Stereotypical.

“Hey Singaporean!” he said.

The day before he had denounced to the entire floor that Singaporeans are frigid, pompous, think too highly of themselves, gives awful service and is made of fake smiles. I’m guessing that was an insult to me but I have no reason to be offended. I laugh.

Stereotypes are a form of survival mechanism. It allows us to judge beforehand and approach situation carefully when we don’t have the complete information. But that does not justify its truthfulness, or rather lack of it. I thought about what Singaporeans think of Indonesian: how we’re hardly punctual, messy, childish, inconsistent, corrupt, easily deceived and has a dysfunctional state. Non-chinese Indonesians overseas are maids. Our Muslims are militant and narrow minded. How we’re so horribly uneducated. They may reflect a grain of truth, but it is just a grain amplified by ignorance and xenophobic hostility. They are not universal laws.

Remember that.

I have met gracious, funny and lovable Singaporeans as much as I have met punctual Indonesians who follows the law. Our Muslim population are predominantly tolerant, open-minded and educated lot. They just don’t make the evening news, internationally.

Bigotry is an argument that cannot be appealed by logic. I don’t quite grasp why these adjectives attach themselves so firmly to nationalities. What does that make me? I am neither of these things. Similar life conditions in the same country create a series of repeated response mechanisms that over time become the norms of its society. But individually? It’s a fallacy of composition and division. Are they relevant? Are they valid?

I think not.