I could do a cut and paste and it's too fucking depressing to read some of the crap that these 60.14% have come up with - you can read them on the original article. Here's the thing that disappoints me the most: some of these comments are written in very good English - so these people have clearly had a decent education and are able to express themselves eloquently, yet they are the brainwashed 60.14%. This means that there simply isn't a correlation between intelligence/education and being brainwashed.
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| Can we prevent extreme apathy? |
It is a far more complex situation than that - you see, in my family, everyone has crossed over from the dark side apart from my mother. She still votes PAP whilst everyone else: my dad, my two sisters, my brother in law and myself are all vehemently anti-PAP. It is so easy and convenient to dismiss my mother as being ignorant, misguided, misinformed or simply "not very educated" to account for her political views - but reading those comments this morning made me think, no - it is more complex than that.
There is the argument that you will find apathy no matter where you go - that is true, but Singaporeans are undoubtedly one of the most apathetic in the world. This is reflected in all areas in life - from the refusal to help the Rohingya refugees to even an inability to stand up for themselves: be it in the face of a bully (such as the guy cutting the queue in the bank) or a government who passes so many laws that discriminates against its own citizens. Would any other country get away with legislation like that? It is uniquely Singaporean.
It is easy for me to get on my high horse and condemn the apathy as described in the article by M Chew - but the practical aspects of living in such an apathetic society is worrying for me. I have two elderly parents and a disabled nephew living in Singapore - how will they be treated in such a country? Earlier this year, I have a friend in Singapore whose father was attacked and robbed in broad daylight in Singapore. His father is a taxi driver who had a passenger who refused to pay - when challenged, the passenger beat up the taxi driver and robbed him of his wallet and phone. Plenty of Singaporeans just stood by and watched this old man get beaten up and did NOTHING. In fact, this was very similar to the incident that happened to another taxi driver who was assaulted by 3 men and locals stood by and did - that's right, NOTHING.
It's not like I worry about what might happen should anything happen to my elderly parents in a place like Singapore - sure, I am counting on the fact that Singapore has a very low crime rate, but should something happen, are they so docile and tame that they wouldn't even have the natural instinct to act in self defence? Just like in the article I referred to, there were so many Singaporeans in that queue who witnessed that man cut the queue - yet they were unable and unwilling to stand up for themselves. What the fuck is going on? Have the PAP bred a generation of Singaporeans devoid of balls? It's not so much that I expect other Singaporeans to come to my parents' aid - no, it's more a question of them being able to stand up for themselves and take care of themselves instead of letting everyone else walk all over them.
I am less worried about my father - at least he's not that Singaporean having been born and raised in Malaysia; I am counting on the fact that there's still some Malaysian instinct left in him from his childhood. My mother is the one I am most worried about - if you took a shit on her head, she would offer you tissue paper for you to wipe your bum with and convince herself that your shit is actually good for her hair. For her, that would be easier than saying, "hey stop shitting on me, go away". Somehow, she has no concept of standing up for herself - it is an alien concept to her. Even if nothing makes sense, she would say something like "I have faith in god and god put the PAP there, so even if I don't understand how things work, I am sure god and the PAP have their plans and know what they are doing." Fucking hell. Cue palm to forehead when my mother uses god and PAP in the same sentence - oh a double-whammy: she is a pro-PAP Christian whilst I am vehemently anti-PAP and a militant atheist. You can see why we DON'T get along.
I also worry about my autistic nephew and what kind of future he would have in a place like Singapore. Would my nephew become the next Alex Ong? A problem one encounters with autistic children is their lack of self-preservation - they can be lost in a world of their own, oblivious to what is going on in the world around them. As a child, his parents and grandparents can wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him from the world - but for how long? At some stage, he is going to have to fend for himself. I don't expect others to look out for him or even offer kindness - but I would very much like to see him be able to take care of himself and this is something he has yet to figure out.
