[Final] Essay

Online Racism towards the minority races in Singapore

With the widespread use of social media, people are increasingly expressing their opinions publicly online. Some of these opinions lack respect and sensitivity, especially when they become racist. Racist commentary about minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of social media are not being heavily monitored by the Media Development Authority (MDA). Racism is the idea or belief that characteristics and abilities are attributed to people on the basis of their race, and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that the Singaporean government wants to preserve. The internet provides a platform for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012). This problem may be tackled if MDA can collaborate with social media agencies like SMC4 to automatically remove racist comments or block users who use the social media irresponsibly. The Ministry of Education in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on educating students about online racism.  

An example of an irresponsible use of social media is when Ms Amy Cheong posted a profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job as Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). For racism in Singapore, a law was introduced by the Singapore Legislative Council. According to Chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN), anyone that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. The punishment Cheong received from the police and law was deemed insufficient to compensate for her irresponsible actions, which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not many follow-ups on the consequences she faced, which might have given people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. As a result, the internet regulations addressing racism in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth (Yip, 2013). MDA can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. In order to tackle this issue, MDA can work with social media agencies such as Facebook as well as SMC4 that provides protection against social media abuse and brand damage. SMC4 instantly removes inappropriate online commentaries, including profanity, racism and sexist posted on social media platforms (SMC4, 2015). SMC4’s protection may help to reduce the increasing number of racist commentaries in Singapore. Singaporeans or Media Development Authority need not have to go through the hassle of filtering the internet or reporting any irresponsible users as the racist comments will be removed immediately. If malicious users persistently attempt to post racist commentaries, Facebook has the authority to remove them (Facebook, 2015).

Since the law has been insufficient to curb the problem of online racism in Singapore, another possible solution is that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should continue to urge schools to stress on educating students about the responsible use of internet focusing towards online racism in social media. During the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference, Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education addressed the potential risks of Internet despite its opportunities for learning especially for students who are active participants of the cyber space. She also continued with the importance of peer education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Cyber wellness, 2014). This initiative should be carried on as it is easier and will be more effective to approach students via their peers who belong to the same age group (Briggs, 2013). Schools can also design talks or quizzes to get an idea of how much do the students know about online racism on social media.

This approach is meant for an early prevention. It is imperative to start educating people on internet ethics when they are of a young age as they have the ability to remember and apply it for the rest of their lives (Garrett, 2003). There have been cases of online racism such as the case on two 17 year old youths who were arrested for posting racist remarks on their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts (Singapore Police Force, 2012). Schools can use real life cases to illustrate the impact of online racism on the society as well as the consequences of the irresponsible use of social media. Schools can also work together with parents to educate their children about online racism at home as some students might prefer listening to their parents instead. When students start engaging in the use of social media, they might become more conscious of what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts, and they might also know how to react to racist commentaries they encounter on the internet in the future.

In conclusion, early prevention provides a better solution to the responsible use of internet which affects online racism. Although the law is one way to curb online racism from occurring, it is still insufficient to compensate for the damage online racism may potentially cause. It is then necessary to inculcate the impact and consequences of online racism onto young minds to prevent Singaporeans from posting online commentaries on the social media in the future. 

[983 words]

References

Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to encourage it. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/peer-teaching/

Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference. (2014, February 12). [Speech]. Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2014/02/12/speech-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-cyber-wellness-student-ambassador-programme-2014-conference.php

Facebook. (2015). Information for Law Enforcement Authorities. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/safety/groups/law/guidelines/ 

Parrett, W.G. (2003, May 2). The importance of teaching ethics at an early age [Letter]. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-02/news/0305020217_1_business-leaders-ethics-business-decisions

Singapore Police Force.  (2012, July 1). Police arrest two for racist remarks online. Retrieved from http://www.spf.gov.sg/mic/2012/07/20120701_online_racist_G.html

Sedition Act 1964 s. 290 (SIN.). Retrieved from http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%221f6d9e4b-1cf1-4575-9480-da4bdeff9ef4%22%20Status%3Apublished%20Depth%3A0;rec=0

Shah, A. (2010, August 8). Racism [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism 

SMC4. (2015). Social media profanity- protect social media communications. Retrieved from http://www.smcapture.com/smc4_brand.php 

Tan, J. (2012, October 8). NTUC fires Assistant Director for racist comments. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

Yip, Y.H.J. (2013, November 30). Internet regulation – a myth in Singapore. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.singaporelawreview.org/2013/11/internet-regulation-a-myth-in-singapore/

Younge, G. (2012, July 12). Who thinks about the consequences of online racism? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/consequences-of-online-racism

Individual Presentation Reflection

When I found out that I had to do a presentation on my essay topic, I became anxious. I do not feel comfortable having the idea of talking in front of an audience, in a formal setting. Time was also not on my side as I was busy finishing up projects from other modules while trying to prepare for this presentation.

