Wow its been long since I last wrote a post. Feels really weird typing in an empty space like this again.. but so many things have been on my mind. The most part of me really wants to post this on a more conspicuous social media platform, but the reserved part tells me maybe I still want to keep much of this as it is; my own opinion.
It never really occured to me how far discontentment can go. How it can make people unhappy. How that unhappiness can translate into nasty words. Into fuel for ingrained ideas. Into a mass cloud of negativity looming over as many crevices as it possibly can cover. Not until a pandemic like this has thrown everyone into further disarray and motivates them to rear their ugly, self-entitled, self-righteous heads for the rest of the world (at least on social media) to see.
Day after day, there are countless posts and updates on Covid and its breakdown of fatalities, infected cases etc. I guess it is always a consequence of social media that with such easy access to news, everyone suddenly feels the compelling need to post their own take on what is going right, what is not, how things can be improved, how things could have changed, how things could have been at the start, how things are horrible now, how we should proceed, the list never ends. Which in normal circumstances, should be good right? Everyone coming together to provide constructive criticism can help the number of cases to go down, and everything can quickly return to normal, right? Except, so many of these 'criticism' is just what it really is, nothing constructive at all. There is such an entitlement to be sitting at your computer, convincing people to agree with your warped views, dictating that 'if only these people have listened to me', 'if only the Government did this at the start', 'if only we had a lockdown earlier', 'if only we tested more people', 'the authorities are useless because they cannot get anything right (what a retarded sweeping statement this is btw LOL)' blah blah blah. It does not cost you anything to be a keyboard warrior and suggest a thousand things ways could be done better. Sure, it is a free platform and why can't you have the freedom to air your views? You can, but imo the line crosses when you demand that people listen to you and align themselves to your views, because your view is the best and there can be no other way. The line is crossed when people try to present alternative perspectives and you go on a tirade to shoot them down in every bid to prove your own narrow-minded points of view. It has gotten to the point where social media (i.e Facebook comment section) has become so toxic, the goal of these regular keyboard warriors is to pit themselves against each other and see who runs out of words/insults/profanities earlier. If you really wanted to change the situation by giving your suggestions, do it through proper channels. I hardly think Facebook of all things is a legit channel of communication. You think by berating the Government everyday on a Facebook post, that they will think to themselves 'Omg people are angry with me on Facebook leh, maybe I should take this random's persons suggestion, it's obviously better than me and my team's.' -.- Move on pls.
This doesn't mean I am siding with the Government and saying everything is a bed of roses. No it is not, yes things could have been done better, yes there were lapses. But hasn't it always been like that? What can harping on the past (cue 'Oh who said we shouldn't have worn masks at first? Now they want to change their tune? Hahahaha') do? Regarding that, are you so stupid that you don't have the foresight to decide for yourself if you should wear a mask on your own face if you felt that it would be beneficial to you? Why must you wait for a minister to dictate that then are you willing to take action? Bloody grow up, move on and accept that we are in a situation that is challenging to anticipate the next course of action. Everyone is trying. The least everyone needs is a babbler bringing up the past again and again even though it has become irrelevant. Move on pls.
I am also so disgusted with the behaviour of many locals. Personally I don't agree with online vigilantism. To take someone's photo and video and shame them online for 'not wearing masks' because you feel self-righteous that you are, is a warped thing to do. Instead of being stuck behind your stupid phone (which is the very tool you use to post stupid comments online) and calling others out for their misdeeds, what about actually going up to them to tell them nicely? Whatever happened to courtesy? Everyone is so quick to jump on the bandwagon and disregard the context of the situation. Then, when you post your stupid videos to social media (yet again), the mob ruthlessly takes the opportunity to attack these 'Covidiots' by further misconstruing the context of the situation. CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT GUYS. While I agree some people deserve to be labelled idiots because they choose not to cooperate even after multiple reminders, you don't know whats going on in everybody else's lives. That ahgong you just shamed for gallivanting in the streets and being socially irresponsible? He may have issues at home. He may have been homeless. While he could have went to seek help from relevant authorities, would it have killed you to be that bit more compassionate? Where is the foresight you so righteously commented about online?
The worst is hypocritical behaviour. I recently shared about my take on the #sgunited movement in Singapore, where the nation gathers to clap and sing for frontline workers to appreciate them. I am really not convinced by these kind of feel-good activities, because to me, that's about it. People participate in it, feel good about themselves and the situation, and move on with their lives. Does it inspire them to do something concrete that might improve the situation? Yes maybe. But for the majority I don't think so. Social media has become so hyped up that everyone wants to be in the limelight. If that means waving a dumb torchlight and singing NDP songs while filming yourself standing at your window 'along with countless others', I'm sorry but how does that improve anything? This encourages everyone to think that because they have sang, they immediately have 'contributed to supporting the essential workers' and so gives them a legit reason to stop there because they have done enough. Many of these people, sad to say, probably goes out with their entire families to queue up at some hyped up BBT shop or NTUC right afterwards. Haven't you shot yourselves in the foot by proclaiming to rally behind essential workers, while at the same time exposing yourselves to the virus by finding loopholes to go out of the house? Ridiculous. I also see so many people jumping on to give their opinions on foreign workers, just because they are now an active cluster with thousands tested positive. 'Oh so poor thing, what have the authorities been doing?!?!?' 'This is like slavery leh, how can they be in such conditions?' 'The government is exploiting these people! So unfair!' 'We should have given them nice dorms to live in' Get off your moral high horse, before this pandemic even started, did you even bother to read up on the 'plight' of foreign workers in Singapore? Suddenly 'we should all care for them more because they work for us and build our houses and this is what they get in return?' If you truly cared, you would have known that Singapore has finite resources and space constraints, so although this has always been a touchy issue, this has been the way it has been operated. Albeit there has been progress over the years, it is minimal. Can we do more? Definitely. Are Singaporeans willing to make compromises and not have NIMBY syndrome? I don't think so. In that case, don't act like you are an expert in this field. Move on pls.
What I'm trying to say is just this. We are in a pandemic. No one knows what is going to happen in the near future. While we try to beat Covid, I think we all need to reevaluate our expectations during this period of time. We 'suffer' because we are confined and our freedom is restricted. Well, deal with it because everyone else is suffering alongside you. Most importantly, my take is that if you truly want to be #sgunited, then don't be selectively united for goodness sake. Being united means rallying together in every circumstance, whether it means you are inconvenienced and have to suck it up for the time being, or have to wear masks when you go out even though it suffocates you and hinders your breathing, or trying to be nicer to people around you even though you are a volcano fuming inside every single day, do it. You can't call yourself #sgunited on one hand and try to defy every single order the Government puts in place.
They say it takes a pandemic to bring out the ugliest in people, I say I agree. I hope we can all move on as better people with better attitudes (although I am convinced that you can't talk sense into stubborn mules who think their opinion is king and everyone else sucks).
Rant over.
