Discrimination lives within everyone

Discrimination is only one of the many social problems that is affecting our society today. What is discrimination? Discrimination is the treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person or a thing based on the group, class or category in which that person or thing is perceived to belong rather than on individual merit. Sadly, this act of prejudice has been instilled in us since we were young. Before we even start our schooling years, we would have been told by our parents who to be friends with and who to avoid based on superficial reasons such as race, religion, appearances and so on.

Discriminatory behaviours take on many forms, but all involves a certain amount and form of rejection and exclusion. One of the many forms of discrimination is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination differentiates individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences. This form of discrimination has repeatedly and continuously tainted the history of men. As early as 1866, the Civil Rights Act in the United States provided a remedy for intentional race discrimination in employment by private employers and state and local public employers. Even in our own country which houses many races, where unity between the different races is essential for the country’s and its’ citizen’s well being, act of prejudice against others based on race can be felt and seen in our society today. In schools, the students usually sit together and mix with other students of their own race. Most of them do not bother to mix with other races and learn about their culture and their ways.

Another popular form of discrimination is gender discrimination. This form of discrimination is most commonly seen in workplaces. An example of this is the glass ceiling in the United States. This is where women are often held down in the work place never advancing past a certain point. Gender discrimination is also common in our country despite the National Women’s Policy. It has become the mindset of the employers to as an expense because they take days off for children and need time off for maternity leave. Women are also stereotyped as more emotional in contrast with men, which therefore leads to irrational thinking. Besides that, they claim women do not possess the physical strength and the logical thinking to perform certain jobs which are perceived as male profession. Most women are being held down in male dominated professions, men often rise quickly to positions of authority in fields and are pushed forward into management positions, even surpassing women who have been at the job longer and with more experience in the field. In a nutshell, males are perceived to be more superior than women.

To conclude, whether we admit it or not, discrimination lives within everyone. There are many forms of discrimination other than the two stated above. This act of prejudice and stereotyping people of a certain perceived group has spread like a disease around the world. These people are constantly expected to conform to the norms of society. If they can do so, why can’t we do the same? Accept their differences, learn from them and accept everyone as equals. There is no individual superior to another. Everyone of us is unique in our own way. We must learn to embrace that fact quickly in hope that discrimination will be forever exiled from our society.

Entry for 11/6/12 to 24/6/12

       Well, holidays are over. School's started and I got all my marks back. I'm not proud to say that I didn't do well. I could have done much better. I got only 5As, 5Bs and a C.*sigh*Well, I shouldn't be surprised since I only started studying history two weeks before the exam and a day or two before for the other subjects. Hopefully I will do better for my trials. Other than that, everything else is pretty ok. For English, I was assigned a book entitled 'Rebecca' to read. Just last Tuesday, my whole class got to watch 'Freedom Writers' in the bilik tayangan. It was a very interesting movie as it touches on discrimination and other social problems in our modern society today.

       This Sunday morning I was suppose to go for the E-thon in my school to help out the Science and Maths Society with the face painting stall. The Form 3s planned to set up a face painting stall and a haunted house but in the end it didn't work out for reasons I don't want to know. So, I spent my day with my parents and grandparents in 1Utama. I had the opportunity to watch part of the Charms Cheerleading Championship. There were quite a number of teams there such as the Stompers, Vulcans, Angel, Cyrens and our very own Mickeymitez. Not sure whether the Dynamitez were there. Couldn't stay and watch for very long. Ok, I better sleep soon, after I finish watching an episode of Charmed. I bought Season 1 just last Saturday and I am hooked! I love this show so much!