At the start of my presentation, I felt that my pace was good and I had the confidence of delivering my presentation. However, I started stumbling in the middle of my presentation. I had an inner conflict of trying to remember my content but at the same time trying to make my presentation as engaging as possible. Thankfully, I had my slides to back me up when my mind blanked out all of a sudden. The rest of the presentation went smoothly and I managed to present everything I intended to share to my audience.

The feedback session at the end of my presentation was really helpful for me. Brad and my tutorial mates pointed out not only my faults but also the strength in my presentation. Honestly, I felt really horrible because I failed to do a smooth and flawless presentation which I expected myself to do. I even regretted not preparing enough for it. They also suggested on specific ways which I could improve on, in my presentation. Pointing out my good points lifted my spirit too as I realised that I'm not a complete failure at presentations. Also, the feedback allowed me to immediately internalize the improvements suggested which will enable me to amend the mistakes I made during my presentations, in mind.

All in all, the presentation might have not been a graded section of this module. However, I cannot deny that it helped me in various ways. I learned various techniques and effective methods of presentations while watching my other tutorial mates present their topic ideas. For example, the colour of your fonts, the use of videos, the use of personal stories and many more. This experience will undeniably benefit me in my future presentations.

[Final] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems (in expressive writing) improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen which demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieved better results and is less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify problems and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri, a client at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, who discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal. The author’s claim that expressive writing enables people to identify problems and tackle them is justified because writing down will allow people to eliminate their emotional distress, which can guide them to concentrate on the appropriate solutions to their problems and change their perceptions of these problems that will enable them to be more objective and optimistic.

Another positive aspect of expressive writing is its ability to allow people to convey their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems they face in their daily lives. Often, when people are burdened with problems, they tend to hide those problems, which may lead to emotional instabilities (“In brief”, 2013). Park et al. (cited in Power, 2014), demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students who often had performed badly in mathematics due to the high anxiety they had on mathematics had to write down their feelings before sitting for the following mathematics test. The experiment demonstrated that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper performed as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and some even outdid their peers. Writing down their feelings could have made the anxious students’ minds free from the anxiousness they had earlier on, allowing them to completely focus on solving the mathematical problems in front of them. The unnecessary stress may slow down people’s minds, which will deter them from concentrating on finding the solutions to their problems (Bressert, 2006). They will be calmer after writing down their problems and will be physically and emotionally ready to face their problems.

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems they face. Problems are commonly connoted as negative. Negative feelings will be relieved as people write their problems down. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson,” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” People will steer away from their original perceptions and view their problems positively. For instance, problems will then be seen as a challenge to help them improve themselves instead of being viewed as a burden. Also, a study by Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) has shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. Optimism gives people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles easily (Sasson, n.d.). The tendency to avoid problems will reduce as people see their problems from a wider perspective. In this case, expressive writing manifests the role of exploring people’s point of view to help them overcome their problems with an optimistic attitude.

In conclusion, expressive writing helps to eliminate the stress that can affect people’s concentration while trying to solve their problems. People’s minds can become free of unnecessary worries and their calm state will enable them to come up with useful solutions to their problems. On top of that, expressive writing may change people’s perceptions of the problems they face making them more objective in looking at their problems as well as more optimistic when encountering problems.

References

Bressert, S. (2006). The impact of stress. Psych Central [Web log post].  Retrieved on February 17, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-impact-of-stress/000104

Psychological Care & Healing Treatment Centre. (2013). Emotional dysregulation [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.pchtreatment.com/emotional-dysregulation/

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate your reality [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131.

Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing your way to happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What writing does? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

Sasson, R. (n.d.). The power of positive attitude can change your life. Success Consciousness. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.successconsciousness.com/positive_attitude.htm 

Critical Reflection

ES1102 is a module that will always be valuable to me. Before, I rarely did any peer feedback or even if I did so, the feedback were general and not specific to any aspects of the writing. I even felt that peer feedback was abundant as I did not trust anyone else editing my work.

