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by melbournejustice » Fri, 09 May 2008 12:41 am
SundayMorningStaples, your proposition that Asian males have to go overseas to find their 'maleness' - whatever that means - underscores your lack of appreciation and understanding of East Asian cultures. At another level, it's insulting, not only to Asians, but I believe, to Westerners, too.
Second, this proposition assumes that what is good in the West is also good for Asia - an assertion that is out of touch with the current Asian zeitgeist. In fact, I know of no scholar who would agree with your assertion. Hence, this proposition is poppycock to the nth degree.
Third, the fact that Singaporean males suffer from ED, myopia, low fertility rates and complain incessantly about their conscription does not mean that they are any less 'male' for the reason that you have not defined what being 'male' means. Had you done so, your argument may have gained more traction. I use of word 'may' in the last sentence because I know that it would be near impossible to convince the world (apart from the Klu Klux Klan and their ilk), particularly the Chinese and Indians, including many of my right-thinking Western friends, that the only legitimate form of masculinity is the Western form.
My view is that the world has since moved on from your colonial mindset where Asians are seen as decadent, poor, corrupt and worse, unable to decide for themselves what it best for them. If anything, one should applaud Singaporeans for their intelligence and guts to defy the West during the 1960s and implement export-oriented policies instead of import-oriented substitution policies - which as we have seen, ruin economies! That said, China and India, having learnt from the miraculous 'Tiger' economies (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong), have primed their industries for exports to the rich West since the late twentieth century; and increasingly, for their burgeoning domestic market.
Furthermore, from Christendom right up to the mid-twentieth century, the Jews were not able to define themselves. Others, particularly Germans of the latter generation, defined what it meant to be a Jew. They thought they know better. In hindsight, we all know now that these people were wrong to believe in what they did. As a result, many innocent lives, particularly Jewish lives, were lost. Today, the West, particularly the Western media, tries to define, in vain in my view, what it means to be a Muslim. I have learnt from history and in my brief sojourn in this world that I must not, within reasonable limits, as a matter of principle and good neighborliness, even attempt to impose my idea of a 'good life' on others. To do so would devoid others a psychological breathing space to create their own identity. Let Asians define their own identity.
Anyway, can you tell me now where I can find my hot chicks, cheap drinks, and a cool crowd in Singapore? I am past my academic life! It's just that I felt an obligation to correct this Western bias given my background. Without correction, there would be no end to problems; and I simply love this world too much to let it happen!