It’s not just about being poor or stupid. I cried at the doctor’s today. On the way home. While doing work. Lying on the bed. Unable to sleep. In a country where showing any weakness is like a death sentence, I cried because my son has a weakness that makes him unable to function like…
Category: Reflections
Foreigner Gives Most Popular Quora Answer On Why People Hate Singapore
In a quora thread on “Why Do People Hate Singapore?”, a UK foreigner who lives in Singapore gave a long, thought-out answer that beat all the others in terms of views. Source By the way, check out his other answers here on: What is it like to migrate away from Singapore? In what forms does…
What did I learn from my preschool bullies?
My first brush with being bullied came at the age of 2. Why was I bullied? I was pretty big, and am still pretty big. Not particularly pretty, but big enough to attract peer bullying. It was almost a daily affair of being called “fatty bom bom, stupid dum dum” by female pre-school classmates. How…
Why Do Singaporeans Treat Disabled and Special-Needs People Like Animals?
You know what the answer is, but you can’t accept it. I recently saw a video by the National Council of Social Services. It’s meant to be heartwarming I know, but it goes to show how typical our human nature is to stereotype people who have been labelled as different. We feel awkward around disabled…
What Does World War II Mean To You?
[Warning: graphic images] Imagine if the whole Singapore population of 5 million died. Multiply that by 12 and you get the death toll of World War II. How do the post-war generations from various countries view World War II? What lessons do we need to remember from the deaths of 60 million people? World War…
What’s Living With Low Emotional Intelligence Like?
It’s too easy to be misunderstood. Do you always seem to offend people, or feel awkward at emotional situations? Are you spending a lot of time trying to analyse what people meant, and constantly worry about missing out on some undercurrent? Source Interacting with other people has always been a minefield to me; one careless…
What’s Your Backup Plan For SG100?
What if Singapore doesn’t survive being an independent nation for the next 50 years? I don’t know if any of you think about losing your citizenship, because maybe you already kind of take it for granted that Singapore will survive the next 50 years (by then you’ll probably have retired or died), and that the…
The Demon All Singaporeans Fear
Most of us may not know we are hiding this demon in our closet. It is a Singaporean culture to compare incessantly with everyone and anyone. We have an obsession with the best, the highest, the biggest, the greatest and the first to succeed. Source There is one demon we like to point out in…
Postnatal Depression – The Silent, Painful and Lonely Way Mothers Die
A calm sea surface often hides violent currents underneath. The same can be said of people who suffer from emotional turmoil, such as suicidal thoughts and postnatal depression. Our nation is envied by others for the quality of our healthcare, education and marriage and parenthood financial perks. Why do mothers in Singapore still suffer from…
What Mothers Will Learn From Dominique Sarron Lee’s Death
SAF may have won the legal battle, but will it lose the hearts of Singaporean mothers? Private Dominique Sarron Lee died at the age of 21 after having an allergic attack to the zinc chloride fumes emitted by six smoke grenades that were thrown by a platoon commander, although regulations specified that no more than…