When we were told to give a formal peer feedback for each other’s readers’ response, I was afraid because I did not know what type of review Brad was expecting from us. Thankfully, we were given a template to guide us the appropriate way of writing a feedback. I became more aware of the importance of a clear thesis statement, coherent ideas as well as the organization of an academic writing. The feedback that I received from my peers also helped me improve my writings. Mistakes that I failed to notice before submission were noticed by my peers such as my error in the references section.

As time goes by, I felt that my academic writings improved. The constant feedback from Brad and my peers alarmed me of the mistakes I often make without realization. I will remember their feedback and avoid those mistakes when I start writing on a new draft. My own feedback towards my peers' academic writings have also improved. They are no longer general but much more specific and I could even come up with suggestions that can help them write better.

In other modules, I started practicing peer feedback on the essays especially when it is a group essay. I became sharper in spotting errors and changing them. Most importantly, my knowledge of APA citation style from ES1102 have helped me tremendously. I finally understood proper in-text citations and also the appropriate way to list my references. This is something I will keep in mind every time I work on an academic essay.

Looking back 13 weeks ago, I was grudging about having to take this module. I thought that ES1102 was going to be another mundane General Paper tutorial, just like when I was studying in Junior College. However, my perception towards ES1102 had a turnover. This module have benefited me more than I ever expected. I realized the importance of peer review and I would prefer if I have a friend checking my work before submission. When I compare my new essays to my essays before I took this module, there are definitely a vast difference.

[Draft 3] Essay

With the widespread of the use of social media, people are increasingly expressing their opinions publicly online. Some of these opinions lack respect and sensitivity especially racist commentaries. Racist commentary about minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of social media are not being heavily monitored by the Media Development Authority (MDA). Racism is the idea or belief that characteristics and abilities are attributed to people on the basis of their race, and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that the Singaporean government wants to preserve. The internet provides a platform for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012). This problem may be tackled if MDA can collaborate with social media agencies like SMC4 to automatically remove racist comments or block users who use the social media irresponsibly. The Ministry of Education in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on educating students about online racism. 

An example of an irresponsible use of social media is when Ms Amy Cheong posted her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job as Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

The legislative council of Singapore has a law against racist commentaries. According to Chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN), anyone who post remarks or comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. The punishment she received from the authorities was deemed insufficient to compensate for her irresponsible actions, which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not many follow-ups on the consequences she faced, which might have given people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. As a result, the internet regulations in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth (Yip, 2013). MDA can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. In order to tackle this issue, MDA can work with social media agencies such as Facebook as well as SMC4 that provides protection against social media abuse and brand damage. SMC4 instantly removes inappropriate online commentaries, including profanity, racism and sexist posted on social media platforms (SMC4, 2015). SMC4’s protection may help to reduce the increasing number of racist commentaries in Singapore. Singaporeans or Media Development Authority need not have to go through the hassle of filtering the internet or reporting any irresponsible users as the racist comments will be removed immediately. If malicious users persistently attempt to post racist commentaries, Facebook has the authority to remove them (Facebook, 2015).

Since the law was insufficient to curb the problem of racist commentaries, another possible solution is that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should continue to urge schools to stress on educating students about the responsible use of internet focusing towards online racism in social media. During the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference, Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education addressed the potential risks of Internet despite its opportunities for learning especially for students who are active participants of the cyber space. She also emphasized on the importance of peer education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Cyber wellness, 2014). This initiative should be carried on as it is easier and will be more effective to approach students via their peers who belong to the same age group (Briggs, 2013). Schools can also design talks or quizzes to get an idea of how much do the students know about online racism on social media.

This approach is meant for an early prevention. It is imperative to start educating people on internet ethics when they are of a young age as they have the ability to remember and apply it for the rest of their lives (Garrett, 2003). There have been cases of online racism such as the case on two 17 year old youths who were arrested for posting racist remarks on their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts (Singapore Police Force, 2012). Schools can use real life cases to illustrate the impact of online racism on the society as well as the consequences of the irresponsible use of social media. Schools can also work together with parents to educate their children about online racism at home as some students might prefer listening to their parents instead. When students start engaging in the use of social media, they might become more conscious of what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts, and they might also know how to react to racist commentaries they encounter on the internet in the future.

In conclusion, early prevention provides a better solution to the responsible use of internet which affects online racism. Although the law is one way to curb online racism from occurring, it is still insufficient to compensate for the damage online racism may potentially cause. It is then necessary to inculcate the impact and consequences of online racism onto young minds to prevent Singaporeans from posting online commentaries on the social media in the future.

