新加坡是一个种族主义国家吗?

Ren Hay
Yes and no.
Here's why:
Yes, because the majority race in Singapore is Chinese, and Chinese privilege does exist. People tend to go with the majority.
I am Chinese-Indian and I have dark skin. I have faced discrimination even though I can speak and write Chinese fluently, maybe even better than some Singaporean Chinese (I did higher1 Chinese at school.)
Now imagine the pure non-Chinese.
 
有肯定的一面，也有否定的一面。
原因如下：
肯定的是，新加坡的华人占多数，确实存在对华人的优待。人们倾向于随大流。
我是华裔印度人，肤色较深。尽管我能说写流利的中文，甚至可能比一些新加坡华人还要好（我在学校学过高级中文），但我仍然遭受过歧视。
试想，纯粹的非华人会面临怎样的处境。
 
I remember once when I was sorted into a new class at school, the form teacher did not know me yet and assumed that that I took Chinese Language Basic just because I am dark skinned and didn't look Chinese.
This kind of hurt me as I really put in effort to study Chinese and yet her statement completely discounted my efforts. Not even the normal Chinese programme that most Chinese students take, she just straight out assumed that my Chinese must be bad and that I must have been in the basic programme instead. (For context, we have 3 levels of Chinese Language programs in schools- Chinese Language Basic for the weaker students, Chinese Languange for the average students, and Higher Chinese for the stronger students.) Man, I was pissed as hell. It was as if she was looking down on me.
 
记得有一次，我被分到学校的一个新班级，班主任还不了解我，就因为我肤色较深且看起来不像华人，就误以为我上的是基础中文课程。
这种误解真的伤害了我，因为我确实努力学中文，但她的话完全否定了我的努力。她甚至没有考虑到我可能是上大多数华人学生参加的标准中文课程，而是直接假设我的中文水平很差，我应该上基础课程。（顺便说一下，我们学校中文课程分为三个等级：基础中文针对基础较弱的学生，标准中文针对一般学生，高级中文针对水平较高的学生。）我当时非常生气，感觉她好像在小看我。
 
In Primary school, I'd also get comments like, 'Indians are smelly', 'So black'.. when the the teacher switched off the lights for the projector, some would say, 'eh Rena camouflage, where did she go?', 'I can only see her teeth' and a lot more.
I also had a cousin (Chindian too), that had a classmate shade a piece of paper with pencil, rubbed it on him and said 'eh your Color came out', causing everyone around to laugh. Of course, although subjected to racism, it is definitely mild racism and less serious compared to the type of racism found in countries like USA.
 
在小学时，我还听过诸如“印度人很臭”、“这么黑”之类的评论。有一次老师为了使用投影仪关灯，有人就说，“哎呀，丽纳隐身了，她去哪儿了？”、“我只能看见她的牙齿”等等。
我还有一个表亲（也是华裔印度人），他的一个同学曾用铅笔涂黑一张纸，然后擦在他身上说“哎呀，你的肤色出来了”，引得周围人哄笑。当然，尽管遭受了种族歧视，但这种歧视相对较轻，与美国等国家的种族歧视相比，严重性要小得多。
 
Fun incident: I once heard two Chinese strangers talking bad about me, thinking I didn't understand them. I then proceeded to question them in Chinese and, boy, the look of shock on their faces was just too funny! Needless to say, they ran away.
Okay that aside, other racial discriminations would be workplace discrimination. Most jobs would put ability to speak Chinese as a prerequisite (Since they can't explicitly state no non-Chinese allowed.) Or if interviews are conducted, it is usually quite obvious that Chinese applicants are preferred. I'm not saying all employees are like that, but I would say that it is very common.
 
有趣的是，有一次我无意中听到两个说中文的陌生人在说我的坏话，他们以为我听不懂。然后我用中文质问他们，他们脸上的震惊表情真是太好笑了！结果，他们灰溜溜地走了。
除此之外，职场上也存在种族歧视。很多工作机会都把会说中文作为先决条件（虽然他们不能明说只限华人）。或者在面试过程中，通常很明显地表现出对华人申请者的偏好。我不是说所有雇主都这样，但我得说这是很常见的现象。
 
I am not sure if I want to bring the topic of Xenophobia into this question or not, because some Singaporeans can be quite xenophobic, and feel like expats or what we call 'Foreign Talents' are a threat to their jobs. Whether or not is it racism or xenophobia, there really is no fine line.
For instance, local Chinese tend to clearly emphasize that they are not from Mainland China, and local Indians emphasizing that they are not from India.
 
