GRACE/tjc09_violence

In reference to passage 1, the author states that “barriers of language or culture keep an immigrant child from fitting in; it can increase the risk the he will become alienated and, given enough triggers, resort to violence.” I believe that this is especially applicable in my society as there are many new immigrants coming to Singapore daily and Singapore is already a multi-racial country. The new immigrant does not have to be a child; even an adult may feel alienated. For example, there have been an increased number of Indian migrants coming to Singapore to work, many of which work in the construction industry. They might have difficulty in communicating with the locals as the new workers may not be able to speak in English and communicate well. This may lead to the new migrant workers feeling alienated from the Singapore society. However, the Indian migrant workers come in big groups. So the migrants will not feel as lonely as they have the other migrants for company. However, the migrant workers will still be distanced from the Singapore society, but at least they have company to spend time with everyday.

In reference to passage 2, the authors states that many "feel cheated because of their social and economic exclusion". This could be eminent in my society as Singapore is a multi-racial society with the more populated Chinese and Malays, and minority groups like the Indians and Eurasians. Especially for minority groups, it is easy to feel left out as there is just a small number of them. So, if they continue to feel left out, or hurt by the society,it may cause them to resort to violence, "destroying what they see are tools of failed social promotion:schools, social welfare offices gymnasiums". For example, there were conflicts between the People's Action Party (PAP) and the Muslim community because the Muslim community felt as though they were on the losing end, as the PAP were making decisions that favour the Chinese community. This led to widespread riots around Singapore. However, due to prolonged government intervention through racial harmony, Singaporeans have been doing their part to make everyone feel comfortable and not excluded in the affairs of Singapore.