Torture part 2

A very happy new year to everyone!

In one of my earlier posts I wrote about creating a unit for pain, as a way to gauge how much something will hurt, be it an injection or cutting a finger. That got me thinking about torture. I then watched the movie The Human Centipede. Just a warning, if you are very sensitive to gruesome images DO NOT watch that movie, and under no circumstances watch the second part of that movie. That movie was got me really interested about torture and hence, this post.

Would torture be justified in a scenario like this - There is a ticking time bomb somewhere in an unknown location in your building. Somehow you manage to catch the person who has planted it and  the person is not willing to disclose the location of the time bomb. You know your chances of finding it are slim. In that scenario, is it justified to torture the person for the greater good? I believe most people would torture the terrorist in that scenario. This "Ticking Time Bomb" scenario shows how torture can be justified in some scenarios.

I then did some research. The Nazi Human Experimentation, as the name suggests, was a series of scientific (or so they claimed) experimentation on human. The scenario was such that they had say, a thousand prisoners (though the actual number was far greater) and the Nazi's thought that executing them all in gas chambers would be a waste. For instance, healthy inmates were infected by mosquito's or given injections of the mosquito's mucus gland. After contracting the disease, they were treated with various drugs to see their efficiency. Though this may not seem as gruesome as you may think, malaria disease is extremely painful and more than half of the people tested died. If this does not convince you of the effects of torture, you can read this link-  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_human_experimentation.

I believe that torture should only be carried out if it is justified. If the only way you can find a bomb is by torturing the terrorist who put it there, then it is justified as when the bomb explodes, it will cause more harm and even if it does not, the terrorist deserves it for even attempting to carry out this act. 

When convicted murderers are sentences to the death penalty, I do not think that they should just be put in an electric chair as to me, this will be letting them off easily. They should be punished far worse. They should be put through the ordeal their victims were put in and this would teach not only them, but those out there who do such things that they must be accountable for their actions. 

So what do you think? Should torture exist in society and if so, under what circumstances? Comment below.

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean        

TV Shows and the lessons learnt.

I happen to enjoy watching a whole lot of television. While that can be a waste of time for many, I try to take away valuable lessons from the many hours I spend in front of my TV. I realized after a while that  Sit-Coms (situation comedy) don't really have any real meaning behind them, thus watching them won't do you any good. But I still watch them because some of them are hilarious. Hour-long shows, on the other hand, make me wonder and reflect upon some of the character's choices.

 In this post I will point out some of the lessons I have taken away from shows such as Breaking Bad, Prison Break, Lost, Glee, Dexter, Monk and even some Sit-Coms such as Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory.

Breaking Bad- Does the end justify the means?
Breaking Bad is one of the best TV shows to date, and after the season finale aired a month ago, I truly felt as if a part of me just died. The show is essentially about a super-smart-but-deceived-by-his-partner-and-thus-became-a-high school chemistry teacher, who finds out he has lung cancer and that he does not have very long to live. He knows that the money he earns is not going to support his 2 children, one of which still unborn, and thus uses his extensive knowledge in chemistry to cook crystal meth with one of his ex-students. It is portrayed that he is pushed to do horrible things because of the situation and thus he truly believes that what he is doing is justified. Walter should never have gone down that path,  I think that he could have used his knowledge for something positive rather than selling dope, (spoilers alert) causing him to be shot and killed eventually. We can learn a lot from the mistakes he made, and apply them to our lives. More lessons learnt can be found on this link-http://www.zenspill.com/7-life-lessons-breaking-bad-taught-me/

Prison Break- Don't be pushed around by others.
The story revolves around two brothers, one (Lincoln Burrows) who ends up in jail because of a crime he had not committed and the other (Micheal Scofield) a civil engineer who tries and successfully breaks him out of prison. Whilst the whole country was convinced that Lincoln had shot the prime minister's brother, due to the overwhelming amount of evidence, Micheal believed the word of his brother. Upon finding out that he was framed, he broke him out of prison. The story shows what is possible if you fight for the truth, even if you end up fighting the government. It also shows what can be achieved if you put your mind to something, as the story depicts Micheal burning the midnight oil planning for the break. He even had to fake rob a bank to get into prison with his brother, then break him out for there. This story contradicts my evaluation of Breaking Bad, but you must understand that these are two completely different scenarios. You would understand what I mean if you watch the two shows. More on this link- http://www.thelisticles.net/entertainment/top-7-life-lessons-taught-by-prison-break/ 

How I Met Your Mother- Good things come to patient people.
I have never missed an episode of this show, and for good reasons. This is an extremely hilarious sit-com, and is about a guy called Ted who is searching for true love. Although Ted is the perfect husband, he has trouble finding the "Mother of his children." This leads to many failed relationships, and many life lessons learnt along the way. His patience ultimately pays off though, and thats why patience is a virtue. Check out this link for more- http://www.buzzfeed.com/caraf5/12-important-life-lessons-from-how-i-met-your-moth-eygo

The Big Bang Theory- Smart people aren't perfect.
This show is about Sheldon, a super smart guy with an equally super high ego, and his friends, perhaps equally smart but more down to earth. While Sheldon graduated from college at a mere age of 14, he struggles to understand the ways of "normal people" and constantly fails, similar to that of his Indian friend Raj who tries to blend into the American culture. For instance, he finds it impossible to grip the concept for sarcasm, while for most it comes naturally. Sheldon also cannot drive and has uncountable phobias to the point that without the care taking of his peers, would become an even crazier person (he always claims his mother had him tested) This show is a good example that even if you are super smart, you could still become unsuccessful in life, as in today's world being just smart will get you nowhere. One must learn how to play the game of life also. More here -    http://www.buzzfeed.com/thebigbangtheory/21-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from-the-big-bang-theory

I hope you likes my thoughts on some of these popular tv shows. If you would like me ti give my opinions on other shows as well, comment below!

