Moments from My Metropolis - Thoughts on Racism and Social Progress from a Cosmopolitan City

KY's wonderful post on racial discrimination merits an echoing - a rejoinder - from across the seas than just a comment.

I have just finished reading Newsweek's wonderful seven-part fly-on-the-wall account of the 2008 Presidential Campaign [http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581]. And what struck me was - despite the negativity and hostility we saw - how sensitive and adverse all the candidates were in general to the perception of racism. Which is not to say there are no more racists or racial politics, but that social change in the US has reached a tipping point where racism is now so socially-unacceptable that any temptation to exploit it will quicky be overwhelmed by the backlash. This shows the powerful social consensus in the US against racism has expanded and matured since the Civil Rights movement a mere 45 years ago.

I marvelled at this wonderful evidence of social progress first made de jure than became de facto and then becoming a universal value. KY provided some excellent examples of enlightened leadership that tries to make the ideals and aspirations of social progress tangible first through legislation which hopefully will create the condition for such progress to take root. Social progress takes time, but I am hopeful of a growing cross-cultural consensus throughout the world that is making racism less and less socially acceptable - and hence less politically attractive which then creates a virtuous cycle by creating a more conducive climate for racial tolerance. I believe this is how social progress happenned and (mostly) pushed slavery, child labour and polygamy to the margins of any society that considers itself civilized. Wither the societies and political systems that stand against the forces of enlightened global social consensus.

One of the joys of living in New York City for the past 34 months has been the daily experience of a tolerant, diverse and cosmopolitan society. I have come to admire the fact that here diversity comes naturally. Deliberately, I observe my children, ages 7 and 5 1/2, for their world-view and I must say (so far) they do not differentiate any of their friends by race. Although being in the UN International School - where every class may be a mix of more than 20 nationalities when those of both parents are counted - they are very aware of the different nationalities but interestingly, racial or national "labels" were hardly ever considered. To Ning, her friend Sara is just her friend Sara - and not an ethically Indian of the muslim religion who is South African by nationality. I find this notion of seeing people as individuals and not as labels a very refreshing and positive experience.

Being in a diverse environment means being different no longer means being a curiousity, so ironically children are more relaxed about their own cultures. During the recent UN Day, my daughters carry both the Bruneian and Malaysian flags - and they both wore a Chinese dress (although for some reason, this year she also wants to carry a Chinese umbrella). And her friend Claire (center, last row) who is American, decided she would wear a Moroccan dress and everyone thought it was interesting. The picture below is my younger daughter Hue's class where you can see at the back row, the flags of Western Samoa and Fiji among others.

Sometimes they ask, why do we have to go to Chinese school on Saturdays? And I would say, because you are Chinese - and same goes for Jeremy who also goes to Chinese school, Julie and Aram who goes to Korean school because they are Korean and Beyan who goes to Russian school because she is Russian etc. So quite ironically, diversity can also be characterised as something they have in common with their classmates.

Well, what happens outside the UN school? I enjoy the fact that in my time here, I have not been conscious of being seen in a racial light - I said "conscious" because I do not know what goes on in their minds. In casual small talk, which is a common social interaction in the US be it on the bus, in the lift, at the cafe - I am still yet to be asked (or presumed) about my race except in Chinatown where people automatically speak Chinese to me. Only in more lengthy conversations people ask where you are from i.e. which I assume to be nationality as opposed to ethnicity.

On the streets you (over)hear all kinds of languages - English, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Chinese, Korean - and I notice people either don't hear or they don't care because no one (except me) paid any attention. In my neighbourhood, there are all kinds of restaurants, French, Jewish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Indian etc. I have a feeling that generally, people treat the mix of races like having a choice of restaurants in the neighbourhood - as "different cultures" rather than "different people" that add to the richness of society - to be explored or disregarded - without any personal reaction whether to approve or disapprove, like or dislike, neither to be affirmed or threatened by their presence.

My good friend Nasri came to visit last week; first time he came to the US and to New York. And I tried to take a fresh look at my city through his observant eyes and keen and curious mind. First he said, on three occasions when told people actually knew about Brunei. Second, he wonders about the racial mix in New York because he was expecting to see more Caucasians [40% white, 25% Latino, 25% blacks, 10% various-mostly-Asian; although on a working day in Manhattan its more like 60% white, 15% Latino, 15% blacks, 10 various mostly-Asian. 3x more people come to work in Manhattan than living there]. Thirdly, on a bus, as he observed the mix of people boarding the bus, he remarked to me how the racial diversity is observed throughout the city as opposed to enclaved.

I feel those are quite astute observations of a open and cosmopolitan environment; but I also had to remind him New York is not representative of all-of-America (for the record, NYC voted 85% for Obama) but more like a prototype "world city" that places like Hong Kong and Singapore openly aspire to be Asia's very own. I have to confess that living in the midst of all these made me more hopeful for the world.