every week. We had the best of times till she started dating this Indian guy because of how popular and well-connected he was. It was only then these completely god-awful racist remarks kept on coming. It was always followed with a, “You’re different. You’re not that kind of Indian.” What does that even mean??? It got so bad that eventually I had to tell her that you can’t say that you love me, and in the same breath say all these awful things about Indians.
It was this same girl who went to Australia for a long holiday and came back so distraught because the Australians were so racist towards her. Karma is life’s greatest teacher, and I’m a strong believer that everything you give in life (be it good or bad) will eventually come back to you.
Anyway, I digress from the point I wanted to make when I started writing this post. The point, was to let people know that that there are still ignorant people out there that need to be educated. Racism is not dead. If you’re reading this, you’re my friend in some capacity, and as my friend, this is a favour that I ask of you.
When you encounter a racist person cracking a racist joke or making a rude comment, don’t laugh at it, don’t encourage it, and don’t keep quiet about it. Let them know how wrong they are, make them feel bad about it, make them put themselves in the shoes of the person they are insulting, and reflect on how they would feel in a different time and place if they were on the receiving end of such treatment. There is little hope with the older generation who have grown up with these prejudices their whole lives, but our generation should strive to be so very much better. Don’t crack jokes about minorities in front of your children, don’t say idiotic things to your kids like, “If you don’t behave yourself the Indian man will come and catch you”. You make the kids scared of the Indian man they pass in the street even before they’ve ever had a chance to interact with him. Don’t make fun of their names. Just be a decent human, and teach your kids to grow up colourblind. That is what I plan to do with my kids, and I pray that you do the same with yours.
Here’s the license plate of the taxi we took the other day. SH9850L. We’ll be sure to write in a complaint to Comfort.
As Ellen says at the end of every show of hers (one of the reasons why I love her), “Be kind to one another”. Black, brown, yellow, green, blue, grey, lesbian, gay, straight, trans, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, we’re all the same. Skin is just skin, religion is just religion, sexual orientation is just sexual orientation. No one should ever have to suffer for being who they are, and for being proud of it.
Only love, no hate.
Alicia Nicole Peter
8 hrs ·
So on Saturday night, something really unacceptable happened. It was about 4am. I just had supper with my bf at 333 Balestier (best Bak Kut Teh ever btw) and we jumped into this cab to head home.
It was a couple of minutes into the ride, and this jackass of a taxi driver rolled down his window. It was so subtle, I didn’t even catch it, but the bf did. He was like, “Why did you wind down the window?” Apparently, we smelt like curry, and so did the last 4 Indians that he picked up. And he went on to say how sometimes you need to leave the windows down for 30mins after to get rid of the smell. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. IS THIS GUY FOR REAL?
If you know me, you know that I smell of Ferragamo (because that’s my favourite perfume ever) and my bf just smells like responsibility and kindness (I kid you not), so this fool is talking out of his ass. WE JUST HAD BAK KUT TEH FOR SUPPER. So if there really was a smell at all, it’s really his own Bak Kut teh that he can’t stand.
Needless to say, I went off on the fella and blasted him for being a incredibly rude, racist and ignorant person. I was fuming.
The bf on the other hand, was trying to engage in a convo with him because he somehow still believes in “kill them with kindness” (I told you he’s too kind for his own good), which only made me even more frustrated, because this fella didn’t deserve an ounce of understanding or respect from us.
I thought it was important to share this incident with everyone, because lots of Singaporeans still insist that racism doesn’t exist in Singapore anymore. For the most part, I’ve been blessed with a very limited number of racist encounters, but that isn’t always the case for loved ones and friends of mine too. It happens.
I once had a best friend, back in JC. Her name was Audrey and she stayed a few blocks away from me. We used to do everything together. She used to come for my mum’s yoga class every week. We had the best of times till she started dating this Indian guy because of how popular and well-connected he was. It was only then these completely god-awful racist remarks kept on coming. It was always followed with a, “You’re different. You’re not that kind of Indian.” What does that even mean??? It got so bad that eventually I had to tell her that you can’t say that you love me, and in the same breath say all these awful things about Indians.
It was this same girl who went to Australia for a long holiday and came back so distraught because the Australians were so racist towards her. Karma is life’s greatest teacher, and I’m a strong believer that everything you give in life (be it good or bad) will eventually come back to you.
Anyway, I digress from the point I wanted to make when I started writing this post. The point, was to let people know that that there are still ignorant people out there that need to be educated. Racism is not dead. If you’re reading this, you’re my friend in some capacity, and as my friend, this is a favour that I ask of you.
When you encounter a racist person cracking a racist joke or making a rude comment, don’t laugh at it, don’t encourage it, and don’t keep quiet about it. Let them know how wrong they are, make them feel bad about it, make them put themselves in the shoes of the person they are insulting, and reflect on how they would feel in a different time and place if they were on the receiving end of such treatment. There is little hope with the older generation who have grown up with these prejudices their whole lives, but our generation should strive to be so very much better. Don’t crack jokes about minorities in front of your children, don’t say idiotic things to your kids like, “If you don’t behave yourself the Indian man will come and catch you”. You make the kids scared of the Indian man they pass in the street even before they’ve ever had a chance to interact with him. Don’t make fun of their names. Just be a decent human, and teach your kids to grow up colourblind. That is what I plan to do with my kids, and I pray that you do the same with yours.
Here’s the license plate of the taxi we took the other day. SH9850L. We’ll be sure to write in a complaint to Comfort.
As Ellen says at the end of every show of hers (one of the reasons why I love her), “Be kind to one another”. Black, brown, yellow, green, blue, grey, lesbian, gay, straight, trans, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, we’re all the same. Skin is just skin, religion is just religion, sexual orientation is just sexual orientation. No one should ever have to suffer for being who they are, and for being proud of it.
Only love, no hate.
