A: Simple: in one word, ESTA. Well that's an acroynum that stands for "Electronic System for Travel Authorization". That means that even if you hold a passport from a country that does require you to apply for a visa to travel to the US, you still need to go onto the ESTA website and apply for an ESTA. It is a pain in the butt because it costs money to do so - US$14 and yes I went through the process before I visited the US earlier this year. I had to pay my US$14 and all I did was enter my details into a website. A couple of days later, I got an email to tell me that my ESTA has been approved. When I arrived in the US, I still had to queue for ages at the airport. But before I even boarded the plane in London, the airline has to check that I do have an valid ESTA to enter the US, otherwise they won't even allow me to board the plane. The US immigration controls are very strict about ESTA so even if you are from a country that doesn't require a visa to enter the US, you will not be allowed to enter the US if you do not have a valid ESTA.
One can only assume that Amos Yee must have obtained his ESTA to be allowed to board his flight to the US by claiming that he was going there on holiday. Had he declared that he was going to claim asylum on the ESTA, then it would most probably be rejected and Amos would then not be able to make his way to America. It's a minor technicality - the moment Amos Yee claimed asylum, what he said on his ESTA form is quite frankly irrelevant in the big scheme of things. Sure, technically speaking, it is an 'irregularity' - he told a lie to obtain the right paper work in order to fly to the US. But detaining asylum seekers is standard procedure anyway, so I don't know why they are making such a big fuss about the tourist visa thing. That is one rather minor detail that isn't going to affect his case.
What Alvin Tan did was to travel via Mexico and entered the US via a land border crossing - when he presented himself at US immigration, he claimed asylum there. Since he was claiming asylum, he didn't need to bother with the whole ESTA thing so by that token, he was up front and honest about his whole intention to claim asylum and never pretended for a moment to be a tourist. But nonetheless, Alvin Tan still got detained anyway for 3.5 months anyway as this was standard procedure. So either way, tourist visa or not, the moment you claim asylum you will be detained. This piece of information was given by Amos Yee's lawyer Sandra Grossman which makes me wonder if she has all the facts right in the first place and how she could give the press an inaccurate representation of the situation. And one newspaper (the SCMP in Hong Kong) ran with that story and every other newspaper just cut-and-pasted her quote without questioning what she said, it's a major facepalm moment when a blogger like me can investigate this far better than the well-paid journalists in Singapore. Aiyoh. Good grief. They suck. Big time.
Q: When did Amos Yee arrive in the US? Why did it take so long for the story to break?
A: Good question. Amos arrived in Chicago on the 16th December. The story broke on the 24th December. So that's a gap of 8 days before the story broke. Amos Yee could have instructed his lawyers to break the story to the press because it would strengthen his asylum claim in the US if organisations like Human Rights Watch take interest and start talking about his case. As to the 8 long days of silence, well I suppose the moment Amos Yee claimed asylum, there would have been a long process of taking down so many details, filling in so many forms, interviews with officials - not to mention assigning him living quarters in the detention center. Add to that jet lag and adjusting to the very harsh winter weather in Chicago, Amos Yee was probably in a daze for a few days before he was in any kind of position to be appointed a lawyer and have any kind of meaningful conversation with her so that could account for the delay.
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| Amos is probably suffering from jet lag and getting used to the weather. |
Q: Are Amos Yee's chances pretty good?
A: Yes. In principle, if it gets rejected, then he would be deported back to Singapore and handed over to the Singaporean authorities. But that's a tough one - the Singaporean authorities have fucked up already and the odds are in Amos Yee's favour. Let me explain: political asylum is granted to those who have a "credible fear of persecution or torture", if the Singaporean authorities want to say, "please send him back to Singapore, he has nothing to fear", then some kind of deal would have to be struck whereby Amos Yee would not be subject to any kind of criminal persecution upon return to Singapore. But no, Amos Yee would already have broken one law - dodging national service and for which, the Singaporean public would want to see him pay the price. Many Singaporean men have this mentality, "if I suffered through my time in NS, then I want you to suffer as much as I did." Amos Yee has already been assaulted whilst in jail in Singapore and this will only strengthen Amos Yee's case: the fact is he isn't safe in a Singaporean jail - there is a baying mob hungry for his blood even as he is walking down Orchard Road or taking the MRT. .
The fact is Amos Yee should have been kept away from other criminals in the jail, to prevent such assaults from happening. Whether you like Amos Yee or not, in a civilized society, we should leave it to the authorities to handle matters of justice, not allow a baying mob to beat up someone who is disliked by the public. Such an incident reflects very badly on the Singapore prison service - did the guards simply look the other way whilst Amos Yee got assaulted in jail? Where the prisons so understaffed and underfunded that they couldn't even keep the prisoners safe in jail? Either way, Amos Yee's awful experiences in jail in Singapore are probably going to work in his favour. This is something that will be dragged out for many years and Amos Yee will have the chance to appeal if the decision isn't in his favour.
