I am pretty sure, by now, most of you would have already come to know about the incident whereby a westerner causing bodily harm to Singaporean girls in the attempt to defend his own Singaporean girlfriend. Stomp.com.sg had got it pretty much covered. Here are some videos taken of the actual scene after the alleged attack.
Judging from the comments, it is clear that there is a group that supports the notion of the westerner being the wrong-doer, and another which thinks that the victim (ie. the girls), in this case a star blogger and her friends, deserves that kind of treatment.
Well, since I wasn't there and didn't have all the details of how the incident happened, I have no right to point fingers and declare which side was at fault in this whole thing. But here are some hard facts which one can ponder about.
I truly believe that we, as Asians, should not harbor any inferior complex towards westerners. When they are in our country, they should respect our system and people. While I don't condone racism with words such as:
In any verbal conflict, the first who uses violence is always wrong. The westerner was the first who used actions to cause bodily harm to the other human party. In this instance, he is wrong. Notice I use human party and not girls. The westerner is wrong because he used violence, NOT because he is a westerner. The victims are victims because they had been harmed by another party who uses violence, NOT because they are girls. Some Singaporean girls are even a more pain in the arse than Singaporean guys.
In the Singaporean society, woman are pursuing for equal rights with their man counterparts. Some might even say that they had already achieved that and more. But it would seem that they are not ready to take the consequences of gaining such rights. Equal rights would mean benefits yes. But like all things, there is always pros and cons. In a world of equal rights, there will be no longer "ladies first", etc. Most Singaporean women still expected to be given "preferential" treatment because of their gender even if they deny it. And I am not even going to talk about how the Singapore law sides with women.
I may be saying this, but traditions do die hard. Men are born to protect women, thats what I believe. And in a world of equal rights, I still believe in that to a certain extent. With equal rights, I believe that, men are still born to protect women, BUT women should no longer expect men to protect them. It would be up to the choice of men.
Back on topic, to those standing up for the victims, I agree with you that we should not let westerners push us around especially if they are stepping on our soil. But what if he isn't a westerner but an Asian, yellow or dark skin, would you still be standing on this side? Do think of how some Singaporean girls might be more of a handful then guys. A girl acting more savaged and uncivilized than a guy can sometimes makes one think that she is something else entirely.
For those standing up for the westerner, I hope you are not doing that simply because you do not like the star blogger (ie. victim) personally, cause that would be childish. Keep in mind that the westerner was the one who used violence first. If you stand up for him because you think that exposing this incident or how the crowd had acted brought shame to Singapore, I empathize with your feelings. It is true that the star blogger might be exposing this incident with video and all to gain popularity. And that Gaijins in other countries who had watched the video might feel disgusted at the crowd's behavior. But on the other side of the coin. If it is true that the westerner is trying to have his way thinking that he is superior and thus used force on the said victims, then opening this can of worms is well worthed. Even if it doesn't portray Singapore in a good light, we can still hold our heads high at the end of the day. Shoe-shining them with your heads down looking at their feet is not the way. Respect them and expect the same respect.
Judging from the comments, it is clear that there is a group that supports the notion of the westerner being the wrong-doer, and another which thinks that the victim (ie. the girls), in this case a star blogger and her friends, deserves that kind of treatment.
Well, since I wasn't there and didn't have all the details of how the incident happened, I have no right to point fingers and declare which side was at fault in this whole thing. But here are some hard facts which one can ponder about.
I truly believe that we, as Asians, should not harbor any inferior complex towards westerners. When they are in our country, they should respect our system and people. While I don't condone racism with words such as:
"Go back your country lah!"
being shouted at any Gaijin seen along the streets, but if we need to say such harsh words in cases to protect our rights and hold our heads high, then it should be done.
In any verbal conflict, the first who uses violence is always wrong. The westerner was the first who used actions to cause bodily harm to the other human party. In this instance, he is wrong. Notice I use human party and not girls. The westerner is wrong because he used violence, NOT because he is a westerner. The victims are victims because they had been harmed by another party who uses violence, NOT because they are girls. Some Singaporean girls are even a more pain in the arse than Singaporean guys.
