3Cs to strengthen Singapore's social compact

The death of George Floyd, a 46-year old African-American man and father of two, has sparked the worst race riots in America in over 50 years.

He died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. A video clip of that incident shows Floyd repeatedly pleading that he couldn’t breathe.

The officer has been arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter, but the roiling unrest across the United States over the incident speaks to the country’s fraught racial ties.

I lived in the US briefly a couple of years ago to pursue my Master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University.

Made up of motivated people keen to make a positive impact, the class naturally sparred and debated various political and public policy issues from the get go.

A fortnight after orientation, a white American classmate approached me.

“You think America is too trigger friendly and you are not a fan?" he said. "I am willing to bet that by graduation, you will do everything in your capacity to live in this country. Literally anything, even marry an American!”

I was initially taken aback by his confidence. Then I was intrigued by his arrogance.

I asked him where he thought I was from? He said he didn’t know and it didn’t matter; I would want the great American dream.

I asked him if he would say that to me if I was white with blonde hair and blue eyes; instead of having brown skin with dark hair and eyes.

I respectfully affirmed that while I am grateful for the education and zealous about being a gracious guest, my personal values are not aligned enough with the US to call it home.

Plus, I have a strong sense of belonging to my own country Singapore.

He insisted anyway. “Oh Singapore? Didn’t expect that! What about your civil liberties? America is a great country. You will have a new appreciation for freedom here and you won’t go back, I bet!”

I politely informed him that I don’t feel my civil liberties are infringed, especially as a minority in Singapore. I am not sure if the minorities in the US could claim the same.

Consider the 2013 “Black Lives Matter” movement protesting police killings and disproportionate incarceration rates of black people.

According to the Pew Research Centre, in 2017, there were 1,549 black prisoners for every 100,000 black adults — nearly six times the imprisonment rate for whites (272 per 100,000).

I stand by what I said to my Harvard peer then — as a minority in Singapore, I am not worried about being overtly disadvantaged.

Yet I also recognise that is not something we can take for granted and, crucially, we can always be a better version of ourselves.

The “brown face advertisement” last year, the rap song in response and xenophobia triggered by Covid-19 are just some recent manifestations of our faultlines.

I was also struck by a recent chat with an expatriate friend about the many social cohesion initiatives uniting Singaporeans: Racial quotas on public housing, education system encouraging integration, penal code intolerant of intolerance, community initiatives by OnePeople.sg as well as the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles.

Impressed, she asked: “How deep is the integration though? For instance, at an Indian or Malay wedding, how many Chinese people are on the guest list? Or how many Indians will be at a Malay or Chinese wedding? That is an interesting data point, isn’t it?”

I was stumped. Clearly, we have some way to go in including other races unreservedly in our lives.

No country is immune to racism. But given Singapore’s demographic composition and our history marred by racial riots, our social compact calls for a higher level of commitment to overcome the natural human tendencies to succumb to bias — both implicit and explicit.

This requires greater cognisance, meaningful conversations and principled conduct on citizens’ part.

COGNISANCE

Bias is an inherent trait. We are all susceptible to it with our blind spots.

Self-awareness is the critical first step. And then what? Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow expounds on the two modes of thinking triggered by the human mind: System One is fast, frequent, unconscious, instinctive, emotional; System Two is slow, infrequent, conscious, intentional, logical.

System One is responsible for knee-jerk stereotyping. It takes conscious effort to ensure that we kick in System Two to question the instinctive response.

Did the person do or say something that led me to draw conclusions or did I make unfounded assumptions?

Taking it a step further, let’s check our own privileges. It can come in many forms — by virtue of our race, family ties, socio-economic status, education and access to networks.

Becoming aware of our privilege gives us an opportunity to think about how we can contribute towards an equitable, just and inclusive world.

As the saying goes: “If you have more than you need, build a bigger table — not a higher fence.”

CONVERSATIONS

We need to stop shying away from difficult conversations that can help us better understand each other.

According to a 2016 Channel NewsAsia-Institute of Policy Studies survey, about 65 per cent of the 2,000 respondents believed that discussions about racial issues cause unnecessary tension.

These are sensitive issues that can easily tread into offensive space. However, discourse encouraging curiosity and compassion is indeed possible.

The Young Sikh Association (YSA) set a good example when they invited social media influencer Sheena Phua to their gurdwara to share with her their traditions.

This was in response to Ms Phua’s Instagram post labelling two men wearing turbans as “huge obstructions” to her view at the Singapore Grand Prix.

YSA didn’t want an apology from her. Instead, they wanted her to have greater awareness and understanding of Sikhs as a community. She, in turn, appreciated their gesture and confessed that while she had a Sikh friend, they never discussed religion and culture. 

Let’s work towards a framework, with rules of engagement that fit our cultural and social context, to encourage meaningful interactions and kinship.

CONDUCT

See something? Then say something.

Studies show that addressing offensive behaviour in the right way in the moment can have a profound impact on future behaviour.

Also, you have more influence if you are not the subject of bias and are, say, a bystander. Instead of turning a blind eye or turning to internet vigilantism, empathetically explain how the behaviour made you feel.  

Confrontations are mostly not necessary. Most people do or say something inappropriate because of System One thinking. In short, it is unintentional.

Gracefully pointing it out in a non-accusatory way can enable the person to take a step back and engage his System Two thinking.

Case in point: YSA. That interaction led to zero confrontation and greater goodwill among all involved.

Yes, at times, people may indeed be racist. But let’s not jump to conclusions. Take time to engage our own System Two thinking, and be kind enough to give others an opportunity to reflect and self-correct.

CONCLUSION

Our social compact is like a fragile mirror. It is a reflection of who we are as a people, and it can be shattered incredibly easily. Once broken, it is hard to fix — as seen in the US.

While we are unlikely to witness our police force dehumanise citizens based on our skin colour, we cannot take our racial harmony for granted.

We need to hold ourselves and our community to a higher standard. Let’s sign a stronger social compact that requires us to engage in deeper meaningful ways. It isn’t easy but it is necessary to ensure we never have a Singaporean George Floyd.

May his soul rest in peace. And may his untimely death not be in vain.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Neha Thakkar has worked in policy, advocacy and partnerships at Unicef, the Red Cross, Al Jazeera, Harvard University and Insead, among other international organisations. She obtained a Masters in Public Policy at Harvard University in 2018 as a Mason Fellow.