[981 words]

References

Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to encourage it. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/peer-teaching/

Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference. (2014, February 12). [Speech]. Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2014/02/12/speech-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-cyber-wellness-student-ambassador-programme-2014-conference.php

Facebook. (2015). Information for Law Enforcement Authorities. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/safety/groups/law/guidelines/ 

Parrett, W.G. (2003, May 2). The importance of teaching ethics at an early age [Letter]. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-02/news/0305020217_1_business-leaders-ethics-business-decisions

Singapore Police Force.  (2012, July 1). Police arrest two for racist remarks online. Retrieved from http://www.spf.gov.sg/mic/2012/07/20120701_online_racist_G.html

Sedition Act 1964 s. 290 (SIN.). Retrieved from http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%221f6d9e4b-1cf1-4575-9480-da4bdeff9ef4%22%20Status%3Apublished%20Depth%3A0;rec=0

Shah, A. (2010, August 8). Racism [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism 

SMC4. (2015). Social media profanity- protect social media communications. Retrieved from http://www.smcapture.com/smc4_brand.php  

Tan, J. (2012, October 8). NTUC fires Assistant Director for racist comments. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

Yip, Y.H.J. (2013, November 30). Internet regulation – a myth in Singapore. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.singaporelawreview.org/2013/11/internet-regulation-a-myth-in-singapore/

Younge, G. (2012, July 12). Who thinks about the consequences of online racism? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/consequences-of-online-racism

[Draft 2] Essay

Racist commentary about the minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The Ministry of Education in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on educating students about online racism.

Racism is the idea or belief that characteristic and abilities are attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that Singapore have preserved. The internet provides prevalence for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012)

 

This leads us to a familiar issue back in 2012 when Ms Amy Cheong posted her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). This resulted in anger among Singaporeans especially the Malay community in Singapore who retaliated using the social media to the offensive remark made by Amy Cheong. These are the consequences of online racism in Singapore.

According to chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN) anyone who publish remarks or comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

The punishments she received from the authorities was deemed not enough to compensate for her irresponsible actions which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not much follow-ups on the consequences she faced which might give people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. The internet regulation in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth instead (Yip, 2013). There were various others such as “Heather Chua” who boldly criticized the Malays and Indians (In brief, 2014). The actions taken against these irresponsible internet users needs to be more firm in order to prevent it from happening again. The law can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. Singaporeans cannot just depend on the law to prevent such occurrences but instead they can cooperate with the law by being more conscious of what the consequences if they post racist commentaries and social media users can also prevent this by flagging or reporting any racist comments they encounter online to stop it from spreading around.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) should continue to urge schools to stress on educating students about the responsible use of internet focusing towards online racism in social media. During the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference, Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education addressed the potential risks of Internet despite its opportunities for learning especially for students who are active participants of the cyber space. She also emphasized on to the importance of peer education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Ministry of Education, 2014). This initiative should be carried on as it is easier and will be more effective to approach students via their peers who belong to the same age group (Briggs, 2013). Schools can also design talks or quizzes to get an idea of how much do the students know about online racism on social media.

This approach is meant for early prevention. It is imperative to start educating people on internet ethics when they are of a young age as they have the ability to remember and apply it for the rest of their lives (Garrett, 2003). There have been cases of online racism such as the case on two 17 year old youths who were arrested for posting racist remarks on their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts (Public Affairs Department, 2012). Schools can use real life cases to illustrate the impact of online racism on the society as well as the consequences of the irresponsible use of social media. When students start engaging in the use of social media, they will be conscious of what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts and they will also know how to react to racist commentaries they encounter on the internet in the future.

In conclusion, early prevention provides a better solution to the responsible use of internet which affects online racism. Although the law is one way to curb online racism from occurring, it is still insufficient to compensate for the damage online racism may potentially cause. It is then necessary to inculcate the impact and consequences of online racism onto young minds to prevent Singaporeans from posting online commentaries on the social media in the future.

