Sunday, January 31, 2010

Hi, i'm Dark. And I am a Racist!

Delaqroux Inc Updates.

First of all, credits go to the youtube video entitled "RE5 is racist" (Well, the guy dubbing the voice over Chris Redfield was saying something similar like, "Hi, I'm Chris Redfield. I shoot black zombies - i am a racist *smiles*"). And as a side note here, i dont shoot anyone (yet) and me being racist or not in this blogpost is entirely up to you to judge. And whatever came out from your judging, well, i dont care. Now roll em some sushis!

Anyways, this is just a response to what i have observed whilst staying overseas and yeah, it pretty much concern you and you who are studying overseas and being mightily paranoid to the outside world coz everyone outside of Malaysia is racist. Well, i cant deny the fact that some of us, let's just say in this case; Asians, are multiple times being punk3d by someone else - be it slammed on sidewalk, jeered by a passing by car, harassed by sexual remarks, thrown with water, being jeered at while minding your own business etc. And all these cases have one thing in common. It involve us, Asians as the victim and non-Asians as the harasser. So can we call these sample cases as non-Asians being racist towards Asian? To simply put in a way, I am studying in Australia and those victimized are Asians in Australia - do i have the right to say that Aussies, whether it be "all Aussies" or "some Aussies" or "a small/large number of Aussies", are racist?

Well, in my opinion, we often mistook anger with whatever it is around us that can bring the biggest, most hurtful downfall of those who've angered us, and at the same time, instantly putting us at a higher ground, free from all assaults or counter-attacks and getting the support of everybody else (And i do know better; i thought of nuking those who pisses me off everytime). Calling something as an example of racism can immediately mark the lesser of two evils. In other words, if you call someone being racist, you immediately imply to everyone around you that that 'racist' bugger's a jerk and you're the innocent victim... and... holy shit... this guy is dancing break dance to Vannessa's "Thousand Miles"... uh... yeah, whatever that is that i was saying before.

Okay maybe i brought that point a lil too early. let's put some sample cases that i've experienced before. First sample case; here i was, minding my own business in a club in Sydney and i was poured with a stray-flying beer. Well, it wasnt really stray-flying beer coz i do know who threw it at me and the guy noticed that i was his victim. He saw me being drenched and we stared at one another for 2 seconds right after i was splashed. Alrighty, let's put that case aside; i was one day walking along George Street in CBD, when a guy, walking on the opposite direction slammed me hard on the shoulder. I didnt see his face but something tells me it wasnt just an accidental clash of shoulders. His share of the clash was super-strong and obviously intentional. Immediately, i turned around and look at the guy and he was looking at me as well. Putting that second case aside for a lil while, i bring you my third sample case; i was at Macq centre one day doing my sponsorship search and i was actually enjoying the shop-by-shop stop even though some instantly rejected. But when i was at this shop, i hadnt even started explaining anything and the guy at the counter, without saying anything, just shook his head and signal'd me to piss off. I tried explaining what exactly am i doing and that fella gave me a stare for a couple of seconds before.... Finally, in our last case, i was in the train with a couple of friends when a couple of drunk looking teens start getting in the train, start acting all rowdy and loud, and among their shouts and taunt, they called "Oi! Chop sticks!"

Okay, so we have sample case A, B and C and i purposely omitted the outcome of each event. Which one do you predict is and can be regarded an act of racism? Put your bets in boys and girls, and let me take you to the deeper details of those cases.