In the Singaporean society, woman are pursuing for equal rights with their man counterparts. Some might even say that they had already achieved that and more. But it would seem that they are not ready to take the consequences of gaining such rights. Equal rights would mean benefits yes. But like all things, there is always pros and cons. In a world of equal rights, there will be no longer "ladies first", etc. Most Singaporean women still expected to be given "preferential" treatment because of their gender even if they deny it. And I am not even going to talk about how the Singapore law sides with women.
I may be saying this, but traditions do die hard. Men are born to protect women, thats what I believe. And in a world of equal rights, I still believe in that to a certain extent. With equal rights, I believe that, men are still born to protect women, BUT women should no longer expect men to protect them. It would be up to the choice of men.
Back on topic, to those standing up for the victims, I agree with you that we should not let westerners push us around especially if they are stepping on our soil. But what if he isn't a westerner but an Asian, yellow or dark skin, would you still be standing on this side? Do think of how some Singaporean girls might be more of a handful then guys. A girl acting more savaged and uncivilized than a guy can sometimes makes one think that she is something else entirely.
For those standing up for the westerner, I hope you are not doing that simply because you do not like the star blogger (ie. victim) personally, cause that would be childish. Keep in mind that the westerner was the one who used violence first. If you stand up for him because you think that exposing this incident or how the crowd had acted brought shame to Singapore, I empathize with your feelings. It is true that the star blogger might be exposing this incident with video and all to gain popularity. And that Gaijins in other countries who had watched the video might feel disgusted at the crowd's behavior. But on the other side of the coin. If it is true that the westerner is trying to have his way thinking that he is superior and thus used force on the said victims, then opening this can of worms is well worthed. Even if it doesn't portray Singapore in a good light, we can still hold our heads high at the end of the day. Shoe-shining them with your heads down looking at their feet is not the way. Respect them and expect the same respect.
4 comments:
from brief perusal i can throw in my two cents and suggest that it was the Asian woman who was with the white man who caused most of the problem, and that the white bloke was just an idiot who got caught up in the moment and acted with his arms and not his brain.
this comes back to the fact that half of the world are very stupid people with no brains. when it comes to this all racial groups are equally stupid on average. this sort of thing happens all the time and the only reason it got blown out of proportion is that the person whining about it happened to be a minority celebrity in her own little Internet world. now if you ask me that is more bizarre, that someone would apparently think they are interesting because they have an internet blog. but maybe thats just my traditional upbringing.
the biggest problem is that it had to turn out to being a "go back to your country" slinging match and not a "you are a dickhead, go away" comment which would have been far more correct. the sad thing is that as with being stupid, a large proportion of each racial group is also racist, and this ends up showing up whenever an incident occurs between racial groups (especially when the larger group is on their home turf). if you want to be a proud nation then you need to act calmly and without stigma associated with race and ethnicity. i just dont know why it became more than just a 2 minute incident in the first place. sad really.
Yo Si, a pleasant surpise that you came by here. An honor. Yes I do agree with you that it is rather sad that this incident had blown up to such extent. Somehow with the establishment of STOMP, it seems like everyone wants to get a taste of stardom through it. There is no more privacy. Heck digging your nose on the train will get your photo doing just that in the front page without even knowing you were being shot. Personally I felt disgusted! If you look at part 3, the "victim" actually said: "You play with me! You play with me somemore! I call STOMP!" WTF is this. Calling STOMP was first in her mind. Sigh. Maybe thats what a Star has to think about first.
But back to racism, sometimes we just cant help but feel racist. Men feel insecure around others who are different and secure amongst the same. But this is where tolerance comes in I guess. We can choose not to accept others, but at least give them the respect they deserve as a fellow human being.I had my share of racism here in Australia as well. But I tell myself for every 1 racist I meet, there is 9 more Australians who are friendly and willing to help.
And again, I cant help but agree with you some people are just not using their brain to think before they act.
As for Singapore becoming a proud nation, she still have a long way to go.
I wonder if STOMP will become the new fad for Singaporeans.
This reminds me of how Americans tend to like to use the law mindlessly. Like the famous coffee case, where a woman spilled coffee on her crotch, then blamed Mcdonalds for not telling her it was hot coffee!
i personally thimk that this situation happened solely on the fact that people like to over-react once given the upper hand.
i won't say anything about race and stuff but from a very general view.
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