In communications, we ought to not only to hear, but to listen. We ought to listen in the capacity of a person who is an empty vessel (in a good way), unopinionated, and open to the ideas and views given by others. Most of us listen, but we continue to hold onto the rigid and comfortable predispositions we were socialised into. These are the very barriers to listening, and we end up not listening at all, despite believing that we are listening. We need some level of humility, and a large stomach to contain that pride, momentarily.
Some time last year there were many issues and articles written in regards to Homosexuality in Singapore, so much so that it has gotten me to empathise with sexual minorities in our country. This is certainly not because I have gay or lesbian friends (I do and I assure you most of them make great pals), but how I see myself in my social environment.
Ask yourselves this. During circumstances when you happen to see two men/women engaging themselves in intimacy, say one of those lip-locks or bodies molded together, what's the first thought that comes to your mind? "Ew," isn't it? I'm rather sure you would find the idea of two people of the same sex doing it inherently disquieting.
I believe that minorities deserve to be understood better. The only way for minorities to be understood is for those in privileged positions to momentarily leave their positions and attempt to comprehend the realities that minorities confront. Here's another example, our society has done a lot through the Yellow Ribbon project to integrate ex-convicts back into society, but there is still a lingering stereotypification and stigmatism of ex-convicts. Society has structures, no doubt, but structures are not rigid in the long run. Things change, structures remain the same because of people in power having maintained or expanded their power, because of people in privileged positions having maintained or elevated their positions.
To further elaborate on this, do any of you recall one of the Yellow Ribbon commercials which was aired all over Singapore many years ago? Unfortunately, I have attempted searching for the video but alas to no avail.
But if you do remember its content, then you would probably remember well that in it, you would see that the commercial starts off with a young woman cautiously watching a suspicious-looking tattooed man making his way towards an innocent little girl from the inside of her car. As he proceeds to take the child by the hand and walk on down the street with her by his side, the woman begins to express evident anxiousness and worry for the girl's safety. But as she continues looking on with a wary eye, both the man and the little girl eventually greet a waiting lady with warm smiles and hugs, who happens to be her mother. It was then that the young woman in the vehicle had realized she made an error in her judgement for she had mistaken the tattooed man to be someone 'dangerous' when in truth, he was the father.
So we see here how our perceptions are easily influenced by physical elements - what information our eyes or ears can actually take in, how our brains process it. According to Brian J. Reyolds, he reckons that one of the most telling indicators that we act according to perception, which is malleable, rather than on facts and incontrovertible evidence is how often we make mistakes. A problem lies in our perceptions of people, in this case ex-convicts and homosexuals, most of which are fed by misinformation, dated information and irrational fears harboured by things that surround us.
We are all minorities in some way or another and it is not our choosing most of the time. Who wants to be a minority anyway? To be criticised, ostracised, stigmatised, technicised, discriminated, and so on? But on the other hand, since one is a minority, should one equally deserve the right and space to be proud of one’s identity?
Many a time I have wondered, how far does mass media go in influencing our perceptions of society today and how concerned should we be at the discrimination and misrepresentation of minority groups within the media?
Some time last year there were many issues and articles written in regards to Homosexuality in Singapore, so much so that it has gotten me to empathise with sexual minorities in our country. This is certainly not because I have gay or lesbian friends (I do and I assure you most of them make great pals), but how I see myself in my social environment.Ask yourselves this. During circumstances when you happen to see two men/women engaging themselves in intimacy, say one of those lip-locks or bodies molded together, what's the first thought that comes to your mind? "Ew," isn't it? I'm rather sure you would find the idea of two people of the same sex doing it inherently disquieting.
I believe that minorities deserve to be understood better. The only way for minorities to be understood is for those in privileged positions to momentarily leave their positions and attempt to comprehend the realities that minorities confront. Here's another example, our society has done a lot through the Yellow Ribbon project to integrate ex-convicts back into society, but there is still a lingering stereotypification and stigmatism of ex-convicts. Society has structures, no doubt, but structures are not rigid in the long run. Things change, structures remain the same because of people in power having maintained or expanded their power, because of people in privileged positions having maintained or elevated their positions.
To further elaborate on this, do any of you recall one of the Yellow Ribbon commercials which was aired all over Singapore many years ago? Unfortunately, I have attempted searching for the video but alas to no avail.But if you do remember its content, then you would probably remember well that in it, you would see that the commercial starts off with a young woman cautiously watching a suspicious-looking tattooed man making his way towards an innocent little girl from the inside of her car. As he proceeds to take the child by the hand and walk on down the street with her by his side, the woman begins to express evident anxiousness and worry for the girl's safety. But as she continues looking on with a wary eye, both the man and the little girl eventually greet a waiting lady with warm smiles and hugs, who happens to be her mother. It was then that the young woman in the vehicle had realized she made an error in her judgement for she had mistaken the tattooed man to be someone 'dangerous' when in truth, he was the father.
So we see here how our perceptions are easily influenced by physical elements - what information our eyes or ears can actually take in, how our brains process it. According to Brian J. Reyolds, he reckons that one of the most telling indicators that we act according to perception, which is malleable, rather than on facts and incontrovertible evidence is how often we make mistakes. A problem lies in our perceptions of people, in this case ex-convicts and homosexuals, most of which are fed by misinformation, dated information and irrational fears harboured by things that surround us.