Case A. The guy who splashed me with beer ended up laughing at me and said "Sorry, mate. That's a free beer for you" and laughed really, really loudly. Some of his friends laughed as well.
Case B. I immediately said "whoa, sorry" and looked at the guy, expecting an apology as well (or at least a glance) but the guy, uncertain whether he heard my apology or not, came towards me, head tilted slightly upwards and said "what? you said something? you have a problem with me?"
Case C. The guy, which is actually a lady (what a twist!), widened her eyes and started screaming on top of her lungs in something but i couldnt make out what she was saying (coz she got me freaked out obviously)
Case D. Well, there's not much details to cover accept when the guy yell out "Oi! Chop sticks!" referring to an Asian passenger not to far away from him, the Asian guy took no heed and the guy who yelled, didnt do anything else but continue screaming randomly.
And now, the biggest revealation; the case A and D guy is an Australian. Case B guy and Case C lady are Asians. If you have predicted any of the three cases earlier to be racist. Does this and the previous details make you change your mind?

Okay, so i'm not gonne give any straight answers to which sample case as a sample of racism at work or otherwise. But let me just break things down in terms of my own opinion and you do the thinking. For case A, i cant say anything to comment anything about what that Aussie guy did. He could have splashed the beer accidentally while he was dancing or he could have purposely splashed it at me coz out of all the people dancing on the floor, i am among the very few Asians there. And of course, he gave a friendly apology but he might have not meant it even the tinniest bit. So can i say he is being racist? Or it was entirely an accident and when he apologized, he did it in a very friendly way. For Case B, the guy clearly slammed me on purpose and was looking for a fight. I bet he was already in a super bad mood and he is looking for a fight. I put a good bet on this case for having no trace of racism coz, well, he is an Asian and i am an Asian - that makes his action as being very, very unacceptable but obviously he's not being racist; he's just being a dick. For Case C, the Chinese lady wasnt pleased with me coming to her shop and not intending to purchase anything but looking for a trace of generosity. Probably she take me as a fraud or something (of course, i have an official letter with me but anyone can pull that trick off) and i cant blame her for that. But the fact that she ended up yelling at me in Chinese, that is something. She might have thought i am a Chinese but that doesnt stop the fact that she didnt use English to shoo-ed me off. For Case D, it seems clear that he is being racist. Or maybe he isnt? He could have just been playful. I mean, he was screaming randomly around teh train and all and though what he yelled was a depiction of stereotype, it still could just be something playful like me calling some random Indian guy in Malaysia "macha" and and Chinese guy "Tokeh"

So yeah, that's it. I know some of you out there will easily mark Case A and/or D as a case of racism. Why? Coz the ones harassing are not the same race with the victims. But as a thought here; are we being too judgemental? I mean, come on; i have Australian jeering at an Asian lady friend of mine as they drove by. But i witnessed an Asian friend of mine jeered at a lady (not sure she was Asian or not though) as we drove by her. Are we mistaking something so obvious as sexism with difference in nationality and call it racism instead? And, considering the sample cases above, if i am a Malay and i say out loud "Dont promise like a Malay" (Jangan buat janji Melayu), am i being racist towards my own race? If such thing doesnt exist, then a whole wide array of insults is free from any charges and i am free to say what i want, regardless if it's racially insulting or not, as long as i confine the insult directing to my own race (and trust me, i would love that). And yeah,like i said, we often take anger to take the better of our judgement skill. There is logic, of course, but when we are being angered, we instantly aim and shoot anything most obvious to counter the insults - and in this case, the fact of the harassment being an inter-national one. Maybe we shouldnt be over-judgemental, maybe we should stop name calling, or maybe we can simply stop being judgemental at all.

If someone just shown an act of total dick at you. Please, try not to show the world yours.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

2009 Flashbaxx

Delaqroux inc Updates!!

And first of all, HAPPY NIU YAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! **shoots out fireworks from hand Bioshock-style**

Okay, i know it's been way off new year already but i dont care. I've just been lazy to post up stuff and there's nothing you can do about it coz i'm still Aussie and you're probably somewhere on earth and you cant reach me. Anyways, yep, to be precise, it's 24th January now so yeah, good stuff. Let's have a quick recap on what has been happening last year so we all can laugh at poor old Darkie appropriately.

First things first, I am in Aussie after all. Yay me. Last year, all of us IPBArians took off to respective universities overseas and yeah, good stuff. What happen next? Not so good stuff; there was some slight issue about staying mixed genders in one house. I still remember how annoyed i was coz the time when i first reach MUV and managed to settle down, i went to sleep on my nice, new comfy bed. That's when someone came to knock my door, meet up next door and had a discussion on the matters at hand. There is no matter at hand dammit! You're studying in overseas now, so be glad about it or God gonna be angry and i'm forced to carry out his wrath by assassinating you people. Geez.

Anyways, fast forward to March, university starts and it was pretty funky. I loved O-Week so much as it shows how Malaysia is not alone in the multi-cultural diversity category, Aussie is too. So, yeah, i joined all the clubs i can get my hands on and it was all good. But among the biggest highlights were the Baha'i society where meditating never felt so good, and my first independent outing to Blue Mt. with students entirely from China. The communication barrier was definitely there but hey, it was fun being able to do your thing with unknown people every now and then. So, uh... what else... Oh yeah, Hillsong concerts, homosexuals running wild along York St. (Mardi gras), Canberra. Earth Hour. All good stuff (Been saying this for the multiple-th time havent i?)

After the Blue Mt. outing, i realized that good things actually comes to those who ventures and being me who's almost in boredom 24/7, i walked all the way from Macq uni to Sydney city with Enid Cheah. Enid who? Just some random girl i met while i went out for Hunter valley trip with I-Club. iClub what? oh, just some random clubs i joined that also took me earlier to Port Stephens. Yeah, i spend awhole lot of cash on April alone that i thought maybe i should concentrate on trying to stay put.

And that's when we comes to classes. Well, it should have come earlier but nevermind. Classes are also good... cool stuff. William De Jean, to me, win the funkiest lecturer with funkiest teaching methodology award, Matt Bower who taught us teaching methodology using technology had his own Matt Bower Fan Club and LING211 is like studying how the world was first formed. It doesnt make sense and it makes us question more, only to get clueless even more than ever before. But concentrating on classes took only a few weeks before ol Darkie to get bored again and thus he ventured to Melbourne on a 20 hours train ride with Risa. At the end of the month, Darkie was officially broke-r than ever.

Gee.. Looking back at May, nothing really happened. Well, to no surprises there, i was broke now didnt i? At this point, i noticed everyone started buying tickets back to Malaysia. It was for the end of year break but i thought they are actually going back to Malaysia on the July break instead. Hence, figuring that i may end up alone in Australia, i got my ticket to go venture somewhere further, deep to the land of the unknown... and sheeps, hell lot of em; New Zealand!
That was when i figured out the truth that they;re not going nowhere for July.. Oh crap.

June was also a month where nothing really happened except for the fact that people started going wild on dance practices for some TONG event (i still have no idea what TONG stands for), we had our second group outing to Reptile Park and i went back on a solo train ride to Sydney to catch movie by the wharf of Darling Harbour with Risa. Yeah, the environment was good, the drinks were good, the company was good but the movie... they shown Twilight. That is when i decided that i wanna be a werewolf. Screw vamps! Oh, i'm sorry, i thought back in my days, vampires sucks blood.. how come now they suck **** (An Anti-Twilight group on facebook, 2010). Anyways, there was also this funky night light event call Vivid Sydney and at that moment of time, i learned that Sydney can be funky when you're at the right time and at the right place. Sydney's boring? It is if you spend every day of your stay cooped up in your pile of hay. Forward to July and voila! Darkie's Live in NZ!! Yay me.!

Yay me. NZ was good but i had to cancel out my whole southwards trip during my stay. Let's just say something popped out and i got very, very pissed. Thought of going back straight to Sydney right after but what the hell, thought i might give Wellington a peek. It turned out Wellington is extremely awesome! I love the place so much to a point that i lost my own identity. Um.. Literally. Yeah, i lost my passport at Coffee and Tea, the coolest coffee hangout joint ever!! Imagine a place with very dim lighting. A picture of conception on its walls, wanted and concert posters on the other, an oldskool pinball machine at one corner and a large demonic statue hung on the wall bearing the sign of a human puppeteer! And did i mention that play heavy metal music all night long? Oh, btw, i lost my passport.

