FEBRUARY 3 — “Playing the race card” is a common accusation levelled against minorities trying to articulate systematic injustices.
It is an expression designed to undermine valid arguments and frame the concern as a hysterical over-reaction.
But sometimes, it is exactly that.
Last week, on the island of Singapore a wayang involving a Go-Jek driver and his passenger unfolded.
It would seem she was unfamiliar with ride sharing apps and instantly considered his perfectly reasonable request that she cover the cost of any ERP fee incurred on her ride as an attempt to rob her.
She then accused the driver of kidnapping her.
Yes. It is as absurd as it sounds.
The driver — living up to my countryman’s fondness for police reports — decided to drive her to the nearest police station to resolve the misunderstanding.
Sensibly, he told her to do the same.
He also began to record the entire exchange (he would later say he felt bad for doing so without her permission but was frightened by her accusatory language).
Eventually they arrived at a Certis Cisco security counter. The officer — thankfully equally sensible — mediated.
The passenger, at this point, had shouted she was being held hostage, tried to open the locked door without pausing to unlock it and generally created a huge ruckus.
Finally, she figured out the lock and fled but not before exclaiming, “Is it because I am Chinese?”
And it is here this strange tale ends.
Of course most reasonable people would be in stitches over the entire incident particularly considering that Go-Jek — now teasingly called Hi-Jek — clarified they have looked into the incident and the driver has been offered a fair outcome.
But jokes aside, the entire incident is troubling.
What if this driver — himself a minority — did not record the incident? What would have happened then? Accusing someone of kidnap is no small matter.
Of course I don’t wish for this woman to now be named or shamed. We will never fully understand another person’s motivations and one incident is not enough to go on.
But I am also troubled by the blatant sense of entitlement. It is unfair to extrapolate from the behaviour of one individual the mindset of an entire people but I worry that the valid concern of a minority is now being co-opted by the majority as an absurd victim narrative ensuring it loses all validity.
Or am I overthinking this? Perhaps.
Is it because I am Indian?
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
