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Fortunate are those who have not encountered discrimination anywhere! Actually, they might not be fortunate, they could just be delusional!
In the real world, discrimination takes place all the time and everywhere!
Are you good looking? If you are, you are lucky because you are assumed to be good in many other things even though you might not be. Well, would we rather be around good looking people or ugly people? Now, be honest.
Are you a man? If you are, you are lucky because in jobs which both sexes are able to take on, employers would favour men to women.
Why?
Men don't get pregnant. They don't have to take leave to give birth and take care of babies as a consequence.
Are you young? If you are, you are lucky because you have more mileage left in you than older people. Generally, employers prefer to have younger workers.
Are you well connected? If you are, you are lucky because who you know is more important than what you know! This is the bombshell!
There are probably many other ways in which people suffer discrimination: racial discrimination, religious discrimination, weight discrimination, class discrimination or even political affiliation discrimination!
If we are receiving the shorter end of the stick, of course, we can complain all we want about how unfair things are. However, the real world is never fair.
If we feel that we are a victim of discrimination, what can we do? Look for greener pastures, I suppose, as discrimination is probably hard to eliminate.
If we feel that we have been wrongfully dismissed, we could approach the Ministry of Manpower and here is the link:
Claims, Complaints and Appeals.
That discrimination exists in all its forms should be one of the first lessons we learn in life unless we do not live in the real world.
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Added (3 Feb 17):
Tea with AK71: Looking good.
Bloggy Award
14 comments:
Hi AK, personally I do feel for those who get discriminated because of illness or handicaps. Especially if they are in good mental health to carry out an office job as well as an able-bodied. In a competitive society, this has got to be the worst possible scenario to be caught in.
Hi Kyran,
Ah, yes, discrimination against the handicapped and the sick. While we are at it, I just thought of discrimination against sexual orientations and discrimination against ex-convicts.
Sometimes, we wonder if discrimination is necessary in certain instances which would mean that they are not always bad.
It is human nature to err and human nature to judge I guess...
Hi Kyran,
Indeed so. Well said.
So, we err, people judge. People err and we judge. Erring and judging all the time, our time is spent...
Men don't need maternity leave nor give birth. But Sillypore born guys, are punished with 2 years (was 2.5 previously if you can read & write well) of National Service and then 13 years of annual confinements. Only to be rewarded with upto $3000 tax relief (not cash ah).
The make up pay is no compensation for the lost of career advancement , which is 2 years vs the ladies, when we are still green. Plus those lost productivity time away from the office, in the next 13 years.
Not forgetting that the new citizens & their already in-existence kids, need not bear the same burdens.
Women to serve NS ? Need not be combat services. Even as medical persons in clinics & hospital will be acceptable. That has be debated till cows come home and hasn't happened yet.
Discriminated by the sexes, it's already in the law. What to do ?
Hi SnOOpy168,
Er... discrimination or duty? I am sure many Singaporean males share your point of view that is it discrimination but this is rather touchy a topic, isn't it? ;)
I was wondering whether to talk about this actually but, in the end, I decided to water down the blog post drastically. Yes, I am lying low what with a recent saga with some sleepy product from the bakeries, if you know what I mean. ;p
Hi AK,
Seldom people talk about positive discrimination, so let's start with me.
In the event of large scale disasters, those survivors would feel positively discriminated when all the rest of their loved ones are gone. They'll feel guilty and perhaps angry for having survived when all others did not.
In school, the term 'teacher's pet' is a case of being positively discriminated.
So, you're right. Impossible to eliminate discrimination, both negatively and positively.
Hi LP,
Thank you for this! You have certainly provided us with food for thought and I was thinking about your comment as I ate my lunch!
By the same token, could we say that relatives of LKY also suffer from positive discrimination? ;p
OK, just an innocent question. Please don't gazette my blog!
"positive discrimination", doesn't it sounded like "an honest lie" ? hahaha.
I am gonna cook my lunch now. Enjoy.
Hi SnOOpy168,
Does it? I am flummoxed!
Since the phrase is LP's baby, I will leave it to him to reply to you. (whew!)
Hi Snoopy n AK,
Well, I mentioned this because I'm a 'victim' of positive discrimination. The victim is not always someone who is in a worse off position. It could be the one in the better off position. Anyway, what's better or worse is subjective.
Imagine a celebrity who is so well known that they can't even go out to the streets in shorts and slippers without others pointing and gawking.
Food for thought the next time you feel negatively discriminated. If the pendulum swings the other way, I wonder if you'll feel the same too, haha :)
Hi LP,
Ah, I understand now. So, you were the "teacher's pet", I suppose? ;p
Hi Ak,
Haha, indeed I am... Nobody would work or play with me because of that. Oh well :)
Hi LP,
You remind me of Richie Rich, the poor little rich boy! :D
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