With the help of someone from the malaysian embassy, i managed to get back to AUssie in time before my class starts in August. But upon my arrival, everything died down. Had a few offers from Cohort 5 for me to join their dancing group for Mfest but as i'm not a dancing person, i turned that down. I do dance of course but just not cultural ones. Anyways, had a couple of outing with Risa and her mates and i soon discovered more funky hangout places in Sydney. I was missing Wellington terribly but hey, Sydney's not all that bad in the lepak category. just gotta know the right places.

On September, things go wild again. The plan me and Alia had for Tasmania was finally executable and although they stick to the safer heights, i took a hike. Yep, Marion Lookout point at Cradle Mt., 1300 metres above sea level. Had a few moments where i could have died tumbling down while i was hiking but it was allll good. Then there was Mfest but i dont think i can say much stuff coz i'm nothing but just a spectator. And then there was the fasting month of Radhaman (South Park joke) where the first few days of fasting, i put myself on the 40 Hours Famine challenge with no food, no electricity and no water challenge. The 40 hour challenge went on for 44 hours instead due to the fasting but still, there's just something i learned that i think it shouldnt be shared in this post coz it's gonna take the whole article. Anyways, went for a church conference camp at Cornerstone during the fasting month and i really enjoyed the company regardless to the fact that i cant eat during lunch hours. But at the end of September, Conception day kicks in at Macquarie uni and Wolfmother performed. Wildest concert ever in my life so yeah, the opening of Raya is all good in Aussie.

Still not off the September line up, i spend my first day of Raya in Malaysian Hall but makan-makan is such a cliche. we decided to get raya to the next Aussie level by taking a dip at Coogee Beach. We always heard about people in Santa suits taking a swim during christmas at the beaches but i bet they never have had people in Baju Melayu going for a splash on Raya day. Beat that! Anyways, second day of raya and we had open house in my place at it was quite a huge turn-out despite i was totally against the idea of having the event at my place. But nah, it was all great stuff!

Considering the fact that i was fast falling broke on all the past months outing, i found October to be a month to remember as well. At first things went pretty dull but let's just say i never expect that **TRANSMISSION LOST**

Going on to November, things go pretty well. I've managed to get into iClub event organizing team and i've become publisher for the 2010 Malaysian Students Association. The first event organizing in both club respectively went really really awesome and i've met a whole lot of new friends (dont take me wrong, i'm not an eternal optimist- i met a few whom i figure that i will never like either). And another thing worth highlighting is the Karaoke outing with some Cohort 5 members. It was a bunch of cool lot without the boring bits and yeah, it was awesome.

December yields out more funky stuff now that examinations are over in late November. First of all, i get to crossed out Brisbane of the to-do list, i've runned across the city dressed in a Santa suit with thousands more Santa (trust me, it was a stampede!), I've cut my nice long hair T__T, and we celebrated Christmas by the beach with a special guest from NZ namely Mr Shogi Hamannop. Oh yeah, and i have also moved out of MUV and i've got a PS3! You know what this all means? YES! I'm broke.. again. Anyways, with that last bit ounce of money, i still managed to get myself in position for the world famous Harbour Bridge fireworks show on NYE 2009! Imagine the 10 hours wait just to see a 10 minute fireworks! I dunno how have i manage to stay anticipated with that long of a wait but yeah, it is all good stuff.

And so ladies and gentlemen, we've come to the end of our 2009 recap.. well.. my 2009 recap. There are of course many things that happen between the lines and these are simply things that happen on the surface level. But regardless, i had a good year with good and bad up and downs. With just another more year in Sydney and two more years before the Mayan claim that the world gonna tear apart, let's try to make every second of 2010 worthwhile ne? Happy New Year peeps!