Discrimination+in+a+First-World+Country?

The purpose is to build tolerance by showing how intolerance and discrimination can slowly grow from a simple thought, and can be extremely hard to get rid of.

In Singapore, discrimination and intolerance can be seen in many ways. Many of these are just views of people based on where they are from, and what they look like. These are seen in comments made by people, to actual advertisements, that can be considered legal. (Holmes and Mahtani) One example is the picture above. It is an advertisement for apartments in Singapore, for what is considered "upper class." It can be seen that it is requesting "No PRC, Indian and Malay." This is because of the views of these groups in Singapore. This is because that those racial groups, generally having recently immigrated work simple jobs. Because of this, these groups to locals are generally seen as less intelligent, less clean and as a lower social class, to be physically separated from the upper classes. Also, some ads say that "Japanese, Caucasian or Chinese" (Holmes and Mahtani) tenants are preferred, as they are seen as smarter and more acceptable.

Another example is the treatment of maids in Singapore. As they are immigrants, they are viewed the same way as above, but worse in some ways. "The 43 year old mother of two burned her maid's face with a heated iron, slapped her and threatened her at knife point." (Channel NewsAsia). This is an example of how maids were attacked, if they made small mistakes, and that this was because it was seen as acceptable to some families in Singapore. This also generally originated in the same ideas that they were worth less, because of where they are from.

Also, just in March, it was the first time that they passed a law that guaranteed maids one day off a week, something that was a given part of life to most people in Singapore. Giving their maid Sunday off was a personal decision, something my local friend and neighbor would do. However, it has taken a long time for government action to occur, and make it a right for maids to have Sundays off.

Also, there are some instances in what the government does that can be considered discriminatory, however these are generally old, or are due to certain laws, like required military service. Companies also have practiced in some similar policies, however it is either discriminating against foreigners, by requiring them to speak mandarin, or by employing foreigners only as they are considered "cheaper."

Citations: Channel NewsAsia. "Housewife gets 13 Months' Jail for Abusing Maid." Today. Media Corp. Press Ltd., 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .

"Ethnic discrimination in Singaporeâ€™s rental market." Asian Correspondent. Asian Correspondent, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .

Holmes, Sam, and Shibani Mahtani. "Discrimination Pervasive in Singapore Rental Market." WSJ Blogs. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. .

Hyslop, Leah. "Singaporeâ€™s foreign maids to get day off." Telegraph. N.p., 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

Nee, Seah Chiang. "Singapore Racism." Little Speck. N.p., 3 Oct. 2005. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. .

Seneviratne, Kalinga. "Can the Maid Have Boyfriends?." IPS Inter Press Service. IPS Inter Press Service, 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. .

Shamin, Muhammad. "Discrimination in Singapore is institutionalised." Singapore Democrats. N.p., 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .