With all the allegations, accusations, and even admissions of racism that is happenning in our country of late, isn’t it time that we all try to press the Pause button, sit back, and give the whole issue another serious thought? Name callings and deragotory remarks have been hurled by both parties in all cases. It is just that instead shouting it to the man standing across the street, it is now being said to the man attending public talks and also the one who’s sitting in front of a computer. Subtlety and snide hintings have lost their ways, and direct anger now seems to fuel everyone’s intent.

By referring to Wikipedia, racism, by its simplest definition, is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Let’s not go into enthnicity, since, well, here in Malaysia, we tend to have our own definitions which may or may not contradict with the United Nations’ definitions and policies. So let’s stick with the term “race” for the sake of discussion, shall we?

Now, if we take into context the definition above, then, our suddenly-famous blogger who was in the news lately, can, in fact, be considered a racist, as she had generalised Indians based on their traits and capacities. What some fail to question here is, whether is she the only bad apple in the whole box, OR, the stink has been there for a while, but it is only now that we are starting to smell it?

Politeness to others in society is merely social duty that everyone undertakes. True, one can assert that they celebrate another culture’s festivals together with friends and they wear each other’s traditional clothing. But, haven’t we still realised yet that man’s true self is presented upon the world at times of great emotional outbursts? You cannot know what is man’s innermost thoughts when he is having a jolly good day. But you will get a chance to have a glimpse of his true self when he is pushed to an edge.

SO, here, we know that racism does not, and can not happen in an instant. There has to be slow conditioning over the years for some person to have such beliefs. AND it blows over when you least expect it. Racism is not something that shows out every day. It happens in sudden outbursts, often with grudging emotions.

The point is to look at the conditioning. How many of us, can claim that we do know about all the other cultures as well as we do ours? I dare not to answer that. And how many of us can claim that we TRY, hard as it may be, to slowly learn by ourselves about other cultures? I dare say I do, as do most level-headed Malaysians out there. Where does the issue begin then? The direct culprit shall always be education. Education, inside classrooms and also outside them. Education from our schools and from our parents and from our friends.

Intra- and inter-cultural education is pivotal. Kids do not see each other in colours of the skin. All they see is another being to interact with and perhaps go play the see-saw in the playground later that evening. Racism is taught. Perhaps a better word for it would be “cultured”. Racism is cultured. In our case, I believe it is more indirect than direct. Our schools do not emphasize on the education of other cultures. True, we do learn about “honesty”, “respect” and “tolerance” in our textbooks, but are they enough? Are our younger generation at schools are being educated on the ancestory and the roots of all the cultures here? Forget about lame facts such as years and dates of events. If one is not proud to have known about his parentage, then how can he stand up to insults about his race? If one does not understand another’s culture, then how can one respect the other without being a ignorant fool?

If we were not educated, and we do not take the initiative to BE educated in this, we WILL be passing our traits to our children. And they to theirs. Thus, the cycle will never end. It is up to us to break free from the mould with our own initiative. Let’s hear your thoughts on the cause and possible solutions. Let’s all take the red pill, shall we?