The Ugly Singaporean
It’s been a while since I blogged about anything non-related to anime or Japan.
This is an entry about Singapore. Please do not read on if non-anime entries bore you.
So anyway, I was in a certain shopping centre, located in a certain HDB district starting with the letter “B”, near my school, looking at some HD-enabled LCD TV and feeling sad and poor. I stood there for a few minutes to ogle at the power of High Definition and decided that those TVs were way overpriced. I’d rather have a 24″ LCD monitor from Dell for less. I walked to a DVD store nearby and found out that they had removed their entire anime selection, mostly bootlegs. Looks like they finally realized that selling bootleg DVDs with cheap-looking packaging for exorbitant prices just doesn’t work.
But that’s not what I want to talk about today.
On the way down to the first floor, a woman and an elderly man had stopped in front of the escalator. They didn’t look local and, I know I’m stereotyping, appeared to be foreigners who are in Singapore either looking for jobs or relatives.
The reason why they stopped was because they were afraid of stepping onto the escalator. The woman tried to take a step forward but retreated before her foot touched the moving steps. The man held on to her hands as the both of them looked down, uncertain with hesitation and a trace of fear.
I happened to be behind them and I stopped to wait because they were blocking the way down. I could sympathize with them. I used to have a fear of escalators too. I rolled down one when I was five. (Yeah, the whole way down.) It’s really quite difficult to get the timing right if you aren’t used to it, especially since that particular escalator was on the fast end of the speed scale in terms of escalators.
Of course, it only took a few seconds before a mini line formed behind the man and the woman. And it only took slightly longer before the ugly Singaporeans reared their empty heads. In this case, it was a bunch of school girls.
“Who’s blocking the way?”
“Why (sic) so scared one?”
“Ahahahahaha!”
“Lame.”
These were not five-year-old girls. These were teenagers who looked old enough to know when to keep their mouths shut. The man and the woman in front knew they were causing trouble for everyone else and they tried their best and finally got onto the escalator with half a jump. The pack of bitches behind continued with their mocking the whole way down. The man and the woman looked visibly distressed.
In my 10 years of citizenship, I have never felt more ashamed to be a Singaporean.
Are the girls so stupid that despite all the subsidized education they receive, they cannot tell the difference between right and wrong? Or do they do it despite knowing that it’s wrong? I really don’t know which possibility is scarier.
Stupid kids.
November 14th, 2006 at 11:52 pm
…and next year’s GP alevel question “ero-games are worst than western violent movies. Discuss.”
November 15th, 2006 at 12:45 am
- actually the man and woman will die in a terrible accident and the teenage girls are their daughters who have a terrible illness and die in a terrible tragedy, but not before you fall in love and have sex with them in a thousand summers.
Also, DM, get over it; you’ll learn the meaning of derision and frustration when you step into Tekong.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:06 am
kwok: He’s headed for OCS. I can smell it.
Also, DM, we all are ripe bastards. It’s just how we control our feelings.
I feel ashamed of being human everyday, and you don’t see me bitching about it. Take a chill pill and let this dirty little incident go away. It’s not as if you’re trying to save these people (and if you do have such ambitions, I apologize).
Assholes are everywhere, but few make themselves noticed. Those that do will get ostracized by society. We’re pretty good at doing that.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:51 am
I’m so damn disappointed with those people. Serious, they should just die or something.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:55 am
Youngsters have issues. I carry a paddle-board and cold glares around *nods* for cases of unnecessary disrespect.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:30 am
It’s not anything new. It’s human nature. People in packs, especially teenagers, are nasty.
November 15th, 2006 at 8:23 am
Glad to see there are good-natured people like you DarkMirage. If everyone were like you, this world can be a much better place…
The first thing children should learn at school is respect… =___=
November 15th, 2006 at 8:51 am
>>Glad to see there are good-natured people like you DarkMirage.
Some how.. in this context… I find this line extremely funny.
>>The first thing children should learn at school is respect…
I absolutely agree.
>>Real girls are not MOE
Mostly, but not all. I still attempt to retain some futile hope to meet a girl who’s moe IRL.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:04 am
Here’s the problem with teenagers, especially in Singapore nowadays: They think the world revolves around them. This is especially more prevalent among girls in Singapore. Perhaps we should go back to this comment in the newspaper regarding teenage girls giggling in a theatre performance and annoy the heck out of the spectators?
But this problem is also prevalent worldwide. I heard that in Britain, the teenagers, both boys and girls, are worse. They were against school discipline and there is this phenomena (very dangerous one) called ‘Happy Slapping’ over there. Even killed someone.
Really, it saddens me to see the state of teenagers nowadays, seeing that I’m a teenager as well. I put the blame at the lack of moral education, and I say the problem starts at home. But that’s my own opinion so don’t take it so seriously.
November 15th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
> ‘Happy Slapping’
o_O;
November 15th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Oh, I forgot to mention, not every teenagers are like that, so don’t flame me.
Surely you know what is ‘happy slapping’, Anon?
November 15th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
haha im not sexist really… and don’t get me wrong I’m not bitter about being in the army. Its juz that when I observe how most girls behave nowadays I think something needs to be done. But the fact is, nothing can be done. Unless by some miracle my suggestion is taken up.
I work around the MINDEF area and I have seen my fair share of female officers and officer cadets. I have even interacted with some of them. Yes some of them are quite good looking. Young, cute female submarine captains such as Tessa in Full Metal Panic! do exist. In fact most female officers in Singapore are sent to the airforce or navy as submarine or weapons systems officers.
They are definitely much better behaved and have a set of values to follow. When I talk to them, I realise a huge difference between talking to them and the average ACJC girl.
Most teenage girls think the world revolves around them. Sad but true. I didn’t say all, I said most. I have a sister a year younger than me… and wah lan eh. Her friends are abt the same as well. They tend to give up everything in the world for their friends but treat their family members like shit. Again, sad but true, I’m experiencing it now.
November 16th, 2006 at 12:58 am
“When I talk to them, I realise a huge difference between talking to them and the average ACJC girl.”
Why did you choose to single out ACJC?
November 16th, 2006 at 7:30 am
youth today is rotten… its the same way here in germany as well…
November 16th, 2006 at 8:47 am
About girls doing a lot more backstabbing:
Here in Poland, after a certain recent school “incident”, there is a lot of talk about how schools should work. Anyway, I read an interview with a headmistress in charge of school in bronx-like area and she said something interesting about single-sex classes which has oddly something similar this:
To paraphrase:
“All-male class? Tried that, it worked. With all-female it’s harder. Guys have it simple - if they strongly don’t agree on something, they will resolve it once by fist fight or similar means. With girls, you can have an awful lot of background scheming ending in much worse psychical abuse. And psychical abuse is the same or even worse than physical.”