Intolerance: Minority Group and Society Essay

Princess Diana once said, The greatest problem in the serviceman today is credulity. Every cardinal is so strict of each other. It is indeed neat that credulity is one of the greatest problems faced by the word today. superstition refers to lacking the capacity or willingness to recognize and respect the beliefs, practices or traits of others. In the past, there has been uncountable number of incidents of one cosmos disadvantage against a nonher respective(prenominal) who is unlike the majority of the population.For example, in the context of my participation, Singapore, intolerance has been displayed towards racial minorities, phantasmal minorities, single mothers, foreigners, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) community and many a(prenominal) other marginalized groups. whatsoever might argue that intolerance of these minority groups is little general in my golf club today as compargond to the past.However, I personally feel that intolerance is un sounded wide seen in my society today, repayable to the conservative nature of Singaporeans, globalisation and the progressively competitive Singaporean society. Some schools of thoughts argue that the intolerance towards those who ar disparate is bit by bit being rock-bottom today as there are greater opportunities for education that concord led to increasing integrating of community who are several(predicate).Education in Singapore advertises social integration among the different racial groups in Singapore. Schools in Singapore provide a common space for social integration not lone(prenominal) among locals from various ethnic groups, only also surrounded by the local and foreign students. Schools in Singapore also place material emphasis on Civics and Literacy education to inculcate respect and appreciation of different cultures in Singapore. For example, by dint of the celebration of Racial Harmony Day and planetary Friendship Day, students are able to apprecia te the different cultures of their peers better.Another scenery in which education has led to a reduction in intolerance is the alternative education pathway for children with specific needs. Special education programmes that furnish to these children aim to help them become independent and enable them to function surface in society. This is evident through the increasing number of social enterprises that provide to those who are physically or intellectually challenged. These mass gain not only a chance at being employed but also have a chance to interact with members of society on a more frequent basis, something which is not as common in the past.This is likely repayable to the developing particular(a) education sector in Singapore, which has seen success in familiar education and in helping children with special needs to integrate into mainstream society. Therefore, education has been a platform that has moved my society into a more tolerant one. Intolerance towards thos e who are different is gradually being reduced in my society, as there are increasingly more ground-up initiatives that have successfully raised awareness and understanding. Many non-g all overnmental organisations (NGOs) and spontaneous Welfare organisations (VWOs) or even individuals that have engaged in advocacy that sets out to raise public awareness about minority groups.Thus, prejudiced mindsets towards several minority groups in Singapore are gradually being eroded. An example of this is the Yellow Ribbon Project that started out in 2004, is create by CARE network Singapore, which aims to help ex-convicts reintegrate back into society. Inmates are encouraged to sign up for skill training courses so as to be able to take up more jobs after their prison house sentence. It was reported that by 2008, through awareness of the programme in Singapore, 560 new employers had registered with the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) to offer jobs to ex-offende rs.Though this may not yet reflect the mindset of the entire population towards ex-convicts, it signals an opening up of attitudes that are gaining speed. Therefore, intolerance is less preponderating in my society due to the efforts undertaken by various organisations to successfully raise awareness and understanding of the public towards these marginalized groups. While there are merits in the above arguments, it is too simple-minded for one to simply assume that with education and efforts by activist groups, intolerance towards those who are different are not as common as in the past.In fact, intolerance towards those who are different is still widely seen in Singapore today because of the fear of erosion of national set in this increasingly liberal-minded world, in turn driving us to promote our conservative beliefs with greater intensity. With globalisation, there has been an increasing influence of the Western Culture. receivable to the fear of erosion of traditional famil y set that are the foundation of social institutions such as the family, people are becoming more intolerant of changing values and remain conservative to ensure that these traditional values are not threatened by foreign cultures and values.In society to protect traditional values and social institutions, institutionalized discrimination towards trustworthy groups of people in society exists in the form of giving medication policies implemented. This reveals an involuntariness to accept those who may be different and accord them with equal rights. For example, in the case of Homosexuality, section 377A of the Penal Code criminalises acts of gross indecency amidst men in Singapore.The Womans Charter also does not recognize marriages that are not between men and woman in or outside of Singapore. The refusal of the establishment to recognize the legitimacy of homosexual marriages reveals an unwillingness to respect the range of sexual orientations that are different from the tra ditional ideal of sexual orientation the society may have. Another example is the go Dot rally on the 28 June 2014, which generated strong responses among Singaporeans. An Islamic spiritual teacher launched the Wear White Campaign in retaliation to the solicit Dot LGBTQ movement.The Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) supported this campaign whereby over 6,400 members of the church dressed in white to attend a special family worship service conducted by the church. This was done to protest the annual rap Dot rally with their Senior Pastor, Lawrence Khong, who tidy sums this movement as a chasten in moral and family values. Thus, this shows that despite the increasingly liberal and Western influenced world we live in, Singaporeans still remains a largely conservative society that is still strongly rooted to our traditional values.Therefore, intolerance is not only still largely prevalent but it has in fact escalate over the years. Next, into lerance towards those who are di fferent is still prevalent today because the change magnitude mobility in a b come inless world today has heightened the level of interaction amongst people from different cultures. Thus, increasing the incidence of cultural clashes. Globalisation has enabled greater mobility of people and there has been an increasing migration of people to live or work in foreign lands.With more foreigners entering the country, the chances of cultural clashes between the foreigners and localresidents rises, particularly when foreigners do not assimilate the local culture. An example of Singaporeans intolerance towards foreigners is evident through the Not In My Backyard movement. In 2008 when the government announced plans for an unused technical school at Serangoon Gardens to be converted into a dormitory for foreign construction workers, residents of the Serangoon Gardens housing estate responded with an online petition, which was sign(a) by 1,600 out of 4,000 households in the immediate vicin ity.They cited fears of threats to their security, the possibility of increased offensive activity in the area, and fears about maids hooking up with foreign workers as reasons to inclination the construction of the dormitory. Therefore these mindsets and prejudices towards foreigners in society reflect intolerance of those with different cultures from the local cultures in society. Lastly, in the competitive world today, the threat to ones livelihood has made intolerance of the different still prevalent in Singapore.Singapore is seen as a land of opportunities for migrants with skills. Many foreigners are attracted to work or settle in Singapore as they can buoy earn more in Singapore to improve their standards of living. However, many Singaporeans enamor the increase in the number of foreigners as a threat in terms of competition of jobs and living space.This has led to their discontentment with foreigners. An example of Singaporeans viewing migrant workers, as a threat to th eir livelihood is evident through a recent incident of the cancelation of the celebration of Philippines Independence Day lawsuit in Singapore. Organisers of a planned Philippines Independence Day celebration in Singapore on the 8 June 2014 decided to cancel the particular altogether, owe to difficulties in getting an alternative location for the event.The event was supposed to be held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, in Singapores shop district but this had stirred up much unhappiness among Singaporeans as they opposed to the choice of the venue. Some even threatened to resort to madness if the event were to take place. The organisers had to remove a Facebook page about the event after it dew hundreds of anti-Filipino comments. Through these actions and discontentment of Singaporeans towards such events further emphasizes the point that Singaporeans view these foreigners as threats to their lives and are thus unaccepting of the activities they carry out. Therefore, intolerance is s till prevalent in the Singapore society.In conclusion, despite efforts made by the government and various activist groups to promote inclusiveness and multiculturalism and reduce intolerance towards marginalized groups of society, intolerance is still widely seen in my society today. This observation is largely attributed to the fact that our fundamentally conservative Asian society skews our perception of tolerance in order to maintain its position of power.