A lesson in race

A while back, I was walking at Midvalley Jusco looking for home things. As I type that, I felt like I am feeling old, where before this shopping meant shoes and clothes and bags and not pots and curtains and baking stuffs.

I walked past a salesperson with a new trainee by her side and heard her said

* "Kalau kakak yang macam ni, yang pakai tudung ni, ni Melayu."  She pointed at me. And I also thought ' Kakakkkkkkkkk'.

** "Haa, tulis tu..." She motioned to the new trainee to write this important point in the notepad that the trainee is holding. 

I wondered what he would really write down in his notepad, if it would be something like 'scarf', 'not so dark skin' = Malay. 

I wondered what he would make of my husband who have slant eyes, curly hair, fair skin = Chinese? Even though he's not. 

I wonder if we are so easily defined in a few points.

I wondered too if he is Nepalese judging for his slightly dark skin, wavy hair and obvious ignorance of Malaysia race and culture. 

Malay to English translation

* If the woman looks like this and wear scarves, she is a Malay
** Haa, write it down.

Suffer the little children

A group of kids hanging around a particularly shady trees. One boy wearing khakis short and a print shirt was heard..

" Eiii.. Aku tak suke la die ni. Kalau die gemok... aku boleh la ejek die gemuk,"

"Mane boleh ejek die gemok. Die tak gemok.." A girl in polka dot dress is addressing him on being politically correct.

" Hah! Takper! Jom kite pikirkan ape yang kite boleh ejek die..",the boy was pointing to a dejected small looking girl in floral dress.

The girl in a polka dot dress seems fiercely protective of the little girl and put her arms around the little girl shoulder. " Tak baik taw ejek die. Die kecik lagi... die bukan tau ape pon."

Rolling sounds of thunder seems to drown the voices of the kids. The next thing that was heard is an indistinguishable voices of the group of kids but the unmistakable tone of jeering and taunting that was hurled to the poor little girl. A group of kids is now pointing and laughing around the small girl and the polka dot girl, seems to flung back her head standing beside her. The small girl burst into tears.

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Kids are often depicted as ones who is without prejudiced, hatred or sins.
Herm.... maybe so, maybe so... but try to look back really hard. In our youthful stupidity, we are often cruel.

p/s: Eh.. macam pernah guna la title entry ni sblom ni for previous long ago post. Lantak la