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 17th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
@exalt dragon (to your reply to mine) The problem with people is that everyone afraid of getting beaten up. Ask yourself, how many people actually do get beaten up in public? So many fucked up things happens everyday, so shouldn’t more people get beaten up?
As long as you know you are right, just go ahead and tell that person off. Of course, if you get stabbed because of doing something like this, at least you die a matyr ya? Lol.
November 18th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
I think that this kind of phenomena occurs all around the world.. I even once had similar experience, but I’m the victim..
Unless the goverment do something critical, we can do nothing much. The least we can do is to teach our kids well enough in the future, I think..
November 18th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
No comment. I’m pretty sure that if I say anything bad about those schoolgirls, somebody’s ugly head is going to pop up and defend them in a very ugly way.
Which of course, isn’t any bit glorifying to be Singaporean either…
November 18th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
well, keep in mind that not just in Singapore, in every place on this planet has these inconsiderate people… I am very pleased that you knew it was wrong… And please feel proud that you realised it’s wrong… Maybe you may think how you can help when next time this kinda thing comes up…
Anon
November 20th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Hm……………..90% of Singaporean girls are bitches eh?? From my point of view it should be 95%. The additional 5% is for those stupid girls who think they look so cute and act cute when they are so freaking ugly and have seriously freaking disgusting habits
November 21st, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Here we got mat rempits (illegal motorcycle racers) to worry about. Like, they throw some stones at the police. Recently.
February 11th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
its not totally the teens and kids fault i feel it has to do with parent’s upbringing sometimes so yea but still i feel like giving those bitches a tight slap “PIACK!!” >.
October 14th, 2007 at 9:54 am
think you’re absolutely right in what you said. i think that singaporeans are very ugly in terms of manners and social behaviour. i was talking to 2 of them last night, 2 singaporean girls, and one actually snapped at me because i did not agree that dating should be based on money. she said it was practicality. the behaviour of singaporeans is appalling and shocking. i feel ashamed 90% of the time to be a singaporean
October 19th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I do not believe that this is merely limited to the teenage population; a large number of Singaporeans regardless of age behave this way as well.
Just a few weeks ago, I was on an MRT. An old man, bald and dressed in grey Buddhist monkly robes was hobbling along on a walking stick. When the train arrived, I boarded it and the man hobbled along towards the train. The berk boarded the train just in time but the momentum of the train’s movement threw him off his balance. I hastened to grip his arm and help him gain equilibrium and he settled down.
Suddenly, he gave a forceful shove towards another old guy standing beside him (we were all just next to the door, this other old guy was next to the “window seat”). The monk glared at the man and mumbled something; the man was perplexed, I think he thought I pushed him at first but the monk pushed him again and the second time he clearly saw it.
Next, he turned to the window seat at the opposite end and made for it, the Chinese scholar seated there stood up a bit shocked, and his friend who sat beside him tried to help and settle the old berk down but the man again just forcefully pushed the 2nd Chinese guy.
The Chinese guys were not the only foreigners on the train; there were 2 men of African descent right next to me, one of them in fact tried along with me to settle the old man down when he entered the train. This monk, if he be a Singapore Citizen, is a truly disgusting example of the Ugly Singaporean. All that, in spite of the fact that he is a monk, who is supposed to have spent years of meditation and introspection to find inner peace!
For shame! This monk not only disgraces Singapore, he highlights what organized religion does not and will not achieve- inner peace and enlightenment. Being old and wizened does not then, I think, make you any wiser, maybe you will have more experiences in life but you may just be more stuck in your ways.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Our society is doomed seriously.
All kids do now a days when they get together is talk about well other people and well me being raised the great way I was luckily my parents we’re crazy with my mannerism and things around that so I know when enough is enough.
I personally don’t like talking about people even if there not around it leaves a bad after taste in my mouth. If they we’re bad to me or something like that I’d mention it once or twice to myself or a close friend but I wouldn’t go public with it. What I hate the most is when Asians start dissing other people seeing I am one I feel humiliated when they do. When Harry Potter was released me being the big Hp fan I was all for Order of the Phoenix. I got the ticket in advance and was at a midnight showing and there were some kids in costumes of well howgwarts student me being the Asian I am can take costumes without laughing being used to and wanting to do cosplay myself ;) however a group of Asians just started bawling with laughter I was like wow!
I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to start a scene and well I don’t really like telling people from right and wrong, since I don’t feel as if it’s my place in the matter.
But I find it if someone my race or someone close to me at all does something embarrassing I get embarrassed or I feel ashamed I don’t know why maybe because there the same race as me, it’s just unsettling.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Singapore is still better than Jakarta though….
May 14th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I can’t agree more…. I’m a Singaporean myself and I’ve experienced quite a handful of sickening events myself. This one bothers me the most:
I was at the Admiralty MRT Station with my wheelchair-bound grandpa. Guess what happened? When I was about to enter the elevator to the Ticket Concourse, a lot of locals rushed for the door… Hell, that elevator is meant for physically-handicapped people and in a blink of an eye, it’s full of healthy, heartless locals. Man, I can’t believe my eyes….
Back on topic: I agree with DarkMirage… Most of our teenagers’ population(that includes me) do consists of punks and brats who just don’t know how to keep their mouths shut. I’m so ashamed of myself… as a Singaporean.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
some singaporeans are just bitches. What they said and did simply deserve others spiting to their ugly faces.