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| It may take a while but his chances are pretty good. |
Q: How would the Singaporean authorities react? What would their next step be?
A: They are probably frustrated as there isn't a good outcome, they have to choose between two pretty bad outcomes. Talk about the devil and the deep blue sea! If they put pressure on the US authorities to deport Amos Yee, then it would have to be under conditions that Amos Yee would be a free man upon return and that he would not be arrested the moment he touches down on Singaporean soil. Now that would most certainly piss off the vast majority of Singaporeans who hate Amos Yee so much and want to see Amos Yee back in jail - getting Amos Yee back to Singapore and then letting him walk out of Changi Airport a free man isn't going to be a popular move with the Singaporean voters. But if Amos Yee is granted asylum in the US, that is going to be big news and you know he is going to want his 15 minutes of fame: do you think he will have anything favourable to say about the Singaporean government at that stage? And by then he'll be a US citizen, several time zones away from Singapore and what is the Singaporean government going to do - send in a hit man to take him out (like in the Jason Bourne movie)?
The best case scenario for the Singaporean authorities is that Amos Yee is granted asylum and after his 15 minutes of fame passes, he will not be able to capture the attention of Singaporeans on social media from afar. Singaporeans will not feel any kind of connection with him, for he is no longer in Singapore (and by that token, did not serve NS). His following on social media will dwindle and even if he pulls off another LKY-style video, the shock factor is no longer there. It worked the first time and that was it. In the last two years, Amos Yee was a teenager living with his parents and had a lot of free time on his hands. As an adult in the US however, he would have to work hard to pay the bills as his parents cannot cannot indefinitely support him as he keeps making videos. Perhaps Amos Yee would then get a job which requires him to work 45, even 50 hours a week, leaving him little time to be that active on social media. Maybe he will fall in love and get married, maybe he will embark on an exciting new career or start his own business, maybe he will just move on with his life and forget Singapore - and that's the best case scenario for the Singapore authorities: for Amos Yee to get bored and move on, before you know it, he will be yesterday's news and forgotten.
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| Maybe the Singaporean authorities would rather see Amos Yee go... |
Q: Shouldn't refugee status be reserved for those like the Syrians fleeing the war in Aleppo? Amos Yee created trouble for himself. There are so many Singaporean teenagers who are living peacefully in Singapore because they don't break the law and offend so many people.
A: That is a view that has been echoed by many and of course, I do believe that Syrians fleeing the war in Aleppo should and must be offered refugee status. It boils down to whether Amos Yee has a "credible fear of persecution or torture" if he returns to Singapore. There are proper procedures in the US for refugees to follow and this is not trial by social media, regardless of how people on social media feel about Amos Yee, the authorities in the US have their own criteria to evaluate Amos Yee's case. The issue is not whether Amos Yee has done thus far, it's more a question of whether his personal safety is at risk in Singapore and whether or not the authorities in Singapore can protect him.
Q: If Amos Yee becomes an American citizen, can he still cause trouble and stir up shit in Singapore?
A: The answer is simple: yes he can try by all means but no he will not able to do much. Did he gain a large number of supporters in Singapore after he got into trouble? No, even opposition parties gave him a wide berth as they were nervous about being associated with such a loose cannon. Singaporeans will not relate to him as he chose to leave rather than stay and try to change the system. Some may admire his guts to have done what he did, but the longer he stays away from Singapore, the more people would say, "yeah but you don't understand what is going on here, you're not here and you're just reading about stuff on the internet." Many more will expect Amos Yee to get on with his life and get involved in local politics, wherever he chooses to settle in the US, rather than try to exert any kind of influence on Singapore from afar. If his intention was to cause trouble and stir up shit in Singapore, then he shouldn't have left. It does strike me however, that Amos Yee hasn't really thought this through and doesn't quite know what he is doing.
A: Well, NS may be a bitch for many Singaporeans but Amos Yee has a huge target on his back having done what he has done. He would be bullied left, right and center every single day he is in NS. You can't compare that to the average experience of a quiet 18 year old guy who just keeps his head down, mouth shut, eyes open and gets through NS without making a fuss. NS would not be bearable for Amos Yee - at least in a US refugee detention center, he has some form of anonymity, nobody knows who he is and at least he can get through his days there fairly peacefully. But I doubt he'd emerge from 2 years of NS alive, no sir, not going to happen. The bullies will simply push him over the edge and I think Amos Yee knows that, that's why he had to flee. He simply didn't have a choice unfortunately.