我不确定是否应该在这个问题上提及排外情绪，因为一些新加坡人可能相当排外，认为外籍人士或所谓的“外来人才”对他们的工作构成威胁。无论是种族歧视还是排外情绪，两者之间的界限并不明显。
比如，本地华人往往会明确强调他们并非来自中国大陆，本地印度人也会强调他们并非来自印度。
 
Suttichart Denpreuktham
I must say that doesn’t sound mild at all and is in fact crossing into a territory of bullying. If your teacher had done nothing about that I am really losing my level of respect to the country (or at least the education system there)
 
我必须说，这听起来一点也不轻微，实际上已经进入了欺凌的范畴。如果你的老师对此没有采取任何措施，那么我对那个国家（或至少是那里的教育系统）的尊重程度真的降低了。
 
Ren Hay
Hi there! No, please don’t generalize the whole country because of a single individual. Most of the people here are fine. Racism exists, but it is mild :)
 
嗨！不，请别因为一个人就对整个国家一概而论。我们这里大多数人是好的。种族主义确实存在，但它是轻微的
 
Duong Nguyen
how about treating racism as racism, no matter if it’s in mild or virulent form? First, who’s to decide what’s mild racism and therefore acceptable vs what’s severe racism and therefore unacceptable? You’ll find yourself on a slippery slope fast if you make allowances for different types of racism. If people are confused what constitutes different degrees of racism, the ways to effectively address this issue will, correspondingly, be confused as well. Not to mention “mild” racism, if consistently tolerated by the victims, has the potential to embolden the offender to push their behavior to repugnant or violent racism before too long.
 
对待种族主义就应该像对待种族主义一样，不管是轻微的还是恶劣的。首先，谁来决定什么是轻微的种族主义，因此是可以接受的，什么是严重的种族主义，因此是不可接受的？如果你对不同类型的种族主义做出让步，你很快就会发现自己正处于一个危险的滑坡上。如果人们对于什么构成了不同程度的种族主义感到困惑，那么有效解决这个问题的方法也会相应地变得混乱。更不用说，如果“轻微”的种族主义被受害者持续容忍，有可能在不久的将来就会鼓励冒犯者将他们的行为推向令人厌恶或暴力的种族主义。
 
Ren Hay
No worries. Most of us can tolerate a little harmless racist banter. Some of us can even show self-deprecating humour at times too :)
 
不用担心。我们大多数人可以容忍一些无害的种族主义玩笑。我们中的一些人甚至有时也会表现出自嘲的幽默
 
Abigail Chung
Indeed, that’s great! I do do what I can to help level the playing field for minorities as well, but it just sucks when certain minorities look at the color of my skin and automatically label me a racist .____.
 
确实，那太好了！我也尽我所能为少数族裔创造公平的竞争环境，但当某些少数族裔只看我的肤色就自动给我贴上种族主义者的标签时，真是让人感到沮丧。
 
Tom Graves
My children are half-Chinese and I’ve never seen racism in America like you described in your country.
 
我的孩子们是一半华人血统，我从未在你描述的国家见过像在美国那样的种族主义。
 
02. Chan Daramony
Cause Chinese is a white asian skin mix with white European people is still white no reason to be racist ??
I don’t think so you have never seen a racism in America come on.
 
因为华人是亚洲人和白种欧洲人的混血，肤色仍然偏白，没有理由对他们种族歧视吧？
我不这么认为，你说你从未在美国见过种族歧视，这不太可能。
 
Yu Min Tan
Well mostly when I make racist jokes to my friends of different ethnicities they reply with a racist joke about my race. But it's just friendly banter.
 
嗯，大多数时候，当我对不同种族的朋友们开种族主义玩笑时，他们会用关于我种族的种族主义玩笑回应。但这只是友好的调侃。
 
Zac Leong
Great answer! Definitely addressed the subtle forms of racism in Singapore that has eluded the masses.
 
很棒的回答！绝对触及了新加坡那些细微且普遍未被大众察觉的种族主义问题。
 
Marcus Yan
Addressing your first point. Is its really racism that caused your teacher to assume that you don’t have an advanced ability in Chinese? The fact is Indians don’t generally pick up Chinese and even more rarely study Chinese to the same level as you do. You’re an outlier. How many Indians / half-Indians with your ability in Chinese do you know?
Just like I don’t think I’m sexist because I assume some random calico cat I picked up is female. 99% of them are.
 
针对你的第一点。真的是种族主义导致你的老师假设你没有高级的中文能力吗？事实是，印度人通常不会学习中文，更少有像你这样学习中文的。你是个例外。你认识多少有你这种中文水平的印度人/混血印度人？
正如我不会仅仅因为假设我随意捡起的一只花猫是雌性就认为自己有性别歧视。毕竟，99%的花猫都是雌性。
 
Ren Hay
To reply your answer- more than you think.
Myself, my sibling and my cousins (I have more than 4) are all considered non-Chinese that take up Chinese.
 
