Dear The Real Singapore,
I’ve been following and reading, with great interest, the story about how a PRC woman let her kid pee in the RWS food court (Link). I must say, I really do enjoy some of the colourful comments written by readers.
I’ve read a number of comments saying that instead of just complaining, Singaporeans should do something about it. Some people also commented that Singaporeans should be telling these inconsiderate people off, instead of merely filming it.
Well, here’s my experience with an inconsiderate PRC woman.
My wife and I were lining up at a train station and just as the train was arriving, I heard a loud voice say in PRC-accented Chinese, “the train is here; quick just run; we’ll just cut the line and we’ll get a seat”. I turned my head to see who had said that and on my left, I saw two PRC women appear from the escalator and charged past people in front of them, barging through the crowd and the nice queue that had formed at the train doors. Olympic gold medallist, Usain Bolt would have been proud of their speed and acceleration.
Before I could react, they had pushed past myself and the other people who had lined up (good on you people, you make me proud) and managed to get onto the train. Luckily, there was no seat for them to occupy and they ended up standing, just like all of us.
The young man in front of me shook his head, but did nothing. I was incensed and I was going do something.
I stared hard at one of them and she caught my gaze and quickly looked down to avoid it. Getting even more incensed, I stood right next to her and spoke in Mandarin (which I absolutely detest because why should I change my usual mode of communication just so that they can understand) and told her that this is Singapore and that she needs to have consideration (gong de xin) and she needs to line up (pai dui). All she did was look down at her feet and refused to answer me, look at me, or apologize. I got even more incensed and started to tell her off by saying, “chou zhong guo ren, mei you gong de xin” (smelly PRC, no consideration). You’d think she’d react somehow, but she didn’t and continued to stare intently at the ground, trying desperately to avoid my stares!
Anyway, I got off one or two stops later and kept staring at her while I did so. However, she just kept staring at the ground. Just as the doors were shutting, she thought it was safe and looked up and I was right outside the doors, and gave her two middle-fingers to look at. She reacted the only way she knew how – looking back down on the floor.
So, for all those people saying that we should tell them off, yes, I fully agree with you, because that’s what I’d do and have done. However, despite saying this, the truth is, how effective is that going to be? The dumb ones will argue back and probably verbally (or worse) abuse you back. They think that just because they do it in their toilet-bowl of a country, they can do it in Singapore too. The smart ones, like the ones I encountered, will know that they’re doing something wrong and will not dare to argue back.
In the case of the PRCs who let the kids pee in the food court, what recourse can there really be? Staring didn’t work. The person who videoed the act did us all a favour because the evidence is there and for those who continue to defend the PRCs and the wholesale and indiscriminate importation of foreigners, need to see the whole picture – that they bring in a lot of social issues, along with whatever imaginary economic benefits.
People have also said that the security guards or the police should have been involved. That’s an awesome idea, except that I’m not sure that the security guards would really bother. They can’t arrest the offending people and I suspect the management will take the side of the offenders, as they are the ones who bring in money to RWS. What’s worse, there’s a high likelihood that the security guards are PRCs too. What happens then?
“So, let’s call the police”, I hear you say. I agree whole-heartedly! Except that by the time the police come, the offenders would most probably have left. There’s no way (legally at least) the offenders can be restrained and they’ll just walk away, leaving the mess on the floor for someone else to deal with. With the video, at the very least, it can be used as evidence and the offenders can be charged. And that’s assuming that the police can be bothered to do so. They might be dealing with more important crimes. Also, if these morons get arrested, the other people at the food court are still left with the filth on the floor. Apart from the fine/jail that the offenders should face, they should also be made to clean up their mess.
So, what can we do? I don’t know. I’ll continue to tell them off. But I suspect that they can only really learn if we make them feel shame (if that’s at all possible). How I would have loved to be the brave guy who stands up in the middle of the food court and loudly proclaim, “Look at these uncouth, disgusting human beings letting their child pee in public without any shame!” But that would mean making a scene. I’d probably be on youtube within a few minutes and gain worldwide notoriety. Worse, I’d definitely embarrass my long-suffering wife, who has to put up with my crusade to save the country and rid it of such disgusting characters.
Would I want that? Would I be brave enough to do that? I don’t know until I’m in that situation.
* By the way, I’m sure some people will comment that this is the second time I’ve written something that is anti-PRC, and thus, I’m biased or racist against them. Well, unfortunately, they’re probably the largest group of foreigners in Singapore and they’re probably the ones who cause the most frustration and irritation to many, and I am no exception. I make no apologies for this, but I would like to stress that I am against the wholesale and indiscriminate importation of foreigners, not just the PRCs.
BlackandWhite
TRS Contributor