Q: Shouldn't his parents have stopped him from leaving? Now they've lost their son forever!
A: Yes and no. Yes they've lost their son but they've lost him a long time ago. We knew from Amos Yee's blog that he had a terrible relationship with his parents, particularly his father. Being close to your parents means more than just living under the same roof you know - it means building a meaningful relationship, mutual understanding and trust. You can live under the same roof but barely talk to each other, hide secrets from each other because you have lost trust in the other party a long time ago. If Amos Yee's parents knew he was going to unleash such a controversial and offensive video on LKY, did you think they would not have pulled the plug on their modem? Amos was already doing whatever he wanted without his parents' knowledge or consent - by that token, they have already lost him a long time ago. The fact that he is now in another country is quite frankly, irrelevant as that parent-child relationship has been destroyed quite a few years ago already. But by the same token, starting life anew in another country far, far away is probably the best thing for Amos right now given how he has made way too many enemies in Singapore. If they have any love left in their hearts for Amos, then supporting him in his quest to move to the US is the best thing they can do.
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| Amos Yee's problems started a long time ago... |
Q: Is there an extradition treaty between the US and Singapore? Can it be applied in this case?
A: Yes there is an extradition treaty between the US and Singapore but it is highly unlikely that it will be applied in this case. Amos Yee has served his jail sentences in full for all the crimes he has been sentenced for - the next crime he would be found guilty of is dodging NS. I would like to refer you to the case of Melvyn Tan who was born in Singapore in 1956 but moved to the UK as a child to study. He didn't return to Singapore to serve NS and thus was unable to return to Singapore for many years. He obtained British citizenship in the meantime and became a very famous pianist. Whilst the UK and Singapore do have an extradition treaty, it was never enforced in the case of Melvyn Tan. Why? I suppose Tan was just a pianist, not some kind of dangerous criminal or terrorist - why would the authorities bother invoking an extradition treaty over a pianist? In the end, Tan was let off the hook in 2005 with a token fine and all was forgiven - no jail sentence. By that token, it is highly unlikely that Singapore will try to use the extradition treaty to get Amos Yee deported back to Singapore before his asylum case application run its course.
Q: Will Amos Yee have a good future in America? Or will he struggle and regret it?
A: Well I don't have a crystal ball to predict the future, but it shouldn't come as a surprise for me to tell you that if you want a good life in America (or any country for that matter), you need a lot of money. Money can buy you a nice place to live, a nice car to drive, good food to eat, nice clothes to wear. People treat you better when you have money to pay for a better class of service, think about the way the staff at a 5-star hotel or expensive restaurant would be so polite to their guests, especially in America where people in the service industry work hard for tips. So if Amos Yee can somehow find something he is very good at and excel in it, thereby making a pile of money, then by that token, he will have a great life in America. But if he doesn't (remember his poor parents cannot support him indefinitely), then life will be a struggle - reality is going to be a bitch if he cannot get well paid work. I doubt he's ever had to worry about paying the bills at the end of the month - he's just 18 for crying out aloud and has been living with his parents all his life. Let's hope he grows up quickly and adjusts to the demands of adult life. Amos loves America but will America love him?
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| Amos may love America but will America love him? |
Q: Amos Yee has started film making at the age of 13 and has won awards for Best Short Film and Best Actor at The New Paper's First Film Fest (FFF) for his film Jan in 2011. Surely he is a talented filmmaker/actor and can start anew in America in the film industry?
A: No. Hell no. Having worked many years in films & TV, I can tell you that the industry involves a huge amount of team work. Amos Yee is a lone wolf, he doesn't work well with others and he has a problem with authority. Now when you work in a film, there is always someone in charge telling you exactly what you have to do. So as an actor, the director will direct you - he will give you specific instructions about what he wants you to do. Your job as an actor is to shut the hell up and listen carefully to the instructions, then do as you're told. The actors who start getting into discussions, "no no no, I have a better idea about what we could do in this scene", no that kind of actor will find it very hard to get work because when there's a lot of work to be done, the only efficient way to get the work done is for the team to shut the hell up and obediently take instructions from the director in charge. Now for Amos, the 'shut the hell up and do as you're told' part is going to be particularly difficult - he may prove to be the very worst kind of back seat driver.
