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posted by
LaminatorX
on Thursday February 27 2014, @03:30AM
from the Xenophobia:-the-Universal-Language dept.
from the Xenophobia:-the-Universal-Language dept.
fx_68 writes:
"A sharp rise in the foreign population has ratcheted up racial tensions. Does Singapore have a problem with xenophobia? It seems that barely a month goes by these days without news reports highlighting friction between Singaporeans and foreign workers in the tiny multi-ethnic city-state."
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TOO BAD YOU CAN'T BUY a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin
real fast and freak everybody out.
-- Jack Handey, The New Mexican, 1988.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by sigterm on Thursday February 27 2014, @04:00AM
I beg to differ. Try being a Filipino in the U.S. vs. being an American in the Philippines ("hey, Joe!"). Both the level of national pride and the extent to which national identity is tied to race or ethnicity varies a lot across the globe. Furthermore, nationalism or even racism does not necessarily lead to violence. Japan is an interesting example; their society is widely known for its xenophobia, but as far as I know, violence against immigrants is almost unheard of.
As the article states (yes, I read it, but then I'm new here), Singapore has long been known as a society where race is a major issue. It also turns out that currently, an astounding 38% of the population are immigrants. I'd say that's a pretty unique combination, and one that is likely to cause conflicts.
(Score: 1) by rts008 on Thursday February 27 2014, @04:57AM
Yeah, anytime you introduce that many immigrants in that short amount of time, there are going to be conflicts.
Adding fuel to that fire was the plans to increase immigration even more, to the point of immigrants making up half of the total population.
All of this going on in a confined area(a city-state) with a high population density: 7,540/km2 or 19,562/sq mi (3rd highest by nations)...sounds like a powder keg to me.
Hopefully it will somehow be defused before it explodes...'Singapore Spring' sounds more like a tropical cocktail that should be served with one of those little paper umbrellas, than an uprising. ;-)