Going After James

Acting Minister Tan Chuan-Jin was talking about the ire stirred up by discriminatory job advertisements, in blatant breach of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, when he counselled, "It is important to not stoke up hate and ill-will as some are doing.” One can understand that the PRCs, India Indians, Bangla and Pinoys, flown in to take away jobs and swamp the limited spaces of housing and transportation, will bear the blunt of the negative sentiments, but the real targets are shirking the blame.

That is about the only way to comprehend the raw hatred expressed by the Sunday Times feature writer.

Dinki di Aussies are nice people, especially the country folk at places like the wheat bins of Ejanding, Minnivale, Western Australia. Not only do they throw an extra shrimp and chook on the barbie for the guest, they even let you try their mean version of a home brew.

James is not able to defend himself, but it was unlikely he blew his gaskets if he was enlightened nicely about the Singaporeans only party. The one organised in a public garden by the Overseas Singapore Unit (OSU) of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Their apologists are even attempting to lay blame on the park management for allowing external organisations to book a public space for exclusive events. Ergo, the OSU, proxy of the PMO, can do no wrong.

One could speculate that the author ("Guard against the tyranny of the minority") did not have a pleasant experience during her last visit Down Under. Maybe they mistook her for a bloke, instead of a sheila, But the picture used for her byline is not exactly the mugshot of a face only a mother could love, the hate can't originate from her personal self.

The big picture has to do with identifying the real culprits. The guys who make the mistakes but refuse to concede their failures of falling on the job. Sigmund Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity, allowing people to function normally in culturally acceptable ways. In a sense, the true negative thoughts have been merely sublimated into angry voices. It is unlikely the wimps in white can handle the uglier alternative of being physically tarred and feathered.