Furthermore, I note that in Amos Yee's award winning film, he wrote it himself, he played all the characters, shot and edited it all in his bedroom. After having worked with director Jack Neo in the film "We Not Naughty", Neo had commented that Yee was arrogant and needed to learn humility. Now I'm not disputing the fact that Amos Yee is clearly brilliant, talented and intelligent, but there are some fields where lone wolfs can achieve huge success whilst working completely alone. Imagine a scientist who spends ages in the lab in solitude doing his research - yeah that's the kind of environment where Amos Yee would thrive him. But despite his talents, the best case scenario I can imagine is that he has to learn how to get along with others and get over his superiority complex. He probably goes through life thinking that everyone is stupid and inferior to him. Now you simply can't have that kind of attitude in life.
Who knows - maybe this time in detention will allow Amos Yee to reflect on how he treats others and he may learn to get along with others, make friends and build relationships. He's still young and has a lot to learn in this department. Otherwise, there's just no way he is going to work in this industry - there's only so much DIY one-man projects he can do. Such projects may have their artistic merits of course, but we're talking about being able to make money and pay the bills from such projects. In any case, Yee isn't going to parachute himself into the job of a director where he gets to call the shots and order a team of people around to do as they are told - like all young people wishing to work in this industry, he would have to pay his dues and work his way up from the bottom. Now that's something he probably is too arrogant to do and he'll probably pump out some DIY one-man-band projects which may be interesting but he won't make any money from them. Being talented and intelligent isn't going to be enough in this industry I'm afraid.
Q: Singapore is an ally of the US, the American government wouldn't dare to upset the Singaporean government and jeopardize this good relationship by granting someone like Amos Yee asylum, would they?
A: It's not that simple. Singapore has to respect the fact that America has their own system to process anyone who turns up claiming political asylum there. Every country would have their own laws and processes and you can't impose your will on another sovereign country. May I remind you of the case of Michael Fay - in 1993, the American teenager was arrested for vandalism and despite a massive effort on the part of the American government, Fay was still jailed and caned. If the world's most powerful country cannot get a small country like Singapore to spare a teenager, how do you expect the reverse to happen? For a very small country like Singapore to tell a huge powerful nation like America what they should do in the case of Amos Yee? Besides, Singapore and America have bigger fish to fry than Amos Yee - the US is one of Singapore's major trade partners, is this trade relationship worth souring over Amos Yee? Certainly not. Both parties will gladly sweep the Amos Yee file under the carpet just to keep on doing business when billions of dollars of trade is at stake. Amos Yee simply isn't that important in that context, business comes first. #Priorities
So there you go, there's more of your questions answered. Let me know what you think about the whole latest twist in the Amos Yee saga or if you have any other questions, please leave a comment below. Many thanks for reading.
Furthermore, I note that in Amos Yee's award winning film, he wrote it himself, he played all the characters, shot and edited it all in his bedroom. After having worked with director Jack Neo in the film "We Not Naughty", Neo had commented that Yee was arrogant and needed to learn humility. Now I'm not disputing the fact that Amos Yee is clearly brilliant, talented and intelligent, but there are some fields where lone wolfs can achieve huge success whilst working completely alone. Imagine a scientist who spends ages in the lab in solitude doing his research - yeah that's the kind of environment where Amos Yee would thrive him. But despite his talents, the best case scenario I can imagine is that he has to learn how to get along with others and get over his superiority complex. He probably goes through life thinking that everyone is stupid and inferior to him. Now you simply can't have that kind of attitude in life.
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| The film industry involves a lot of team work. |
Who knows - maybe this time in detention will allow Amos Yee to reflect on how he treats others and he may learn to get along with others, make friends and build relationships. He's still young and has a lot to learn in this department. Otherwise, there's just no way he is going to work in this industry - there's only so much DIY one-man projects he can do. Such projects may have their artistic merits of course, but we're talking about being able to make money and pay the bills from such projects. In any case, Yee isn't going to parachute himself into the job of a director where he gets to call the shots and order a team of people around to do as they are told - like all young people wishing to work in this industry, he would have to pay his dues and work his way up from the bottom. Now that's something he probably is too arrogant to do and he'll probably pump out some DIY one-man-band projects which may be interesting but he won't make any money from them. Being talented and intelligent isn't going to be enough in this industry I'm afraid.
Q: Singapore is an ally of the US, the American government wouldn't dare to upset the Singaporean government and jeopardize this good relationship by granting someone like Amos Yee asylum, would they?
A: It's not that simple. Singapore has to respect the fact that America has their own system to process anyone who turns up claiming political asylum there. Every country would have their own laws and processes and you can't impose your will on another sovereign country. May I remind you of the case of Michael Fay - in 1993, the American teenager was arrested for vandalism and despite a massive effort on the part of the American government, Fay was still jailed and caned. If the world's most powerful country cannot get a small country like Singapore to spare a teenager, how do you expect the reverse to happen? For a very small country like Singapore to tell a huge powerful nation like America what they should do in the case of Amos Yee? Besides, Singapore and America have bigger fish to fry than Amos Yee - the US is one of Singapore's major trade partners, is this trade relationship worth souring over Amos Yee? Certainly not. Both parties will gladly sweep the Amos Yee file under the carpet just to keep on doing business when billions of dollars of trade is at stake. Amos Yee simply isn't that important in that context, business comes first. #Priorities
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| Freedom of speech or business interests? |
So there you go, there's more of your questions answered. Let me know what you think about the whole latest twist in the Amos Yee saga or if you have any other questions, please leave a comment below. Many thanks for reading.
