A comment about oranges sparks an intense discussion in S'pore about racism and privilege

0 to 100 real quick.

Nyi Nyi Thet | January 31, 2017, 04:19 PM

This is something that happened on Twitter over the Chinese New Year (CNY) weekend.

Oranges

A non-Chinese Twitter user tweeted a post calling out the lack of shops operating in malls during CNY.

Here is her tweet.

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The tweet went quite viral, garnering over a thousand retweets.

But within that spectrum, there was also a considerable amount of backlash to the tweet.

Perhaps the one that stood out the most for sheer shock value was this.

chinese 3

Yikes.

Disclaimer

Before we go onto the firestorm on social media, it is important to note that for this issue, as with most seemingly trivial issues, there were people that saw the absurdity of the situation.

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But now on to the whole hullabaloo.

Firestorm

After a prolonged bout of name calling, The Local Rebel joined in.

According to their Facebook page, they are a Singapore based "intersectional feminists zine", who "fight for equality and aim to educate & empower the local youths".

They took issue with accessibility in Singapore, specifically, the lack of food options for minorities, especially during holidays like CNY.

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It is to be noted that the abundant food in Chinese households is also probably due to them stocking up before the festivities and shop closures began, food don't just magically appear in Chinese households during CNY.

But we digress.

Counterpoint

That train of thought led to many Twitter users calling them out on what they deemed to be somewhat of a reach.

One of the more thought out response came from a Twitter user called Gordon.

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The note basically acknowledges the difficulties that come with the mass closing of shops.

But warns against the dangers of painting that inconvenience as systemic oppression based on factors such as race.

Apples and oranges

So who's right?

*Gigantic shrug of ignorance*

Luckily, the fundamental grasp of reality seems to be consistent for both sides.

Both acknowledge the reality of more shops closing during CNY than other holidays commonly associated with minorities.

They differ on the cause of it.

One considers that reality a result of systematic structures borne out of a prolonged rule of a racial majority.

The other considers it an inevitable side effect due to the demographics of Singapore, and denies it is due to oppression.

But the issue is far more nuanced than a single line or 2 broad sides can effectively define.

So instead, why not draw lines on idiocy instead?

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This girl deserves all the medals.

 

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