White men have it easier in Singapore.
Being taken for a ride by taxi-drivers.
Retailers who do not know their products well.
The lack of service standard in Singapore.
A writer in the Sunday Times today griped about how Singapore is developing into a whining nation. On the same paper, a woman wrote to whine about how the MRT is not "baby-friendly". She complained about the lack of "space" to breast-feed her baby onboard the train and how some men looked at her leeringly when she was doing so. What? She expects a special carriage for mothers to breast-feed their off-springs? It also reminds me of how another woman wrote to bitch about how she was stopped by staff at the Esplanade when she was breast-feeding her baby at the Durian.
The gahmen has my sympathy - it is a daunting task indeed running tiny Singapore. In this politically-correct age, the gahmen not only must be sensitive to the "less-fortunate" (read handicapped), and make public transport friendly to them, they must also ensue that the amenities are "baby-friendly". With due respect to these mothers, I'm sure they have other resources when it comes to breast-feeding their off-springs. For a start, how about collecting the milk in the bottle in advance before they set-off in the MRT? Or, get off the station, find a comfortable and quiet spot at the platform and do what she has to do away from men who give them dirty looks.
As for white men having it easier in Singapore, I myself was at the receiving end of the "shabby" treatment at a petrol kiosk recently. The cashier greeted the Caucasian man who was standing beside me with such warm and friendliness and made me feel as if I was invisible. The white man was equally friendly, asking her, "how do you do?" I was a little pissed for being ignored at first but soon realised the different treatment was really more cultural than racial. Caucasians are by nature gregarious and friendly people. But we Chinese are more reserved and have no time to make small talk with strangers. It is true we Asians tend to look at strangers with suspicion. Admittedly, we don't have the habit of saying good morning to cashiers or sales people, much less ask them "how do you do". It's just not in our culture to do so. We also tend to avoid eye contacts.
White supremacy is a myth. So just stop WHINNING just about anything.
3 comments:
Pardon me, Chris. But isn't 'blabber' (the word that you used in the short description of your blog) a form of 'whine' too. If so, then you have already fulfilled the prophesy of the writer of that 'nation of whiners' article.
Breastfeeding mothers are particularly concerned or even adamant about their rights to do their thing in public, minus the 'dirty old man' looks from the public. I think that generally speaking, Singaporeans are learning to accept that this is a very natural act to do, even in public. I mean many men (and women too) are consciously trying to look disinterested whenever they encounter such a situation. This is a good start. To be truly considered as a gracious society, the public need to be able to do this as what comes naturally.
The breastfeeding mothers, on the other hand, should be less sensitive to the public's reactions or stares. There are bound to be people who tend to gawk at an incident which is considered rare or socially awkward to themselves.
Well, maybe it's the gamen's fault again for controlling sexually explicit material so effectively. (Another Singaporean trait - blame the gamen, keke.) So much so that, dirty old men consider it as a 'free show' or something 'rather dirty'.
Regarding the woman's complaint of not being given 'enough space' on the MRT train for breastfeeding, maybe all she meant was that she was particularly well-endowed and the guys sitting next to her were jabbing their elbows too dangerously close to her baby's face and er... her milk container?
Hello Mr Wordsmith, if you look up a dictionary, it will tell you that to "blabber" is to "talk foolishly", quite unlike whining, my dear friend. But that doesn't mean I'm "foolish" of course.
Sure, I'm guilty of the very topic I wrote about - whining. It's second nature to us Singaporean. But I'm trying to correct that. And you should too. Haha..
It's so true that we're "sexually" deprived. When I was in Perth and NZ during my honeymoon many moons ago, I only saw Singaporean tourists like myself (looking sheepish) browsing at the bookstores. No prize for guessing what mags we were browsing at. Playboy and Penthouse, of course. It's really quite shameful, not the models in the mag, but us tourists' behaviour. What a bunch of morons and sex starved perverts, the sales staff at the bookstore must have thought. But you'd agree with me that forbidden fruits alwasy beckon and always taste sweet. No? And please be reminded that I'm no "dirty old man", ok? I was 26, at my prime and charging with hormones. I was just being curious, that's all. Period.
If we give in to the moms who breastfeed in the MRT, would the SMRT consider giving in to people we need to take a leak onboard the train? How about to couple who need a quicky? Is there no end to the whiners' demand, my friend??
Don't know which dictionary you consulted my dear Chris. I looked up the on-line Meriam Webster. Both words had the common definition of 'talk annoyingly', among others. I rest my case.
Regarding the breastfeeding mums' demands, I think it is just natural mothers' instinct at work - they just want to fight for the right, protection and survival of their offspring. It is a common trait amongst all mums in the animal kingdom, human beings included.
Post a Comment