Well I don't know but honestly this matters very little to me and I suspect to most people here also. It gets token coverage in the media and that's about it really. As an NS serving male, I really don't bother if he has to come back and serve or not. Yes, there could be a worry of others taking his path in order to avoid serving but hell, it's a pretty drastic path to take anyway and if they want to do it, so be it. There won't be too many anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd even if the US takes him in, well it'll not be the first time a local dissident went overseas anyway. Besides, is this going to really be some sort of benchmark laid down by the Trump administration on relations with Singapore? With Trump, never say never I suppose. But I suspect our government couldn't give two hoots about Amos and would be happy to have to stop dealing with him.
Likewise, I agree with you on most things, that whether he will be a success or not over there is a big question mark. Thing is, Singapore is so small. And the pool of rabidly anti-establishment people is even smaller, by extension. Just because he's made a few videos, speaks and write in good English, this lot make it out like he's such a big talent. Big deal really. You can point to this youtube or facebook following, but I suspect a lot of that is really down to his political inclinations rather than his filmmaking or videography. The world is wider than we all know. And sometimes the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know about reality. It is one thing that this set of people seem to not get because they can be so myopic and repetitive in their rants. To those simpletons who can say nothing useful except "blame 70%", of course a guy like Amos would sound very fantastic and creative. But can he truly hack it in the US? We'll see.
Oh I doubt that there will be many people who will be mad enough to follow the path that Amos Yee took - he's a unique individual, most Singaporeans are too moulded by their culture to do what he did. Even if they dislike life in Singapore, well they'll just do what I did - ie. study hard, get the right qualifications, work abroad then migrate.
DeleteAs for the Trump and the US administration - remember, BILLIONS of dollars of trade flows between the US and Singapore, there's a lot of business at stake here, a lot of money to be loss, a lot of jobs depending on that business happening. Would anyone in the US or Singapore be willing to fall out over Amos Yee? No, business comes first. The Amos Yee incident will be ignored and business will continue as per normal, because both parties are pragmatic and are not willing to fall out over someone like Amos Yee. He just isn't important or significant enough to harm trade relations. He's an irritating kid who made some Youtube videos and said some things he ought not have said.
There's little money in being a political dissident and the guy's gotta grow up and learn how to pay the bills - ooh reality bites, he's gotta get a job and pay the bills. Good luck to him doing that in the USA.
Its probably still ok if he realizes that ok, my main aim is to get here, but i'm nothing yet. so if i need to flip burgers and wipe tables a bit to get going, i'll take that.
DeleteTrouble is a lot of these characters don't think that way. They get a little bit of infamy for themselves and they think they are Edward Snowden. I think Amos Yee might actually be a lot smarter though in this respect, understanding the reality, compared to say someone like Roy Ngerng or Han Hui Hui. Ngerng in particular, you could always detect a heavy messiah complex in his writings and the way he posed for photographs. Out of the courtroom, he's always in front, dressed immaculately, smiling for the media while letting his old father drag his suitcase behind for him. The father's a carrot cake seller, but you always got the vibe that Ngerng seem to portray the body language that finding a menial job like that was beneath him, he who was the supposed voice of the people. At one point I think he even believed the opposition parties would be queuing up to invite him to run for election. I read one of his blog posts in which he largely ignored other opposition contributions, but instead waxed lyrical about himself, as though he alone did more than any of them.
In that respect, I think Amos Yee might be that much smarter and less deluded. Good luck to him.
I have a feeling that he will not make it the USA.
ReplyDeleteNot because I hate him or whatever, but he is there alone without his parents and he had never hold down a proper job before, not even as a waiter. Then again, he can change, and hopefully he does.
I think it's a question of what you wanna define as 'make it' - you can argue that I've not made it, ie. I'm not super famous, I'm not a billionaire (I am a millionaire though, even by GBP/USD count) - but I'm 40, I'm having a good time, I've got a nice house to live in, I'm financially very comfortable and I'm happy. Isn't that enough?
DeleteI don't know if you remember her - Annabel Chong (aka Grace Quek) former Singaporean porn star who was big in the 1990s, she's slipped into obscurity, working in IT, leading a very quiet life in the USA but she's financially comfortable and content keeping a low profile these days.
