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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