回答你的问题 - 比你想象的要多。
我自己，我的兄弟姐妹和我的堂兄弟姐妹（我有4个以上）都被认为是学习中文的非华人。
 
I also have many friends, Indians, Filipinos, etc that took up Chinese. We certainly don't look Chinese, and neither are our Chinese as bad as people generally assume.
You may be right though, it might not be true racism, but it sure is blind stereotype :)
 
我也有很多朋友，印度人，菲律宾人等等，他们都学习中文。我们当然看起来不像华人，我们的中文水平也不像人们通常想象的那么差。
你可能是对的，也许这不是真正的种族主义，但这确实是盲目的刻板印象。
 
Marcus Yan
It’s a blind stereotype only if the underlying assumption is untrue. You’re basing your view on the people around you. Even if it is upwards of a thousand people (which I highly doubt), it is still a tiny drop compared to the vast majority of people in Singapore who don’t normally come into any contact with non-Chinese with a strong grasp of the language. This may change if Chinese becomes more popular. As of now….I don’t really think so.
 
只有当潜在的假设不成立时，它才是一种盲目的刻板印象。你的观点是基于你周围人的情况。即使人数真的超过了一千（我对此表示怀疑），与新加坡大多数不常与精通语言的非华人接触的人相比，这个数字仍然是微不足道的。如果中文变得更加流行，这种情况将来可能会有所改变。但就目前而言……我并不这么认为。
 
Nathalie Boh
Your calico cat example isn’t quite applicable because the issue here isn’t a question of probability.
 
你举的关于花猫例子并不完全适用，因为这里的问题不是一个概率问题。
 
Weng Fai Tang
That’s perspective, not just invective. Well done.
 
这是观点，而不仅仅是谩骂。
做得很好。
 
Ken Zuǒ Buri
Yup, down right plain Chinese-majority ignorance.
I freaking hate it when Chinese locals make those lame-ass Indian racist comments and name calling. Cringy af.
 
确实，这是典型的、明显的华人主导下的无知。
我非常讨厌那些华人当地人发表的无聊且带有种族歧视的针对印度人的言论和称呼。这让人感到非常尴尬。
 
Huzaifa Shamim
iam also looking forward to move to singapore after i complete my school in karachi
 
我也期待着在卡拉奇完成学业后搬到新加坡。
 
Melia Janssen
My schools weren’t perfect but I never really saw racism or discrimination to a disturbing level until I left and talked to other people and was told of the discrimination they faced while being dark skinned. Some of the things I heard churned my insides and I have never looked at Singapore the same way again. One of them even wrote about her experience in an article I’m A Brown Person And I Live In A Racist Country
 
我的学校并不完美，但我从未真正见过达到令人不安程度的种族主义或歧视，直到我离开学校，与其他人的交谈中，我听说了他们在身为深色皮肤时所遭遇的歧视。我听到的一些事情让我感到非常不安，从那以后我再也没有以同样的眼光看待新加坡。他们中的一位甚至在一篇文章中写下了自己的经历，文章标题是《我是一个棕色皮肤的人，我生活在一个种族主义国家》。
 
Thao Truong
I used to live in Singapore and yes Singaporeans could say rather “racist” things, I've heard a lot from the Chinese Singaporeans against Indians (usually about their skin color). I think it was just because they really like saying what they think and there's little filter in the way, and among the Chinese being pale is better than being dark. But Singapore does have a lot of racial harmony and I think that's something worth celebrating.
 
我过去住在新加坡，确实，新加坡人有时会说一些带有“种族主义”色彩的话。我听了很多华人新加坡人对印度人的负面言论（通常是关于他们的肤色）。我认为这可能是因为他们喜欢直截了当地表达自己的想法，而且往往不太克制，而在华人文化中，较浅的肤色通常被看作比深色肤色更优越。不过，新加坡确实在种族和谐方面做得不错，我认为这一点是值得赞扬的。
 
Suraj Pai
indian-Chinese girls look great imo.I thought Chinese in singapore were non-racist.Sorry to hear about this.
 
在我看来，印中混血女孩看起来很棒。我原以为新加坡的华人并不种族歧视。听到这些很难过。
 
Viv
Idk even know how you could rank the “racism level” of countries. I’ve seen Canada ranked as one of the world’s “least racist countries” and I am just like…really now? Canada has numerous racial issues (especially with treatment of indigenous people), and l have seen so many racist shitty Canadians (French Canadians are particularly unhinged).
 