(883 words)

 

References

Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to encourage it. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/peer-teaching/

In brief. (2014, January 11). Man under investigations for posting racist remarks as ‘Heather Chua’. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/man-under-investigation-posting-racist-remarks-heather-chua

Ministry of Education. (2014, February 12). Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2014/02/12/speech-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-cyber-wellness-student-ambassador-programme-2014-conference.php

Parrett, W.G. (2003, May 2). The importance of teaching ethics at an early age. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-02/news/0305020217_1_business-leaders-ethics-business-decisions

Public Affairs Department. (2012, July 1). Police arrest two for racist remarks online. Singapore Police Force. Retrieved from http://www.spf.gov.sg/mic/2012/07/20120701_online_racist_G.html

Sedition Act 1964 s. 290 (SIN.). Retrieved from http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%221f6d9e4b-1cf1-4575-9480-da4bdeff9ef4%22%20Status%3Apublished%20Depth%3A0;rec=0

Shah, A. (2010, August 8). Racism. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism

Tan, J. (2012, October 8). NTUC fires Assistant Director for racist comments. [Web log post] Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

Yip, Y.H.J. (2013, November 30). Internet regulation – a myth in Singapore. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.singaporelawreview.org/2013/11/internet-regulation-a-myth-in-singapore/

Younge, G. (2012, July 12). Who thinks about the consequences of online racism. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/consequences-of-online-racism

 

 

An Influential Event

I was in secondary 2 when I was dared by my friends to sing on stage. I have always loved singing but I never had the courage to sing in front of a crowd. My friends signed me up for the school talent competition.

Prior to the competition, I was really anxious about messing up my performance or embarrassing myself. I had a fear that the entire school population would be criticizing me after my performance. My friends were really supportive and motivating when I was rehearsing for my performance.

When I went up the stage for the first time, my entire body was shaking. I held onto my guitar and started singing ‘Mama Do’ by Pixie Lott. My feelings were different when I started singing. I was no longer nervous, and I became more comfortable which led me to perform smoothly. I was more encouraged when the audience started clapping and singing along to me. My first vocal performance on stage was not as terrible as I imagined it to be. Although I did not win the competition, I gained a lot of exposure and experience from a mere school talent performance.

From then onwards, I gained a lot of courage to join other competitions and to upload videos of myself singing on Facebook. I received a lot of positive feedbacks and useful criticisms which helped me improve in my hobby that is singing. That event made me realise that I need to stop worrying about how others think about me and have more confidence in myself.

 

 

[258 words]

[Draft 1] Essay

Racist commentary about the minority racial groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The Media Authority Development (MDA) can work with social media companies to block users who post racist commentaries on their social media pages. The Ministry of Education can also urge schools to stress on the educating students about the responsible use of internet to prevent online racism from happening in the future.

Racism is the idea or belief that characteristic and abilities are attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that Singapore have preserved. The internet provides prevalence for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012)

This leads us to a familiar issue back in 2012 when Ms Amy Cheong posted her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). This resulted in anger among Singaporeans especially the Malay community in Singapore who retaliated using the social media to the offensive remark made by Amy Cheong. These are the consequences of online racism in Singapore.

There exist a law in Singapore under the Sedition Act 3 whereby anyone who publish remarks or comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both” (Sedition Act, 2013). For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Some Singaporeans felt that her punishments were not fair because it was not the same punishment as stated in the law.

The punishments she received from the authorities was deemed not enough to compensate for her irresponsible actions which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not much follow-ups on the consequences she faced which might give people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. The use of internet in Singapore are also not being heavily monitored by MDA. There were various others such as “Heather Chua” who boldly criticized the Malays and Indians (Today, 2014). The actions taken against these irresponsible internet users needs to be more firm in order to prevent it from happening again. MDA can work with social media companies such as Facebook to remove or block users that post racist commentaries online. The law can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. Singaporeans cannot just depend on the law to prevent such occurrences but instead they can also cooperate with the law by being more conscious of what the consequences are.if they post racist commentaries and social media users can also prevent this by flagging or reporting any racist comments they encounter online to stop it from spreading around.

[Draft 1] Essay Outline

Main problem:  An increasing number of racist commentaries about members of the minority race on social media in Singapore.

Affected target group/stakeholder: Members of the minority race in Singapore such as the Malays and Indians

Agent of change/stakeholder: Media Development Authority (MDA), Network Operators such as Starhub and SingTel as well as the Singapore Legislative Council.

Solution 1: Internet regulation by the Media Development Authority and the introduction of Sedition Act 3 on the offences of racism in Singapore.

Evaluation 1: The use of internet in Singapore are not being heavily monitored as Singaporeans continue to post racist commentaries against the minority racial groups in Singapore. Actions taken against these irresponsible are not firm enough to prevent the other Singaporeans from posting further racist remarks online.

Solution 2:

Ministry of Education in Singapore can urge school to stress on the responsible use of internet.

Implication/Conclusion: Students will be educated about responsible use of internet and social media. When they start using social media, they will know what they can post and what they cannot post. This is an early prevention method.

