Dear Editors of Lianhe Zaobao,
We are writing as scholars and academics of Singapore to express our collective dismay at the editorial “Expand public space to promote racial harmony (扩展公共空间促进种族和谐)” published on Wednesday, 9th June 2021 (English translation here). It is true that recent racist incidents in Singapore demand our urgent attention, as you have noted. However, we are concerned about the counterproductive way in which Zaobao has characterised the problem of racism in Singapore. The piece ignores the dynamics of structural racism and the longer history of racial stereotyping in Singapore, of which the recent incidents are a particularly grave manifestation.
Instead, the editorial blames recent racist incidents on the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the sensationalism of social media, and the import of “foreign ideas (外来思潮)” such as Critical Race Theory. It is true that feelings of uncertainty heighten intergroup tensions, and that conversations on social media can be polarising. However, the editorial uses these arguments to suggest that recent racist incidents are an anomaly in an otherwise racially harmonious society, and that social media exaggerates what are otherwise exceptional acts by unusually racist individuals.
By contrast, we believe that the pandemic and social media have simply revealed long-standing fissures and the everyday discrimination experienced by racial minorities in Singapore. The recent incidents invite us to examine how racism exists not just in individual psychology, but also in our social structures – for instance in language requirements in hiring, or in racial discrimination in the housing rental market. This structural understanding of how racial inequality is perpetuated is something that Critical Race Theory (CRT) – among other perspectives elaborated by authors in Singapore and elsewhere – can offer.
Unfortunately, the paper misrepresents CRT as “promoting hatred of white people (鼓吹仇视白人)” in the United States, and by extension, of Chinese people in Singapore. This argument that CRT promotes hatred against any group of people is indefensible. It is typically made by far-right commentators in the United States who do not engage with the actual writings and concepts of CRT, and it is not befitting of a major newspaper of record such as Lianhe Zaobao to parrot such claims.
More at https://tinyurI.com/etkp8wfu
We are writing as scholars and academics of Singapore to express our collective dismay at the editorial “Expand public space to promote racial harmony (扩展公共空间促进种族和谐)” published on Wednesday, 9th June 2021 (English translation here). It is true that recent racist incidents in Singapore demand our urgent attention, as you have noted. However, we are concerned about the counterproductive way in which Zaobao has characterised the problem of racism in Singapore. The piece ignores the dynamics of structural racism and the longer history of racial stereotyping in Singapore, of which the recent incidents are a particularly grave manifestation.
Instead, the editorial blames recent racist incidents on the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the sensationalism of social media, and the import of “foreign ideas (外来思潮)” such as Critical Race Theory. It is true that feelings of uncertainty heighten intergroup tensions, and that conversations on social media can be polarising. However, the editorial uses these arguments to suggest that recent racist incidents are an anomaly in an otherwise racially harmonious society, and that social media exaggerates what are otherwise exceptional acts by unusually racist individuals.
By contrast, we believe that the pandemic and social media have simply revealed long-standing fissures and the everyday discrimination experienced by racial minorities in Singapore. The recent incidents invite us to examine how racism exists not just in individual psychology, but also in our social structures – for instance in language requirements in hiring, or in racial discrimination in the housing rental market. This structural understanding of how racial inequality is perpetuated is something that Critical Race Theory (CRT) – among other perspectives elaborated by authors in Singapore and elsewhere – can offer.
Unfortunately, the paper misrepresents CRT as “promoting hatred of white people (鼓吹仇视白人)” in the United States, and by extension, of Chinese people in Singapore. This argument that CRT promotes hatred against any group of people is indefensible. It is typically made by far-right commentators in the United States who do not engage with the actual writings and concepts of CRT, and it is not befitting of a major newspaper of record such as Lianhe Zaobao to parrot such claims.
More at https://tinyurI.com/etkp8wfu
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