Is critique by those who ‘quit’ Singapore irrelevant - response to Cain



Cain:
I got the best one that day, while criticizing someone's fascistic statement, I was told 'quitters have no right to comment as they do not know how we Singaporeans feel' or something to that extent.

So now the line has been drawn between 'loyal Singaporeans' and supposed 'quitters' who decide to find themselves a better life.


ed:

I've heard that sort of nonsense quite a few times over the past decade or so. That is just another typical manifestation of the Legalist-Confucian trait of discounting contradiction. i.e. turning away or changing the subject upon contradiction; being accused of being chong hei (long-winded) or 'talking cock'(talking nonsense) when one analyses a situation; their discounting critique or insight of ‘foreign’ origin’ with an, 'the west is the west and we are we'; discounting local evils with an 'everywhere also got racism/not fair/etc', and as you stated, ‘quitters don’t know how singaporeans feel so shut up’.

These idiots ought to be told that 'quitting' comes after how the singaporean who quit felt before quitting.

Hence, her/is criticism is certainly worthy of consideration. So, to say that 'quitters' don't know how 'singaporeans feel' is quite nonsensical. These people ought to be told to give up their right to vote and stick to the 'national' pastime of shopping and eating and leave the decisions to those who use their brains for more than just deciding between which far-flung corner of singapore to eat that which they can get in their own neighbourhood just to add some excitement in their lives.

I'd suggest, Cain, that you ask these people if they would be 'loyal' to an abusive spouse/friend/employer. And if they chose to leave these abusers, would they think their criticism of said spouse/friend/employer to be invalid because they left?

Metaphorically speaking, I would give them a resounding backhander across the face and then, upon their complaining, ask them why they are complaining since they are being slapped no more and therefore wouldn't know how a slap felt as it is already in the past or because they have left the vicinity wherein they received said slap. Does one need to be continuously slapped in order to appreciate the value of pain? I really dislike arguing with the ‘singaporeans’ of today as it is akin to arguing with a child. It doesn’t do much for one’s one perspectival development.

I, personally, would rather, and will indeed, 'quit' singapore in the not too distant future, not because of, metaphorically speaking, an 'abusive spouse', but because the neighbours couldn't care less. I cannot respect an apathetic people, whether they comprise the majority or not.

Generally, singaporeans who don’t ‘quit’ usually fall in the categories of those whom are used to life there; are intellectually underdeveloped by the national experience to the point that they wouldn’t be able to make it elsewhere where one is valued more for intelligence than being part of a 'majority' unless they have lots of money or are able to take refuge in a similar community elsewhere; don’t know better and thus desire not more; have been underdeveloped enough to the point that they do not have the personality to appreciate anything more than shopping, eating, reproducing and dropping off the twig when the time comes; or simply don’t have the opportunity or/and means to do so. That has little or nothing to do with ‘loyalty’. A frog in a well stays within not out of loyalty, but for want of knowledge of that which is without, or/and the means to get out of it.

If we can ‘quit’ when it comes to work/relationships where we can't eradicate evils or control the variables that give it free reign, 'quitting' wouldn't be a sign of weakness, but of wisdom.


ed



Comments

  1. Interesting angle... you probably shouldn't get too worked up over this...

    Well the experience is that each time a criticism is made, you probably have a lot of defenders.. and if you are overseas, you even get questioned if you are a Singaporean to be qualified to criticise... hahaha..

    In Singapore, people wonder why you think in this way.. perhaps, it is more with people who have been overseas.. Imagine my my, the Singapore government have, as I have noticed been trying all means to attract overseas Singaporeans back home, in the UK, HK wherever..

    In any criticism, one should probably try to see why there is the criticism, the validity and the possible reasons, not just discount it because.. of the various reasons you have stated

    Anyway most Singaporeans seem to be unable to take criticisms.. and it is a probably a waste of time trying to have a dialogue with such people, who probably have also closed minds..

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  2. .
    Hi Soo Jen,

    Well, that's the 'triad society' mentality in operation, and as expected.

    Where power, as opposed to reason, rules, 'gangs' are formed at all levels of society. i.e. those whom are with us are right, and those whom are not are wrong + you're either with us or against us.

    We must keep in mind that the legalist-confucian perspective does little to breed popular empathy as that results in political activism and, thereafter, political repercussions - a prominent feature of chinese history, and the consequential culture reflects this.

    Thus, given the eradication of popular empathy and a severe compromising of the empathetic instinct, it is not surprising that people tend to think that if you're not suffering here with us, you know nothing about it. People whom have highly underdeveloped empathy tend to not understand products of it. The darker side of this perspective also founds gross apathy, bigotry, etc, as one would also fail to feel for another the more 'different' they are.

    We could say that they tend to have a 'face-value' approach toward reality. From this, emerges the myriad of perspectival deficiencies that are commonly to be found amongst those whom have been 'racially' associated with legalist-confucian culture through socialisation. But given the passage of time and ignorance of all difference, it moves on from being the affliction of one people to being the tendency of all reared within such a debilitating milieu.

    As for 'being worked up', that would be preferable to turning the apathetic cheek with a 'it's like that one lorr';)

    Have a good weekend :)
    .

    ReplyDelete
  3. SooJenn - frankly i dont think Ed is too worked up over this. If we fail to detect the crux of the matter, the situation wont improved.

    I absolutely agree that the comments from those who left singapore are worth the consideration. There ought to be reasons why they left and by knowing the root cause will we find out the solutions to solve the problem.

    We need to ask why is the singapore govt trying to get the overseas singaporeans back - economics reasons?!?! If the government provides an egalitarian steady state, equal/fair treatment to the people, not only the overseas singaporeans would want to come back, it would naturally attract other foreign talents.

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