 Thesis: Racist commentary about the minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The media government authority could advise social media companies to remove the racist posts or blocking the users from posting further. Also, the Singapore government should introduce stricter laws to prevent online racism from happening in the future.

[Draft 3] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen which demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieved better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify problems and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri, a client at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, whom discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal.

The author’s claim that writing down thoughts enable to identify problems and tackle them is justified because writing down will allow people to eliminate their emotional distress which can guide them to concentrate on the appropriate solutions to their problems and change their perceptions of problems that can enable them to be more objective and optimistic.

Expressive writing allows people to convey their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems they face in their daily lives. Often, when people are burdened with problems, they tend to hide it which may lead to emotional instabilities (“In brief”, 2013). People’s minds can be devoid of the problems they face when they pen down their thoughts and emotions. Park et.al (cited in Power 2014), demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students who often perform badly in Mathematics due to the high anxiety they have on Mathematics had to write down their feelings before the following Mathematics test. The experiment testified that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper performed as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and some even outdid their peers. Writing down could have made the anxious students’ minds vacant of the anxiousness they had earlier on, allowing them to completely focus on solving the Mathematical problems in front of them. The unnecessary stress will slow down people’s minds which will deter them from concentrating on finding the solutions to their problems (Bressert, 2006). They will be calmer after writing down and will be physically and emotionally ready to face their problems.

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems they face. Problems are commonly connoted as negative. Negative feelings will be relieved as people write their problems down. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” People will steer away from their original perceptions and view problems more positively. For instance, problems will be seen as a challenge to help them improve themselves instead of looking at problems as a burden. Also, a study (Lyubomirsky et.al, 2005) have shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. Optimism gives people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles easily (Sasson, n.d.). The tendency to avoid problems will lessen as people see their problems from a wider perspective. In this case, expressive writing manifest the role of exploring people’s point of view to help them overcome their problems with an optimistic attitude.

In conclusion, expressive writing helps to eliminate the stress that can affect people’s concentration while trying to solve their problems. People’s minds will be free of unnecessary worries and their calm state will enable them to come up with useful solutions to their problems. On top of that, expressive writing may change people’s perceptions of the problems they face making them more objective in looking at their problems as well as more optimistic when encountering problems.

[641 words]

References

Bressert, S. (2006). The impact of stress. Psych Central. [Web log post] Retrieved on February 17, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-impact-of-stress/000104

In brief. (2013). Emotional dysregulation. Psychological Care & Healing Treatment Centre. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.pchtreatment.com/emotional-dysregulation/

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate your reality. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, Vol 9(2), 111-131.

Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing your way to happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What writing does? [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

Sasson, R. (n.d.). The power of positive attitude can change your life. Success Consciousness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.successconsciousness.com/positive_attitude.htm

[Draft 2] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen which demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieve better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify obstacles and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri who discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal.

The author’s claim on how writing down thoughts can help people identify their problems and obstacles and tackle them, is highly reasonable as identifying problems and obstacles is necessary in order to solve them. Writing thoughts and feelings down can help to clear people’s minds of the problems and obstacles they are facing. By writing problems down, it can also help people change the perception they have of their problems and obstacles, from negative to positive.

Expressive writing allows people to pour out their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems and obstacles they face in their daily lives. It is often that when people are burdened with problems, they tend to hide them which can lead to emotional instabilities. Expressing thoughts and feelings by writing them down can clear people's minds from the problems and obstacles they face. To strengthen the point on the ability of expressive writing to clear people's minds and to make way for solutions, Park, Ramirez & Beilock (2014) as cited by Power (2014) in his article, demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students with high anxiety on mathematical problems and often perform badly in mathematics were made to pen down all their thoughts and feelings before the following test. The results proved that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper did as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and in some cases, outdid their peers. From the study above, researchers suggested that students became completely focused to working math problems. As a result, the students’ working memory becomes available for “more of the transitory information students need to apply” to solve the problems.
 

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems and obstacles they face. Problems are commonly looked at as negative. As problems are being written down, negative feelings will be relieved which makes way for the positive ones. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” This will distance people from their original perception which help them look at their problems in a new and a more positive way. For example, problems will be seen as a challenge by people to improve themselves instead of looking at them as a burden. Also, a study (Lyubomirsky, Kennon & Schkade, 2005) have shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. The positive spirit may give people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles easily.

 

[566 words]  

 

Reference:

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate your reality. [Web log post] Retrieved from
http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

 Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, Vol 9(2), 111-131.
 

Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

 Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing your way to happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What writing does. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html