Will Amos Yee become a celebrity in the USA? No, I really doubt it. But will he be able to make ends meet and avoid poverty? Probably. Will he be happy? I think so. Isn't that good enough Dakota?
My definition of making it is being well-off enough to live in a nice neighbourhood, afford a car and enough savings for rainy days (Etc medical emergencies). Healthcare in USA is not cheap tbh.
DeleteWhat is it with the Singaporean obsession with driving a car? I can afford a car easily (it's a lot cheaper in the UK without COE) but the building I live in is located at a junction between two major roads, right next to a train station: brilliant for public transport, but absolutely no where to park. When a friend drove to my house, she ended up parking miles away and having to walk for ages to get to mine. Traffic in London can be a bitch as well - when my family visited recently, my parents got into a taxi with the luggage and my sister whilst my bro-in-law and my nephew got the train to the airport; then guess what? My parents and sister nearly missed their flight and made it by minutes 'cos traffic was terrible whilst my bro-in-law and nephew waited ages for them anxiously at the airport. There are plenty of reasons why someone wouldn't wanna own a car if they live in a big city like London - though if I had lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, then yeah being dependent on public transport would be a bitch. If I needed to, then I'd just Uber it.
DeleteHealthcare usually comes with the job - ie. your employer gives you a health insurance policy so if you are hospitalized, the insurance policy pays out. But if you're self-employed, then you need to buy your own health insurance and that's not cheap.
hahaha @Dakota
Deleteno offense buddy, but i think
"cannot make it" is a really overused and misused term in Singapore
It seems to me that Making it simply means being "socially acceptable in the eyes of the white collar working class"
i find it bloody ridiculous that we spend our lives obsessing over how to look good for other people we don't really care about anyway
maybe a better way to make it: is to work hard, responsibily for what you really want and give back to community
theres nothing to stop Amos from growing into a proper man - it's about his own determination
And as for his goals: i think he certainly wants autonomy and liberty which he can find in spades over there
As for his career goals - well we haven't asked him, so i wouldn't be presumptous just yet
@LIFT
DeleteThe other side of the "cannot make it" coin
is "doing very well" - again, a very fuzzy term
Maybe "Doing very well" vs "Cannot Make it"
How to you define success in Singapore?
might be your next area of investigation
I haven't really given it that much thought - you see, I'm extremely, painfully cynical about things like that. You see, I'm a millionaire (multi-millionaire in fact) by the age of 40 but some people would look at me and say, "oh he's gay and he doesn't have children - his life is incomplete and he's a failure". Everyone has their own criteria about what success is and I think it's bullshit to try to have this one-size-fits-all approach. I think happiness is the most important thing - are you happy? How do we measure that? Take the example of George Michael for example: his mother married a poor Cypriot migrant, had 3 children and no money - she worked her butt off, two jobs, to help make ends meet but in the end had no time for her children or herself. Then just as she got lucky, one of her kids turns out to be a super successful singer, she gets cancer and dies. Oh gee, poor woman. I always look at people who have children and I always think, you can barely take care of yourself and you wanna have children? Who's gonna take care of them? I look at my own parents and I shake my head in disbelief.
DeleteI also knew this guy through work called Andrew some years back - on the surface he is married with kids and everyone thinks, oh family man, how sweet. The truth is he is barely on speaking term with his wife, they are together for the kids and he sleeps around at the first opportunity. He was so miserable that he told me everything because he thought, well you're a cock-sucking gay man, you're not going to judge me for this are you? I just took one long hard look at him and asked him, "Andrew, are you happy?"
Doesn't it all boil down to that? There are enough miserable people in this world already.
@Alex
DeleteOwning a car is very convenient for many people. It offers great convenience when travelling to different location, time management, who and what to bring and whichever route I desire. Though it has it's downsides like car maintenance and parking.
@Lex Tan
LOL, you are making assumptions about me. To me, it is about getting for myself, a comfortable standard of living which I accept. It will be living in a house of my own in a good neighbourhood (you do not want to live in HDB 1-room rental flats) and enough savings for any emergencies. A car, to me, in Singapore, is bonus. I would get it if I can afford it.
"i find it bloody ridiculous that we spend our lives obsessing over how to look good for other people we don't really care about anyway"
Maybe you had everything given to you. I have friends who live in HDB rental flats and tbh, not looking down on anyone, the people there can be quite complicated. He told me his utmost goal is to be able to buy a house and finally get away from this place. Is he trying to impress me or anyone? I don't think so.
