Pride And Prejudice

Are You Anti-Nikon?

Joel had a chat with me last night about the general topic of boundaries set up by people around themselves.  He had suggested hanging out with some friends to take photographs of interesting sights around Singapore.  However, he was told that they weren't keen to hang out with him because they were "anti-Nikon" 

While this is a very small and insignificant incident in Joel's mind, to me, it was a huge bug bear because I was annoyed at the frivolosity of such an excuse, behind the guise of non-acceptance of differences.  Differences exist throughout our lives, we confront differences in opinions, behaviors, personalities, cultures, races, religions, ways of life, on a daily basis, so the difference in brand of camera equipment started me on a tirade about young people being brought up with prejudicial norms that are seen to be acceptable in society.

It is not acceptable.

Prejudice Is Not Acceptable

I live in Singapore with an eclectic mix of races, religions and cultures.  I am so proud of my friends from different walks of life and even prouder to be married to a Caucasian who is often misunderstood but barely accepted in the neighborhood.

My son grew up within 2 homes, with friends who thought when he was younger, that it was quite odd that he had 2 sets of parents.

I am gifted in an uncommon skill, Tarot reading, which was seen as bordering on witchcraft and an un-Christian /occultic craft.

We Are Different, So What?

However, all 3 of us in the family, in spite of the prejudices that we had tolerated  for years due to our respective quirky talents, had never experienced someone saying he can't hang out with us because I used a different brand of Tarot cards, David used a different make of guitar, or Joel played with a different brand of rugby ball.  So when I heard Joel making a remark  about this "anti-Nikon" statement, I was completely horrified and filled with contempt that such a statement can be defended in a public forum.   I will not stand for it, and I will not stand for any prejudices of any kind.

I am still seething with anger about it.  If our young people harbour a prejudice on something as insignificant as a brand of camera, I can't fathom, what prejudices he would be harbouring when he grows up and plays a significant role in our community. 

I don't want our children's children to be tarred with the same prejudicial brush that if one is just slightly different, one can't be accepted into a circle of friends.

I hope this is food for thought particularly for those who have developed apathy for such prejudices over the years. 

Prejudice of any sort, no matter how insignificant, is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

About the writer:

The writer of this blog post is a 43 year old mother of one, who spreads her time between her day job as a marketeer at a financial institution, her hobby as a certified professional tarot reader and numerologist, and her family which includes a 19 year old son.  She's married to a Scot who has been affectionately called "The Crazy AngMo" and prays that he does not find out that the term when translated, has labeled him as a "Ginger Head".