Selfishly Singapore.
written: 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009

My PMS, apparently, persists.

Unrelated to the preceding sentence, today on the MRT I told a girl to give up the reserved seat on which she stuck her ass to this old woman standing next to her. The old woman easily looked 80. Wrinkled skin, hunchback. The girl was young - younger than me - and wore huge sunglasses, and like everyone else, had her iPod plugged in.

Great. I boarded the damn train and that was the first thing I saw. Already unhappy about needing to take the damn MRT at all, all the way to Chinatown for a one-hour tutorial for which I hadn't prepared at that point in time, I couldn't be bothered about anything and walked up to the girl and said, "Do you think you should give up your seat to the old woman over there?"

In my fit of rage I used wrong grammar, but whatever.

To her credit, she seemed genuinely apologetic. She quickly unplugged her earphones and practically jumped up, all the while saying, "Oh sorry sorry!"

The old woman was really nice. She said it was okay. I just pointed to the "reserved seating" or whatever sign, rolled my eyes, and let them sort it out. The old woman eventually sat down, and before she got off the train, she told me "thank you".

The reason I don't walk up to inconsiderate assholes who occupy the reserved seating when they have no ostensible disability in sight (sorry, selfishness, asshatness, laziness, all don't count. Fatness doesn't count too) is because I'm non-confrontational by nature. I get extremely irritated very fast and very passionately, but I hardly ever say anything about it to the source of my irritation. I'd bitch at lengths about it to other people that's for sure, but I don't make any moves towards taking steps that would result in a confrontation, or at the very least, an awkward moment.

It was quite awkward after I told the girl to give up her seat. But like I said, to her credit, she seemed genuinely apologetic, so that mitigates the offence.

The thing is, I think it's time I stopped taking the fucking MRT, in interests of keeping my blood pressure normal. Our society's seeming innate selfishness disgusts and repulses me more than anything that I dislike about this country. I honestly cannot understand the kind of person that happily sits on a fucking reserved seat, while a visibly elderly person stands directly next to him. I mean, honestly. How does anyone do that? How is anyone shameless enough to do that? How can anyone not feel the slightest degree of shame, of guilt? I honestly, honestly don't understand, because I'm someone who doesn't ever sit on those clearly marked out seats, even if half the carriage is empty.

Everytime I take the MRT I'd get so pissed off about this issue. I'm convinced that it's high time for the government to impose a fine on inconsiderate people. In fact, fine anyone who sits on reserved seats, regardless of whether there are needy people around or not. It seems like the only way to get Singaporeans in line is to threaten them with the prospect of them losing their precious money, since money is the only thing Singaporeans care about. Because Singaporeans are selfish, superficial, and trivial. The collective selfishness of this society both astounds and depresses me; and simultaneously I wonder why I'm still surprised, why I still react the same way, why I find it shocking that I can remember the one instance where I witnessed someone giving up her seat to an elderly person.

I should be used to this. I live in this country, I carry its passport, I am legally Singaporean.

And yet, at times like these, in the face of such blatant displays of selfishness, in the midst of the self-centred filth that pollutes this country, I am deeply ashamed to call myself Singaporean. To that end, I am not Singaporean. If I wanted to be facetious or frivolous, I'd even add that I'm Taiwanese.

Need to get the fuck out of this country.

And I think I'm quite serious about proposing to the government to impose a fine on such idiots. Might sit down and pen a letter to the relevant Ministry soon.

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010