Wanting to make it in life doesn't meant impressing other people. Maybe I am just very self-centred, but I don't care about what others think, but I am determined to get myself a house in a good neighbourhood which i have a few criteria, in a central neighbourhood, (Etc Bidadari, the latest HDB BTO), and away from HDB rental flats. It seems the same around the world - the cheaper your dwelling, the more "complicated" your neighbours get.
Just my two cents.
Absolutely! my opinion is that we are all trying to be happy; and to do so we each choose various means available to us
DeleteCommon goal, different means
Like we play sports and do exercises to be healthier to feel fitter - in other words to feel happier by developing our body
Most fitness enthusiasts spend an inordinate amount of time arguing over which
method/routine/sport is superior/tougher
So a marathon fanatic says hes the toughest because hes got superior endurance..
But what of the Powerlifter who lifts 1000lbs? Thats tough too.
And constrast the Powerlifter to a Boxer
Sure Mr Powerlift is strong, but can he take a punch over and over again for 10rounds?
The misery of people (in developed societies with enough food) is due to them spending all their energy trying to impress others of the superiority
of their means and failing that to debate endlessly about it.
i observed that people who are generally happier simply spend their time acting on their own unique convictions, constructively pursuing their dreams.
Whats superior is what works for the individual's context.
So as much as i do find Amos Yee's actions distasteful - because its self-defeating; i still hold out a measure of hope for him that he will in his own time solve his problems and find a measure of happiness.
We never truly know where life will take us, so we can at least hope.
@Dakota
Delete😏 perhaps im being presumptous
Do read my next few posts - perhaps that will clarify my point
@Dakota - well, it's a cost benefit analysis. You have to think about how much convenience a car can actually bring you - in the case of Singapore, those who drive to work have to pay ERP, may be stuck in traffic and then there's the cost of parking the car somewhere all day whilst you're at work. Compared to just getting an Uber, well, the latter is so much more convenient. You get chauffeured to work without all the stress of ERP and parking (but okay, you still have to contend with traffic jams). If you were to do a cost benefit analysis of taking an Uber whenever you need to vs owning a car, then Uber definitely works out to be cheaper. Besides, driving is stressful. Crazy stressful. On the 21 December, I was in an Uber when there was a scary moment - a dumb bitch crossed the road whilst looking at her phone and not at the on-coming traffic, she got hit by a motorcycle and flung two lanes across the road, right into the path of my Uber and the driver had super quick reflexes and slammed on the brakes, the car stopped about 10 cm before hitting her and I thought for a moment he was going to run her over. You may have romantic visions about driving a convertible with the wind in your hair, but the stress of driving in a big city is no joke - I'm guessing you've never driven in a big city before? I'd much rather pay an Uber driver to take that stress on my behalf thank you. He was an excellent driver - he didn't get into trouble, trouble came looking for him.
DeleteI see it as a vanity thing - for example, I have some fancy shoes which look pretty. I don't need them as I've got plenty of shoes already, but hell I am so vain (as you can see from my selfies on Instagram) I just had to get them pretty shoes and where them as they made me feel good.
So your convenience argument simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but that's fine - you're vain about owning a car despite the fact that Uber exists day and night, at your finger tips. You can go anywhere you want with Uber and negotiate the route. You want to own a car the same reason why I have too many pairs of fancy shoes. I'm vain and so are you - that's fine. Just don't pass vanity off as a cogent argument. As least I'm honest enough to admit I'm vain when it comes to my shoes. #imeldamarcos
You don't need a car in Singapore, New York, or London. Too busy. The trains are well connected.
DeleteAs for the good neighbourhood, I get it. I think I would have liked to own a nice condo in the Orange Grove area if I lived in Singapore. :)
Alex, there isn't such a thing as too many shoes. I just bought myself a new pair of boots yesterday. My soul was very pleased. Shoes are essential. Many, many pairs of shoes all stacked neatly or spread out in a row ... It's like a tea - party!
To add to the obsession of having a car: When I moved to Australia, the first thing that I bought was a car (apart from finding a place to stay in).
DeleteI find that a car is a necessity in Australia. I have lived in Sydney and Canberra. Australia capital cities are generally car-heavy, and public transport is not extensive. Taking a Uber to work will cost me about AUD$40 to AUD$50 a day. A year of Uber-ing to work will cost me approx. AUD$10,000. I bought my car (used) at $10,000. Annual registration cost (or "rego") is about $1,000.
Taking a bus to work will involve me transferring 2 to 3 times at least - approx. 1.5 hours door-to-door per trip.
