wisp assign2
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WISP ASSIGNMENT 2ADRIANVERENAREVJASONTRANSCRIPT
LOS ANGELES RIOTSADRIAN . REVATHIE . VERENA . JASON
PART
A
Background Story
Rodney King was chased by 4 police officers
in 1991
4 police officers beat King up
The beating process was being recorded
The police officers claimed that King was
retaliating
The court acquitted the 4 police officers in
1992
Shortly after the verdict was passed, the riot
began
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/20/us/sergeant-says-king-
appeared-to-be-on-
drugs.html?scp=4&sq=rodney+king%20PCP&st=cse
Story Beyond Story
Rodney King was just the spark to the
long running tension
Korean merchants caused the black to
be unhappy because most blacks
remained poor / jobless
LAPD engaged in racial profiling
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975479,00.html
Story Beyond Story
A Korean-American shop owner shot
and killed Latasha Harlins, an African-
American girl
But was only sentenced to a five years
probation.
The incident worsened the existing
tensions between African-American
residents and Asian-American
merchants
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/24/news/judge-who-gave-
probation-in-a-slaying-may-be-moved.html
Story Beyond Story
State of Poverty
The African-American believed that
the Korean-American and other races
“stole” their wealth
Koreans-American refused to hire the
African-American
Impact - Economic
High unemployment rate of the
African-Americans
African-Americans was unable to
contribute to the state’s economy
During the riots, Koreans and other
Asian shops were most affected by
theft and destruction; businesses
suffered huge losses
1 billion dollars in damages
Impact - Social
Low standard of living
Hostility between races contributing to
a dangerous environment
Imparted negative values and
behaviour to the next generation
Impact - Political
Inequality in opportunities to hold
governmental positions
PART
B
Comparison - Similarities
Los Angeles 1992 Singapore 2009
Employment was subjective;
African-Americans felt that the
Asian had all the jobs, making it
more difficult to find employment
Local Chinese resent the arrival of
large scale Chinese Immigrants
who are given jobs, making it
difficult to find employment.
African-Americans felt like they
were the minority when they
actually have a part of the US
Local share a common feeling that
the local population is slowly
becoming a minority in its own
country as an overwhelming
number of foreigners arrives
www.littlespeck.com/content/people/CTrendsPeople-080315.htm
Comparison - Differences
Los Angeles 1992 Singapore 2009
In the riots, out of 10, 000 people
who were arrested, 42% were
African-Americans, while only 9%
were white. This is not
proportionate to the racial make up
if the state
Everybody is subjected to the
same law regardless of their race
The public was not well educated
on the racial harmony and the
importance of it
Primary and secondary school
students celebrate racial harmony
dayon 20th July every year
Freedom of speech is allowed Government enforces laws that
prevent racial discrimination such
as, racist bloggers being arrested
and jailed
www.littlespeck.com/content/people/CTrendsPeople-080315.htm
The Imagined Future- Aging
Population If Singapore stops educating the
population on Racial Harmony (e.g. removing racial harmony day), the future generations will grow up in a more racist nature.
If younger generations are racist, they will refrain from inter-racial marriages, thus they can only marry people of the same race, limiting the number of babies produced, and number of singles increase.
The Imagined Future- Aging
Population For example, if there are 5000 chinese
males (all assumed to be racist), and
4000 chinese females (all assumed to
be racist), there will be 1000
remaining chinese males who will be
left unmarried.
If these 1000 remaining males choose
to marry other races, they can
produce 1000 more babies (assuming
each couple produces 1 child)
The Imagined Future- Younger
workers find it difficult to secure
jobs If Singapore abolishes Racial Harmony
celebrations and education, only the older generation will be racial harmonious while the younger generations will be more racist.
Thus, if the older boss of a company is Indian, a chinese young job applicant will not apply for this job and thus unable to secure a job because he is selective about the races he wants to work with.
The Imagined Future- Young
people becoming more
unemployed In relation to the previous scenario, if
the younger generations are more
racist, they will adopt different work
ethics that may be difficult to work
with, giving rise to retrenchment,
unemployment and being fired.
The Imagined Future- Teenagers
joining gangs
In the 1992 L.A. Riots, the African-
American teenagers grouped together
and the gangsterism rate increased
greatly.
If Singapore was a racist society, all
the teenagers will group together to
form gangs according to their races.
With hostility against each
race, violence is bound to unfold
The Imagined Future- Teenagers
being stereotyped as criminals
and stopped at police
checkpoints frequently
As teenagers join more gangs of their own races, resentment and violence will be abundant.
All these gangs will engage in clashes and be regarded as rowdy and gangster behaviour.
Police will have to remain more vigilant to ensure that no sabotage missions are underway.
PART
C
What we can do to prevent the
imagined future:
Racial harmony values must be cultivated from young through education (e.g. Give more emphasis in curriculum).
Every one from each race should have an equal chance at job opportunities-should be considered based on merit and not colour.
Should emphasise on speaking English because if groups of people speak their own language, others may feel left out.
What we can do to prevent the
imagined future: Have a proportionate mix of races in
the police force, and recruit more
policemen or women.
Singapore can encourage inter-racial
marriages.
Companies can put new employees
through work ethic courses to promote
good social cohesion with each other.
What we can do to prevent the
imagined future:
Imposing extremely heavy punishments for youths consorting in gangs or racist comments.
Students in school should have the freedom to choose what second language they want to take.
Police force should be taught to not age, gender or racial profile.
Have more encouraging racial harmony activities such as campaigns and carnivals that will interest youths.
Play shows of different languages with subtitles to promote other races’ cultures.
Some Problems
We May Face
Some problems we may face:
Kids may skip school if they feel that
the racial harmony classes are
redundant.
Bosses are not supportive and are
prejudice against certain people due
to language requirements.
Parents speak to their children in their
mother tongue.
Some people do not want to become
policemen or women.
Some problems we may face:
Religion barriers in marriages.
Companies are stingy and do not want
to pay for the extra courses.
People are lazy to participate in these
activities.
TV channels may not want to take the
risk to play shows that will not give
them the maximum capital.
THE END