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| Do you know when and how to stand up for yourself? |
I am less worried about my father - at least he's not that Singaporean having been born and raised in Malaysia; I am counting on the fact that there's still some Malaysian instinct left in him from his childhood. My mother is the one I am most worried about - if you took a shit on her head, she would offer you tissue paper for you to wipe your bum with and convince herself that your shit is actually good for her hair. For her, that would be easier than saying, "hey stop shitting on me, go away". Somehow, she has no concept of standing up for herself - it is an alien concept to her. Even if nothing makes sense, she would say something like "I have faith in god and god put the PAP there, so even if I don't understand how things work, I am sure god and the PAP have their plans and know what they are doing." Fucking hell. Cue palm to forehead when my mother uses god and PAP in the same sentence - oh a double-whammy: she is a pro-PAP Christian whilst I am vehemently anti-PAP and a militant atheist. You can see why we DON'T get along.
I also worry about my autistic nephew and what kind of future he would have in a place like Singapore. Would my nephew become the next Alex Ong? A problem one encounters with autistic children is their lack of self-preservation - they can be lost in a world of their own, oblivious to what is going on in the world around them. As a child, his parents and grandparents can wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him from the world - but for how long? At some stage, he is going to have to fend for himself. I don't expect others to look out for him or even offer kindness - but I would very much like to see him be able to take care of himself and this is something he has yet to figure out.
At the end of the day, I see Singaporeans as being their own worst enemies - who can you blame when you refuse to even help yourself? Never mind helping others - this is about helping yourself. If you choose to be selfish and not help others, that's your choice - but when you won't even help yourself, then I think there's something seriously wrong with you. I think about all the male Singaporeans who have had to serve NS and wonder how they rationalize in their heads what they have to do in such a system where the odds are stacked against them, Like dude, do you not see that big PAP dildo stuffed up your asshole? You like getting fucked by the PAP, like seriously?
So there you go - it's easy for me to say "you reap what you sow" when it comes to meek Singaporeans unwilling to stand up for their own rights, but when it's my mother mother who is like that, I worry about the practical implications of her being like that. You know what the scariest part is? She is totally oblivious to her own inability to stand up for herself in a crisis - crikey. Where do I begin? As usual, feel free to leave a comment below - thanks.
Hi LIFT,
ReplyDeleteYour mom using god and PAP in the same sentence reminds me of a Christian ex-colleague of mine when he ran out of arguments to defend his support for PAP's policies in our little Facebook exchange.
http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2011/05/facebook-one-citizen-sheep-attempts-to.html
X wrote on my Facebook wall, "God word wrote, submit to authority, specifically government. No government is not placed by God. God gives us a pair of ears and eyes to know right and wrong but not judge. If you are not a Christian, then leave God aside. If you are, learn to submit and judge not the government that God put. If God want to pull down that government, no one can stop it. Maybe now is the time, maybe not. Leave it to God. ... You know a family that suffered but there are families that have been benefited. I don't support ISA. We talk so much about "I" and forget the "we". When we start to talk about "we", we forget the nation. Many think without "I" there is not "we" and without "we" there is no nation. I want to have a nation, so the "we" can life in it, then I can be part of it."
Brainwashed PAP supporters. IMHO, there is something wrong with the type of Christianity being preached in Singapore.
Cheers, WD.
Yes, it was like that in history as well - in England, when monarchs had absolute power, people believed that they were divine - ie. god put them there to rule, so they must be good - no matter how stupid, in-bred, corrupt and useless they were. Same ideology in Japan until WW2 and so many other countries with a monarchy - where government and god are put in the same pot and people actually believed that the 2 went hand in hand.
Deleteit seems ironic that in Singapore, people do actually believe in that kind of ideology despite Singapore being an ultra-modern city state, what's going on?
if i may, here are a couple of links which serve as a response to wd's post...
