RACIAL PREJUDICE

By Kayla Lee 5A
While racial prejudice is still around today, it is not as prevalent as it was before. This
topic remains an extremely pressing issue, albeit we are progressing with activists and people
growing aware of the levels established on the social strata of our community. It is just now that
this racial awareness has been heightened to a whole new degree amongst people of colour all
around the world- what with social media being the number one influence in this matter. In our
world today, these people of colour have found their voices and are beginning to speak up about
issues of the past, bringing them to the front so others are able to see the racial disparity and
injustice that has been around since the mid-1900s. My only question is: why are we, as
Malaysians so afraid to confront this situation face-to-face, but are so eager to do it anonymously
on the platforms social media has provided us with today?
13 May 1969. This date brings us back to horrifying, yet eye-opening memories of the
bloodbath that was the destructive aftermath of a mere misunderstanding between the Malays
and Chinese. It is evident that we have come a long way since then; through education, public
awareness and even tolerance/unity between the races. However, although subdued, tension still
exists between these two communities in political parties where our political climate is fairly
unstable. Being a country primarily of diverse races, it is more difficult for us to all come to
terms with our political rights and perspectives, making the key factor to Malaysia's success rate
to be unity amongst all. This, I believe, is the reason why the 1Malaysia campaign is so fully
stressed on; to make our political environment stable and in turn, allowing Malaysia's successors
to focus on improving our economy and placing in the world.
The people of the United States seem to have the most widely known variations of racial
prejudice as their problems appear to be a magnitude larger than the rest of the world's what with
being put under a magnifying glass and scrutinised constantly by all other countries. The most
recent being the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, widely supported on social media, but in reality,
not so much. The uprising had been initiated when black men as well as women were being shot,
tasered or killed month after month for the most feeble excuses by white police forces. This had
obviously caused a riot as simultaneously, white American citizens were being released with no
charges for significantly more terrible crimes just because the same policemen didn't feel as
'threatened' by their fair skin like they had been with the dark-skinned 'criminals'.
Racial prejudice also exists in the lane of love and romance. In the past, this matter had
worsened to the point where mixed-race couples were shunned just for being together. To be
specific, Black and Asian couples were so ashamed of their romantic bonds as two people from
two very distinct racial backgrounds that the only place they felt safe taking pictures in were the
little cubicle photo booths, hidden from the public by a tiny curtain. It is no doubt that these
couples still feel wary, even if less so, by the criticism of the public eye. More so, a big portion
of parents who still hang on to past beliefs and misconceptions, struggle to accept their children
being wedded off to someone of a different race. This causes young couples to live in fear of
revealing their relationships to their parents when their partner is not of the same race. The
public discrimination remains clear as day even if some may not want to think of it as so because
hushed whispers and long uncomfortable stares can still be seen and heard in common places
like shopping malls where these partners are still hesitant to roam.
Many people tend to take racial prejudice as a joke. A fine example of this is when it's
directed at Asians; as we have quite a major population. Many people outside of the Asian
continent tend to group all Asians regardless of their countries of origin under the same category
which is Chinese when in fact we are all completely different in our culture, way of living and
the languages we speak. The Chinese race has been deemed as the common term 'Asian' and the
stereotypes following this matter are still used as jeers to this day. The old yet still fashioned 'All
Asians have to be smart' stereotype is aimed mostly at fair-skinned or mono-lidded Asians as
people assume all Asians to be this way based merely on appearance or speech. They fail to
realise that 'ching-chong' is in fact, not a Chinese word and that we all don't speak or look
Chinese. Asia is a big continent and the time when the rest of the world is able to acknowledge
that, is when all this unrighteous racial prejudice towards Asians can finally be resolved.
Upon stating all the unfairness and biased treatment that goes on in the world, I do take in
regard and salute all the activists and movement initiators that rise up against racial prejudice
today. The strong will and fire in their fight is admirably inspiring and carries us a step forward
into a future free of discrimination and instead full of peace, awareness, understanding and
tolerance. This topic should be open for discussion in the classroom as it is vital for us to
broaden our minds on how racial prejudice influences our lives. If future leaders for tomorrow's
generation are being protected from the racial prejudice in this world, then who's to say it will
ever stop?