One pressing issue the world faces

The pressing issue that I am going to cover is Racism. Racism is very commonly overlooked issue as most people take it as a joke and hopefully after reading this you will gave a better understanding of this issue .

What is Racism?

Racism is the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.

Why I choose this pressing issue?

Racism is a serious matter in the world. Racism is a topic that is often overlooked. Racism is something I have seen first hand. It does not only affect the youth but adults as well. Although Singapore is a multiracial country it is still affected by racism and thus i would like to address this issue.

Why does Racism exist?

Racism exist because there is a belief that people of color are worth less that people who not of colour. This is also a result of many years of traditions as People of colour was treated as slaves and were treated like animals.

Racism in everyday life

Racial teasing is common among adolescents and often it is seen as harmless. But previous studies have shown that it can lead to increases in anxiety symptoms for black adolescents.

In the research team’s interviews with black teens, Dr. English said, being teased about hair and skin tone was cited as a frequent way that they were treated differently because of their race.

One black teenager gave an example of being asked by a white friend, “Why don’t you like chocolate cake? Is it because it is the same color as you?”

Racism in the workplace

When it came to job promotions, almost 14 per cent of Chinese "sometimes" or "often/very often or always" perceived discrimination, but the figure was higher for Malays and Indians, around 51 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.

The survey showed that minorities were perceived to be disadvantaged at work, with almost 32 per cent of all respondents saying Malays had to work harder or much harder than someone of another race to reach the top spot in their company.

For Indians, the figure was about 27 per cent, compared with about 14 per cent of Chinese.

How can we mitigate the issue of Gender Inequality?

The first step is acknowledging the injustices currently present and expressing your commitment to doing better. It’s critical that there are actions to back up your words or else they’ll remain empty promises. Employers can do this by initiating productive and respectful discussions, forming employee resource groups, training on preventing harassment and discrimination and creating channels where employees feel safe speaking up about racial issues.
Aside from conversations, employers can spread awareness by providing resources to educate individuals about the culture of racism and the history of different races. Most individuals are unaware of racial injustice and the comments they unconsciously make towards their colleagues.

How can we as Scout, Mitigate the issue?

As scouts, the core scouting activities we do such as backwoodsman, orienteering can be done in patrols which includes a mixture races.

Through this all races are able to work together to achieve a goal and this can promote harmonious relations among the patrol.

As Scouts, we should all uphold the scout law of ‘Scout makes friends, establishes and maintains harmonious relations’ and ‘A scout is disciplined and considerate’ and respect all races and not discriminate them based on anything.

Overall, I hope people have an open mind when it come to meeting new people and not discriminate them base on their race as ultimately we are all human.