We are all minorities in some way or another and it is not our choosing most of the time. Who wants to be a minority anyway? To be criticised, ostracised, stigmatised, technicised, discriminated, and so on? But on the other hand, since one is a minority, should one equally deserve the right and space to be proud of one’s identity?
Many a time I have wondered, how far does mass media go in influencing our perceptions of society today and how concerned should we be at the discrimination and misrepresentation of minority groups within the media?
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7 comments:
I think that in this mordern world, we are indeed influenced by the media. If a child watches violence on television, he/she will start to believe that killing and harming people are "ok". Many times, perception is influenced by the people you interact with and the social norms. at any place, minority people are always at the disadvantage but the singaporean government is trying many ways to curb the discrimaination of the minority.
I too have good, true, friends who happen to be either gay or lesbian. That's totally ok with me and I'm not a homophobe. I do agree, they are very misunderstood as a community and should be given more room to breathe.
However, to play devil's advocate, ultimately we realise that Singapore is indeed a conservative asian society and asian culture being as such, homosexuality is frowned upon. Not too recently, there was this debate with some MPs actually coming out and supporting the notion to legalise sexual intimacy for gays. Our Prime Minister did finally end the debate with one of the reasons being strong cultural influences.
Having that said, I do really know what you're talking about regarding the tatooed daddy and the daughter. I thought that the advert was a strong message sent out against stereotyping. There was also another one with this mean looking, bald, tatooed guy sharpening a knife and instead turns out he was not going to stab this fat, chinese man but rather he was carving a melon.
Totally concur with that Alson :) I have gay friends too and they are a nice bunch and its just sad that the more open ones (eg, holding hands in public, etc.)get frowned upon. We are all human are we not and as someone important once mentioned. We should keep an open mind on things and not judge hastily and jump to conclsions.
As for the yellow ribbon ad, i am sure all of us at some point or another have misjudged someone based on appeareances and after getting to know him/her better felt otherwise. As cruel as it is, this world can be very superficial. So for all of us out there who are not that superficial (i am so going to be flamed for this) do take a step back and get to know that person better before judging him/her too much.
First and foremost, I'll like to say that this is a well evaluated article. I fully agree that our perceptions are easily deceived or influenced by what we see and hear, which is why we often jump to conclusions. It is also difficult to change how and what people think or perceive, we are humans after all.
I can still remember during the 1990s in Singapore, intimate acts in the public has also been seen as a disgrace. However, Singaporeans are now more open-minded and have learnt to accept the norm. We are after all conservative Asians, it might take a longer time for us to fully accept homosexuality.
Similarly for ex-convicts, although many wanted to give them a second chance, employers are still wary of them. When it comes to money or the company's reputation, bosses definitely have to consider what is at stake if he employs an ex-convict. I do believe that they should be given a second chance since no one is perfect. Even those with clean background and records might get involved in thefts, etc.
Okay okay. Devil's advocate part 2. While we generally agree and understand the point from which these ex-convicts come from, and understand that they should be given second chances, we do have to remember a few things.
If you've read Xiaxue's blog (not that i'm endorsing that as a good read) but she brings up a valid point. She mentions that some people, even though finishing their prison sentences, and in some cases, early released due to good behaviour, go on to commit more serious and worse crimes.
Take for example these stats:
(Source: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#sex AND WIKIPEDIA)
An estimated 24% of those serving time for rape and 19% of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were in State prison in 1991.
Of the 9,691 male sex offenders released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, 5.3% were rearrested for a new sex crime within 3 years of release.
Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.
While we do generally agree that ex-convicts should be given a second chance, these stats (and we're just talking about sex offenders alone. Not kidnappers, cheats, robbers and such) do explain why many people are very, very reluctant to bother hiring ex-cons again.
personally, alson, i strongly believe that sex offenders are one of the WORST criminals ever graced our human earth.
to clarify, i am still taking a firm stand about giving second chances to ex-convicts. however, the ones that i was refering to in my entry are simply those who have allegedly committed LESS serious criminal activities compared to rape, molest or murder.
i, for one, know of one person, one of whom is considered very dear to me, who have obviously broken the law not once but TWICE. Though it had been his mistake, he did it out of the goodness of his heart in order to protect another. People like him deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt that they have indeed changed for the better.
Mass media is just that: Mass Media. The way I understand it, only news/general information programs have an obligation to present information accurately. In almost any other kind of program or publication, it is fair to say that reality can be altered. People print, publish, shoot and film what the public wants to see; thus it is more easily believable. The public takes this in easily as they subconsciously expect this already; easier on the ear, and eyes.
You’re half right to say there is discrimination and misrepresentation within the media of the minority. Concerning the Yellow Ribbon Project, the ad implies that we should be quick to judge ex-convicts, or stereotype tattooed individuals for that matter. However, it does not say what these individual are doing currently to support themselves. Many of them turn back to crime.
Of course there are those few who set sterling examples, and are glorified in the mass media. But how few of them actually make it? And why won’t these individuals get government jobs? Even in the SAF, men must declare if they were homosexuals. Doubtless being a convict of homosexual means one would not get very far in this line.
The mass media may influence thousands, but not the government. Discrimination starts at the top, and that is why there is still a “lingering stereotypification and stigmatism” of homosexuals and x convicts.
If only the mass media mass media-ed this.
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