Entry for 4/6/12 to 9/6/12

This week was pretty much the same as last week. I did my friendship bracelets, the beaded animals, read my new storybooks, my chores around the shop and teach. On Thursday though, I went to Susan's shop at the Curve to give my birds and do more birds. I bought two more storybooks at Borders. My parents decided to go up to Penang so yesterday, my parents and I left the house at 7.00a.m. and reached Penang around noon. My parents are staying at Tanjung Bungah Hotel and I am staying at my cousin's place. Usually, I would have  no time to do my homework when I am at my cousin's place as she'll keep me busy with her endless talking about school, her stories, animation she has created using a programme called 'Scratch' and stuff she finds online. She is such a talkative person, in a good way. She is also so full of energy. Today, she has to go to school to finish up her robotics project with her friends for a competition so her I am, updating my blog with her puppy, Nutmeg, giving my feet a tongue bath. I'll be leaving Penang tomorrow as it's the last day of holiday.*sigh*I am not really looking forward to my exam results. The second week of exams was really a very bad week for me. That is it for now I guess.

Entry for 28/5/12 to 3/6/12

It's the holidays! Finally, after three horrible weeks of exams. I still have to wake up early though and follow my mum to the shop. There I have to help clean in addition to all my other chores and teaching students as we are clearing up the storeroom. It was not fun at all. On Thursday, my friends came over to do the beaded animals. I learned how to make a bird that day. It was really fun but tedious. All of them loved Tubby(my dog) especially Susan. When we were having our lunch, he kept looking at them with his big eyes, begging them to feed him. He is such a greedy dog. On Saturday, I went to 1 Utama with my dad to watch Men In Black 3. Oh, I also bought two new story books right after exam. Well, that's it for now. Sorry for the randomness, nothing much to talk about this holiday.

Letter to the editor

Dear editor,

      As a proud citizen of Malaysia, I have unfortunately come across many Malaysians who blatantly do not care for their country and this is obviously seen through their behaviour and inconsiderate acts in public.

      Firstly, many Malaysian smokers do not have the decency to smoke in an enclosed area or at least away from people. I'm sure many restaurants provide a section in the premise for smokers so as to not bring discomfort to non-smokers. Not only does the smoke and chemicals in the cigarette affect the smoker but it affects the people around the smoker as well, thus the term passive smoker. Besides that, I'm sure many of you agree that the smell of a lighted cigarette is horrible. Just the other day, I was walking in a shopping complex with my parents when we walked by a smoker and that idiot just blew the smoke at my face! Well..not directly at my face since I am vertically challenged. The smoke was above my head and I could still smell it. Before I could say anything to that person, he sprinted off in the other direction and threw the cigarette butt on the floor.

      In addition to that, Malaysians like to litter. They throw their rubbish everywhere, on the floor, in the drain except the dustbin. I often see a large pile or a mountain of rubbish bags in the alleyway containing all sorts of trash from plastic bottles to tin cans. Most of the time, the garbage is not disposed off properly therefore making the whole area smell and the air becomes difficult to breathe. Not only that, people like to throw their used tissues or candy wrappers by the roadside or in the middle of the road. Sometimes, I see roads, especially roads near coffee shops and restaurants, strewn with rubbish. It is such a gruesome sight.

     Last but not least, Malaysians have many bad habits when it comes to queuing up at counters. Just three days ago, I was at McDonald's with my friend to buy our lunch. After ordering, we waited at the side for our food. The lady after us was not that considerate. She just stood there after ordering her food, hogging up the queue, waiting for her food until the cashier had to tell her to wait at the side. Since there many people that day, a lot of us had to wait at the side at the same time. There wasn't much space but the lady waited beside us instead of behind us and kept grabbing her french fries when it was placed on her tray. Her bag kept bumping into me and my friend and I were literally pinned to the wall until our food came.

    It is people like this that causes foreigners to look down upon us. Day by day, our country is becoming such a discomfort to live in. Malaysia is such a beautiful country filled with multitudes of culture. Nowadays, is so hard to believe that Malaysia has an interesting and beautiful culture because of the behaviour and inconsiderate acts of most Malaysians. I hope that these people will change their ways so all of us can live in harmony and in peace.

Sincerly,
Frustrated and angered citizen.