我真不知道该如何给国家的“种族主义水平”打分。我看到加拿大被评为世界上“最不种族主义的国家”之一，我就在想……真的吗？加拿大存在许多种族问题（尤其是对待原住民的方式），而且我见过很多有种族歧视行为的加拿大人（法语区的加拿大人尤其过分）。
 
Singapore definitely has some odd things going on with its racialized society and a lot of Chinese Singaporeans love to think they are superior for being Westernized (that’s why so many other Southeast Asian Chinese like to bash on Chinese Singaporeans for their dumb egos). But it’s also probably the most racially progressive country in all of Asia with multiculturalism baked into its national identity and a lot of anti-discrimination laws.
 
新加坡在其种族化社会中确实存在一些不寻常的现象，许多华人新加坡人自认为因为接受了西方文化而感到优越（这正是为何许多其他东南亚华人喜欢批评华人新加坡人的自大心态）。然而，新加坡也很可能正是亚洲在种族问题上最为进步的国家，它的国家认同深植于多元文化之中，并且实施了众多反歧视法律。
 
I would say racism is an issue in Singapore but it’s also aware of it and does better than most places. But then again, if you look at Singapore’s history, it had to become tolerant of racial diversity if it wanted to survive. Still kinda side-eye at the Singaporean constitution for trying to make up politically correct reasons for ~why Singapore must remain majority Chinese~ lol.
 
我认为新加坡确实存在种族主义问题，但它也意识到了这一点，并且在很多方面做得比大多数地方要好。然而，如果你回顾新加坡的历史，就会发现它为了生存必须接受种族多样性。尽管如此，我对新加坡宪法中试图以政治正确的方式解释为什么新加坡需要保持华人占多数这一点，仍然有些怀疑，这真是让人不禁侧目，哈哈。
 
Alice Chang
On the surface, no. But on a deeper level, Singaporeans are prejudiced when they are not accustomed to another culture or nationality. Honestly, they mean no harm. They are victims of ignorance and social conditioning. In general, Singaporeans are conservative and it is a relatively harmonious society here.
 
表面上看，新加坡人并不存在这个问题。但在更深层次上，当他们遇到不熟悉的文化或国籍时，可能会有一些偏见。坦白说，他们并无恶意，他们只是无知和社交环境塑造下的受害者。总体上，新加坡人比较保守，社会相对和谐。
 
I’ve lived in Australia and the US, and prior to that, was born in Malaysia, so I am familiar with discrimination. Growing up I’ve been a victim of discrimination and prejudice in school and among certain community, trying to find my place in the world and asking where I fit in. There are many like me here, some of my closest friends who are of Indian descent are culturally stuck in between. I have learned to adjust my expectations and adapt to the way of life here for my own sanity. Culturally, I’m kind of a mixed pot of everything. Although I am Chinese, I actually took up French and German in school as 2nd and 3rd languages! I can’t read Chinese and my spoken Mandarin is at best 50/50. I just pretend to be fluent in the language and go with the flow.
 
我在澳大利亚和美国生活过，而且我出生在马来西亚，所以我对歧视有亲身体验。在我成长的过程中，我在学校和某些社区遭受过歧视和偏见，一直在寻找自己在这个世界中的位置，探索自己究竟属于哪里。在这里，有很多像我一样的人，我的一些最亲密的朋友是印度裔，他们在文化上处于两者之间。为了自己的心理健康，我已经学会了调整期望，适应这里的生活方式。在文化上，我算是各种文化的混合体。虽然我是华人，但我在学校学习的第二和第三语言分别是法语和德语！我看不懂中文，我的普通话水平最多也就是中等。我只是假装自己精通这门语言，随大流。
 
Simon Lester
As a male of mixed Caucasian, Asian, and African blood who has been living in Singapore for nearly five years, I can say yes and no at the same time.
Let’s be honest, every country has its fair share of racism and whatnot.
Singapore’s actually a pretty decent country when compared to others in this category.
 
作为一个在新加坡生活了将近五年的混血男性，我的血统包括白人、亚洲人和非洲人，我可以说对这个问题的答案是既有“是”也“没有”。
让我们坦诚一点，每个国家都有其一定程度的种族问题。
与其他国家相比，新加坡在这方面做得相当不错。
 
Singapore has a Racial Harmony day and supports mingling with others races.
But still, there will always be discrimination in that everyone will more or less stick to their original race.
 
新加坡有种族和谐日，鼓励与其他种族的交流。
但即便如此，仍然会存在某种程度的歧视，因为人们往往会更倾向于与自己原始种族的人聚在一起。