The Many Faces of Ignorance & Sim’s Parting Shot

Posted by AlastairS on March 30th, 2008 | Categorized as Blog, General Forum | Tagged as Ignorance | 386 views and 17 Comments

Everyone here has come to the conclusion, at some point or another, that being a TCK is a double edged sword. We benefit tremendously from the different cultures we’ve experienced, the friends we’ve made and the life lessons we’ve learnt.  We’ve also suffered as a result of the moves we’ve made, the friends we’ve left, the feeling of not belonging and ignorance

Ignorance is supposedly the enemy of all things “TCK”. It is the object which we direct our hate and the topic of most of our rants. And it is ignorance that some TCKs have fallen victim to. The “ignorance” towards those who are “ignorant” is the ignorance in question. This is the worst kind of hypocrisy. Most TCKs are often reminded how “mature” they seem by non-TCKs and this has led to some developing a superiority complex.  It is based on the notion that we, as TCKs, are some how superior to non-TCKs. The notion that we have a better understanding of how the world works, simply because we’ve been privileged enough to experience more than one culture

TCKs are Third Culture Kids. A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. Children fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to have moved around and experience cultures not of their own, or of their parents.  In no definition of TCK are we described as “all-knowing” or superior. Neither does it state that we can judge people merely on the basis of something they believe in

We’ve all pulled on personal experiences with our non tck and tck friends. There are just as many ignorant TCKs out there as there are open minded non tcks. This is because simply having these experiences does not make you “open minded” by default. What we fail to realize is that our experiences don’t necessarily mean our opinion is any more correct than the views we are arguing against. This failing isn’t specific to TCKs, but to people in general. Everyone always believes they are correct and are doing what is right. What we as TCKs should be doing, is realizing that our opinions may not be the correct one, as our encounters with other cultures should have taught us. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion; what we should have learnt to do is respect others’ opinions, no matter how ‘ignorant’, or rude, it may seem to us. We also should be able to understand why these opinions exist. If we hold our upbringing and experiences responsible for our views then it’s only natural that someone brought up under different circumstances would express different views

We should question ourselves, first and foremost, before question the opinions of others. Hitler, for example, was not a TCK. He believed, with every bone in his body, that he was doing right by the German people and the German nation. As TCKs we should not commit the same mistakes that such people have committed. Those who forgot they were not the ultimate authorities on life and justice. Who are we to judge someone’s behavior when it’s a direct result of their cultural upbringing and social conditioning?

It is important that we don’t allow such ignorance to propagate. There are many young TCKs on this site who look for guidance and advice. Misguided animosity towards non-TCKs is not something we wish for them to take away from this site. We should be helping these children understand who they are and the world that they belong to, not helping form prejudices

Wielding this double edged sword, stumbling through life we are prone to lashing out at perceived injustices. As TCKs, however, we should and must display an ability to question ourselves before we pass judgment on others because as our encounters with other cultures have shown us, there is more than one lens through which the world is viewed

-Alastair Sim, Neha Shastri & Kristine Vasquez

Many of you may not know who I am. I joined the site towards the end of 2007, thrilled at the prospect of meeting people who have lived extraordinary lives, not seeking people who I thought were my “equals”. I came to this site hoping to find people who shared my values, not necessarily my opinions, to share stories and to make new friends. Although all of these expectations were met, I also experienced a lot of things I didn’t expect to see on this site. There was a lot of negativity and pessimism that I found disturbing, so I took leave from the site. Originally I cited university but really I just couldn’t bear scrolling to the complaining. I had no qualms with walking away; to me people’s opinions are simply that, their own opinions. The only reason I chose now to write my final post is because the site is a global phenomenon, a tribute to Brice’s amazing work. With this sudden influx of traffic and surge in member numbers I felt that this was no longer an issue pertaining to a few members, this site may well influence the youth of tomorrow and for that reason I felt the need to voice my opinion on the matter. I’ve encountered a lot of prejudice and although my opinions may not sit well with many of you, to put it bluntly, anyone who disregards the above is really proving my point.  

This will be my final post as I don’t wish to be a hypocrite by trying to “impose” my point of view on people who may disagree. A last remark must be made though. To Brice, keep up the good work mate and thank you. Your site has introduced me to some amazing people. And with this I bid you all the very best of luck in your future adventures, of which I’m sure there will be many! Maybe one day our paths will cross, Insha-Allah!! (God willing, but it sounds more kick ass in Arabic!)

Yours Sincerely,

Alastair Milton Sim Jia Qing

Alastair Sim

Chinese by ethnicity, Malaysian by nationality, Australian by association and cultural chameleon. Have lived in 5 different countries, including 6 different cities, over 19 years. Am also an avid procrastinator.