This entry will be focused on a personal event that truly was an eye-opener for me. It was after a heavy note taking lecture that my friends and I decided to hang out and grab a bite to eat since surprisingly we were ALL free. What better place to go than a fast food restaurant?
My friend and I went to place the order, and the staff that was serving us was a middle aged crew leader. The counter next to us was handled by a young indian girl. We placed our orders, and both of them helped each other out by putting the food that we ordered on the tray. I decided to ask the young girl for some sauce, and she held her hand up asking me to wait. I was annoyed by her action but decided to let it pass. She told the crew leader what sauce we wanted and laughed. I was thinking to myself “Asking them for sauce is funny? How interesting……”
If you think that this is rude…… Just hold your breath for what I’m about to say my friends…….
The young girl attended to a customer who was waiting at her counter. Now he is the most important person in this story. Let me describe him : Short, dark, medium built, and a foreigner ( most probably from bangladesh). ” one mc chicken” he says holding up a finger. ” Eating here or take away ?” she asks with a annoyed look. He turns around and points to an empty table and mumbles ” Eat here..” The young girl still with an annoyed look, went to get his order. As the crew leader was also there, she told her in Malay “Orang keling bodoh.. ( that indian is stupid) ” and they both laughed. The girl handed him the order, ” sauce?” and she threw it on the tray. He took the tray and walked away.
What do you think ? Shouldn’t these kind of people be given a punishment? If you are working a service line, it requires you to be friendly and courteous. This is not the way to treat another human being. I have seen many people giving foreign workers these kinds of treatment. So what if the foreigner does not speak english? Is it a crime? Why is there discrimination? Why is there prejudice? These foreign workers leave their own country for many different reasons. Whatever the reasons may be, they have left their own country, sometimes even their own families, in search of a better opportunity. The only things that these people have are their friends. That is why they usually hang out together at Little india every sunday. Talking, laughing, eating and even drinking at void decks and grass patches in Little India because this is their only form of entertainment.
The question is : Why did the young indian girl categorize the foreigner as stupid? Why didn’t she serve him with a smile like she was supposed to?
When someone is placed into a specific category, several assumptions about him or her can be made effortlessly. A stereotype is a very harmful thing because it influences our perception of a situation or person. Self- fulfilling prophesy can be used to explain the vicious cycle of stereotypes. Let’s use the fast food event as example to demonstrate this : Indian girl looks down on the foreigner because he is a bangladeshi, foreigner can’t speak english, thus the behaviour from the foreigner confirms the indian girl’s stereotype.
I am sure that you are all waiting to hear what I did since I was right there. I went back to my table and told all my friends about what had happened. I was very ticked off and I felt a sense of pity towards the foreigner. I knew i should not keep quiet because this is not the type of service anyone should get. Therefore my friend and I went to the counter and spoke to the manager about the quality of service that the fast food had offered. The manager was very apologetic towards us and offered to let his staff know. I was surprised at myself because I usually do not speak up. I did this in hope of no one ever receiving this kind of attitude from a person.
…..NO ONE DESERVES TO BE DISCRIMINATED…..