Deletehttp://carm.org/shall-we-obey-gods-law-or-human-law
http://carm.org/questions/skeptics-ask/should-we-obey-governments-are-bad
well it's probably more appropriate to show it to the person named x.
Hi LIFT,
Delete> it seems ironic that in Singapore, people do actually believe in that kind of ideology despite Singapore being an ultra-modern city state, what's going on?
I don't know. I would guess there is something wrong with the development of critical thinking in Singapore's education system. Afterall, you're talking about a country where CHC's brand of "prosperity gospel" actually prospered and Sun Ho's "China Wine" MTV are "justifiable" ways to spread their religious values. Beats me.
http://limpehft.blogspot.ca/2012/07/delusion-of-chc-congregation.html
I have a lot of peeves about the behaviour of Christians in Singapore. The only reason I conclude that the problem lies in the human failings rather than the religion per se, is because I have friends who are positive representation of that faith too. Thus at the end of the day, one can only blame the gullible uncritical thinkers and their ill-behaved leaders for taking biblical teachings out-of-context.
Cheers, WD.
Many pastors and priests used to speak up on the social and economic injustices in Singapore. After several expulsions and detentions in the 80's, everyone sort of wised up. You know, it is just so much easier and safer to preach about angels and Jesus loving you than to rock the boat with that kind of talk.
DeleteHi Fox,
DeleteI agree with your point about not rocking the boat. Yes, I am old enough to remember Operation Spectrum as the confessions were broadcasted on TV.
IMHO evangelistic Christianity has long since moved from the rather benign "angels and Jesus loving you" to advanced sophisticated sales tactics. E.g. My experience of high-pressure conversion tactics back in the 1980's (see url below). It has obviously deteriorated into "prosperity gospel" by the millennium -- I guess whatever sells and brings silver to the church coffers, eh?
http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2012/07/my-teen-visit-to-evangelical-church.html
Still that does not get my goat as I take "prosperity gospel" as willing-buyer willing-seller, let the gullible pay for their beliefs. What got my goat was when a group of Christians plotted a Trojan invasion of an established non-religious NGO -- for their hidden agenda. These folks would never admit it, but on hindsight review of my friend's directed-questions about her plans to volunteer with an (unmentioned) organization prior to the invasion, I know what the true intentions were. I recall that my friend often lamented the breakdown of morals in Singapore and felt that Christian moral code if applied widely would solve the decline of the Singaporean society. As per any neutral party, I recall suggesting to her to petition for changes to the law if she felt that strongly. (I am not against petitions, as I believed in freedom of speech.) Never did I expect her to become a part of a stealth operation to overtake an established non-religious NGO, to further her group's religious ambitions. Clearly, religious ambition can even subjugate critical thinking abilities trained by a good education and a professional career.
http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2009/09/after-aware.html
Given the above, various annoying evangelists -- who harass strangers and cannot seem to take a polite "no" for an answer, and who do not even know the bible well enough to handle their potential convert's quotes from the biblical stories -- are merely minor pests. The saddest part is, such methodology of spreading one's religious faith is now also widely used by various other faiths/cults. One see commonality in the spread of 天道 (made popular in Taiwan).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-Kuan_Tao
*Shakes head* I am not an atheist, but frankly I support the fight-back by atheists against the religious folks' intrusion into one's freedom of belief.
Cheers, WD.
yes, you are right. i know we don't stand up to bullies, but i didn't realised that the government is the biggest bully, and our reaction is the same in both cases.
ReplyDeleteYes I felt v strongly about this on the issue of NS - why did I have to do NS + have all these reserverist liabilities whilst foreign talents just waltz in with none of that bullshit? That's why I had to make a point by waltzing in last year as a British foreign talent just to show how the system discriminates against locals and favours foreigners - even foreigners like myself who are in fact ex-Singaporeans. Go figure. I am the kind of person who will study the rules of the game and strategize - but I tried explaining this to my mother and she just doesn't get it.
