Discriminate against Discriminants

If you've read my other blog (see entry here), you'll know I experienced racial discrimination first hand during my time in Reykjavik, Iceland. In a gist, a teenaged boy used a laser pointer to shine into my peripheral vision. The boy knew that pointing directly into the eye is a no-no, but he also knew the peripheral vision would irritate. The boy could have pointed at the others at the shop (all locals), but he picked the only asian there.

What happens when you experience discrimination first-hand? For me, the instinctive reaction was to pummel the guy into pulp. If people are ignorant enough to discriminate by skin colour, they deserve to be taught to lose such ignorance. And pain is a very good teacher. At least, in my mind, it will make me feel better taking my anger and irritation back to the source.

However, the first thing that popped up in my mind stopping me from doing so was the fact that I was in a foreign land. If I pummeled the guy and got into trouble with the police, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of Iceland. This also entails the fact that I was a minority in the country, so in the case of any questioning by the authorities, I was going to receive the short end no matter what.

Secondly, the guy had a friend with him while I was alone. This meant that if I were to take action on one, the other might intervene. I have less of a right to harm the second guy because he merely watched the wrong being committed but didn't commit the wrong himself. The worst he deserves is probably a slap, not being pummeled.

And finally, by the principle of retributive justice, the punishment must reflect the severity of the offence. In this case, the dude only meant to irritate, so will pummeling be the best punishment?

Faced with all the above arguments, I finally decided to let the guy off, merely sneering a sarcastic, "Having fun, eh?" Sarcasm usually doesn't get through to people, especially those stupid enough to commit discrimination, but I let it be that way. If I'm told to offer my other cheek to the enemy, I can at least throw in some sarcasm, right? So the first food for thought for this post is: if faced with discrimination, what will you do? Also, whatever answer you gave, will you actually do it when such a situation arises?

The other food for thought is: We all know that discrimination clearly leaves a bad aftertaste for the tourist and will often overshadow the good memories of that place. Cognitive maps formed in a person's mind will take a very long time to be reshaped. Given the above two facts, a tourist's impression of the country will be easily tarred and remain so for a long time to come. The tourist is not mute, he will tell his friends about the discrimination at the travel destination. This obviously hurts a country's tourism industry. Even 4 million smiles cannot cure a single incident of discrimination. And yet, it's such a simple act to perform. So whose prerogative is it to prevent discrimination? The individual has proven time and again to be incapable of changing discriminative behaviour, so how can the government step in? Fines, perhaps? Caning? A discrimination police force?

The third and final food for thought is: Dammit, so much negative energy and hatred over one small incident. -Jimmy