Parking is free at my workplace, so I save on that. Taking all these into account, it makes more sense for me to own/drive a car instead of relying on Uber or other forms of public transport. Of course, this appeals much to the Singaporean inside me :)
Dave, I think it varies city to city. Some cities have far more of a car culture - others don't. In London for example, if you have a car, you'll probably struggle to find somewhere to live with free parking: parking usually costs extra, especially in city centers. You'll end up living much further out in the suburbs where there's more space and land is cheaper. But when you get to the office, you'll really struggle to find affordable parking if you work in town. Parking in central London is frightfully expensive. I used to live in Soho (in the heart of the shopping/entertainment district) and I always discouraged my friends from driving to meet me as the nearest carpark costs £28 for 4 hours. If you actually worked in Soho and had to park your car there all day, then that's £39 a day - you see, carparks are in such high demand in central London that they get to charge such high prices and make a lot of money. That's why people turn to public transport, taxis and Uber, because you could easily Uber to work and back for a lot less than £39 a day. And that's just parking alone - we have a congestion charge, similar to Singapore's ERP: so add a further £11.50 to that and you're well over £50 a day if you insist on driving to Soho from the suburbs. Not to mention traffic jams + fuel costs + insurance. Ouch. London is not a car-friendly city at all.
DeleteIn your case Dave, you are living in a neighbourhood where public transport links are poor. I'm sure if there were better public transport links - say if you were somewhere on the Sydney Trains network, then you would use the trains more. I have 2 train stations within a short walk from my home + bus stops + I cycle as well.
Car or no car, to even get to working - class comforts when you arrive with nothing but your suitcase is a huge mountain. Idiot does not even have the paper qualifications to get his foot in the door. No connections (that we know of). No work experience. No life experience. No common sense. No piles of money. No looks. No dress sense. No charm.
ReplyDeleteWhat does he gave? A big ego. A big mouth. Youth. If he smartens up, picks up a trade, and plays by the rules even in the US, yes, he's going to be ok.
This idiot is going to get a big lesson about life in the big bad world.
Welcome to America! Land of the free. The American Dream awaits you. Twit!
Who knows - he's still young. I changed a lot between the age of 18 - 21 during my NS days. The my university days didn't change me that much when I reverted to being a student again, then when I started working - I remember leaving my first job far more cynical because I was put through such a harsh environment. I think we are shaped by our environments. The way carbon particles can be turned into diamonds when under a lot of pressure - the harsh working conditions changed me, made me a tough, wiser, more careful man.
DeleteNow that could have been Amos Yee's experience in NS, but he dodged that, hopefully detention will teach him a thing or two. Because if all he ends up doing is being a loner who makes Youtube videos from his bedroom, then he'll never ever grow up. The world can teach you so much, you just have to embrace it and grow.
Di, u mentioned that
Delete"as long as he plays by the rules..."
thing is i got the funny feeling that he's the sort of chap who wants everything and nothing
If u give him A - A is wrong. If u give him B - B is also wrong - a kind of paranoid everything is wrong mindset
i fear that Over there hes gonna run his mouth off the wrong way as well and make enemies just the same
Just seems like the sort of guy who paints a big target on his back for nothing
Alvin on the other hand may have gotten himself into a world of trouble BUT seems to have some sort of direction. Hes a maverick with a plan.
Still, best of luck to Amos. Hes a troubled kid who deserves some faith. I remember being an angry kid and saying some stupid things - the only difference is that i never posted anything controversial online (thank God)
On playing by the rules in the USA, I have already blogged about it after I returned from the US this summer: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/florida-notes-part-2-following-rules-in.html If Amos refuses to abide by the American rules, then he may find himself in big trouble there. Then again, I reserve judgement on that one - he hates the Singaporean rules but he may not have a problem following the American rules given his love affair with the USA. I felt the same way - I resented the Singapore system but have no problem following the rules in the UK. And yes, weren't we all angry teenagers at some point?
DeleteTrue enough. Im speculatively being critical of him without a full accounting of facts.
DeleteYes, we were angry teenagers in our youth, but we knew better ways to get back at the government/parents. We got out of the country to study/work. We followed the rules that needed to be followed so that given enough years we got jobs to pay for our basic needs and indulgences that feeds our souls. Hopefully,like you said, he may have no problems following the rules in the US. I have no problems following the rules in Canada.
DeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteAnother person had successfully apply for asylum and he is currently an Australian PR. He is Alex Tan. He is now wacking Singapore government while Australia protecting him in Australia with States Times Review.
Despite being offer asylum in Australia, Singapore still maintain a good relationship with Australia. Maybe the same thing will happen with Amos Yes where US can still maintain the relationship with Singapore while approving Amos Yee asylum claim just like what Australia did with Alex Tan.
Not true. Alex Tan got in as a skilled migrant like Limpeh is FT.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/self-exiled-states-times-review-editor-alex-tan-granted-permanent-residency-australia