DeleteI said to her that it meant I was effectively a 2nd class citizen in the country of my birth - where I had served NS - then she got terribly confused and resorted to the old racism argument. And I'm like for crying out aloud mum, I've been in the west for 15 years, I live amongst angmors, I work amongst angmors, I am spending xmas with an angmor family who are treating me like one of their own and have showered me with xmas gifts, what is this bullshit about angmors being racist towards chinese people? Then she says, "okay lah, you are lucky, you are an exception, you don't experience racism i get it, but the majority of Chinese people in the west do ..."
And i'm like, if that was the case, why would I want to settle in the UK? Duh. Oh the lies she has to tell herself to justify her faith in the PAP.
Hi Limpeh,
DeleteI think it's better to layoff the old lady, cause not everyone understands or uses logic. some people use faith, some use logic, some just don't care. faith is only bad when we have faith in the wrong thing, like aum or jim jones. otherwise it's a very powerful and valid emotion. take mother teresa for example, she has faith in her God, and helped a lot of people along the way.
your mum has faith in the PAP, that is not entirely wrong, we all agreed that PAP has done a lot of good things. a lot of people in the third world would love to have what PAP has achieved. and she is happy with what she has, i think that is fair.
it's just that we want a better society, that's fair too. a society will always have people in every color of the spectrum. we can't just force them all to be one color. i think communism tried that and they fail every time.
what we are trying to do is to lay a level playing field, so that people of different colors can present their various ideas, and we go with the majority's idea. we don't have that here now, but that's what we are trying to do, levelling the playing field and presenting our ideas.
so your mum is not wrong in her believes. it all just depends on what we want.
Thanks for your comment mate.
DeleteSomehow there is this fear in Singaporeans that getting involved would mean being accused of being involved in a situation for no gain.
ReplyDeleteThe condescension and incompetence of our local police despite all the good things that are always said about them is one of the reasons for that - I have myself been in situations and heard of situations where the people assaulted got warned for fighting instead without any proper investigation done, and even when it is done, the reports these policemen write (which is all they ever seem to be useful for) are completely incoherent - so that the IO could quickly close the case and go for prata or whatever they do in their neighbourhood police posts instead of their jobs. Pursuing the cases through lawyers etc is an expensive thing that even the rich wouldn't want to waste their time on (unless, of course, you know the right people). I want to say that I've lived in Malaysia and honestly, deep down, there is no difference between Malaysia and Singapore....
Still, i agree with you that there is no reason for apathy, but you can see the incentives and tendency for people to not want to get involved, and it permeates into everyday life, not wanting to stand out and be the nail thats hammered down.
Again, I empathise with you on the stubborn mother who complains all day about the town council, etc, gets upset with everything, but still stubbornly votes PAP and lets people shit on her head and then later complains about it but refuses to speak out. There have been so many times when she is "bullied" outside and I create a scene telling people off , and get told off by her in the end!
Anyway, all the best with your new role!
LIFT, I barely had time to look through your earlier posts and this one really reminded me of an incident a few months back. I told a 'friend'--whom I simply no longer talk to anymore because he deleted me off Facebook--about Singaporeans being ranked as the most emotionless in the world. He then went onto a track that Singaporeans are the most emotionless and so on and various other tirades. But when I asked him(he is still in Singapore) what he was doing therefore to transform the society around him into a better one, that was when he suddenly flipped over and became self-defensive, saying that he does not care, that he does not want to be involved in politics and so on. I said that his words speak against him and his claim to want a better society, because it shows how deeply he cares only for himself and money. He then became extremely self-defensive and even brought in God into the picture, saying that God will judge him accordingly. Please, I am not even talking about God and judgement by Christ....after that incident, he immediately deleted me from his Facebook and you know what, for the fact that we were from the same secondary school, so much for friendship.......Singaporeans like that are just the ones who screw themselves over and over again. There is no sympathy for the idiots. They cannot be cured. They literally need divine intervention......
ReplyDelete