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean  

Monkey climbing tree

The title given for this post literally suggests of a tree that climbs monkeys. (Because of the letter a missing between climbing and tree, funny how a letter is so important in making sense) 

To the point now-  Look and the picture below and think  if you can relate to it. There is a similar story I have heard about an eagle that grows up with a family of chickens all its live thus it believes that it cannot fly. It opened my eyes and gave me perspective as to how the education system may be unfair to different people in society. Especially today when we see someone not reaching his or her full potential, we should ask ourselves- is it because the person is really stupid or because he is different, where the person is not as capable as we are in different areas. I believe that when a person is bad in, for instance, academics, then he must be extraordinary in other areas such as the arts. Its just about finding your talent and having people to believe in you, with the resources needed to peruse talents.  

So we should not think poorly of others when they are not capable to do things that are easy for us. This may cause believe to end up living all their lives that they are stupid and incapable which I think is not the case at all. Believe in everyone, as who knows, someday this person that we think of as a lump of stone will polish into a shining diamond. 

These is one of the many thoughts that comes into my mind when I think about some issues in our society. Does it make any sense to you? Comment below :)

Degree of pain

Hello once again,

Its been such a long time since I've last posted, and honestly I'm regretting not writing for a prolonged period of time because every now and then I get great ideas to blog about, but when I don't pen them down I forget about them. So when I was standing in my balcony a minute ago and had another one of these moments, I swore I wouldn't forget about it this time.

Everyone has a different capacity for pain. Like for instance, when you go to the dentist and the he says "this won't hurt a bit" and in your mind you go "yeah, right". Instances like these remind me when I once read this book by Anthony Horowitz. In one of his books there was a part where Alex, the main character in Alex Rider the series, is used as a lab dummy for a research study on pain. What essentially the scientist wanted to do was create a new unit for pain. So your dentist, rather than saying "a bit", something very subjective, would say "5 units of pain". I found that to be a brilliant idea, a noble prize winning idea.

Just imagine. No longer would you have to tremble in fear in anticipation for pain, because you know how much the pain is going to affect you. Sure, everyone has a different capacity for pain as I have already said, but if there would be some sort of general guide I think it will make things much simpler. Therefore I formally introduce the unit YOLO (first thing that came to my mind, a work in progress) I think that the phrase You Only Live Once has been used wrongly all this time, and this would be a much better use for this term.

What do you think about Pain? Should we measure it? And if do, how? Comment below.

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean      

The tortoise and the hare

This picture I came across reminded me of the story of the tortoise and the hair, and I want to further discuss an idea in the age-old tale.

If one is born in life, with a certain disadvantage, portrayed as the slow tortoise. Will he or she still be able to overcome their greatest setback or must they learn to live with it? I think that the answer to this question has changed in the real-live-scenario context over time. 

In the past, when one was born without limbs, there was no possible way he could overcome it, but to live with it. Now, prosthetics make it seem that there is no missing body part in the first place.

When one is born so called ugly, the person couldn't do anything about it. Now, a touch of makeup or even surgery can fix anything.

And in the story of the tortoise and the hair, though in story the tortoise won through hard work, perseverance and determination, perhaps in todays context all the tortoise needs to do is to strap on a pair of rockets and fly his way past the hair.

I know that the idea seems far fetched, but the idea that I want to share with you is this- With all these advances in science and technology, can it be that all humans will sooner or later loose this capability of overcoming obstacles and challenges head on? Humans will have no need to run the race in the conventional method. 

If I am born stupid, in the future all I need to do is to programme every book possible into my brain and become smart, rather than actually spending the time and effort into studying for knowledge.

This is how I interpret this story of the tortoise and the hair, in todays context. What do you think? Is there any possibility to what I have written above? Comment below.

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

Poverty

Some interesting food for thought-

1) At least 80% of all humanity lives on less than 10$ a day.
2) The poorest 40% of the worlds population accounts for 5% of the worlds income. The richest 20% accounts for three-quarters of the worlds income
3) Every second child is born in poverty

Consider the global priorities in spending in 1998

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Cosmetics in the United States	8
Ice cream in Europe	11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States	12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States	17
Business entertainment in Japan	35
Cigarettes in Europe	50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe	105
Narcotics drugs in the world	400
Military spending in the world	780

And compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Basic education for all	6
Water and sanitation for all	9
Reproductive health for all women	12
Basic health and nutrition	13

^Source

Now I can be almost certain that after reading this article you will feel pitiful to say the least. But after perhaps a minute or maybe even less, you will forget about the statistics above and move on with your life. The reason for this is simple- We have gotten used to seeing poverty around us. We have learnt to accept the fact that there are people out there who are dying from malnutrition and other life threatening dieseases.

We have bigger priorities in life. We cannot spend all our hard earnings to feed others. That is impossible. 

I will not ask you to donate. I will not ask you to do community service. Who am I to ask you to do anything? Instead, i will share with you a story.

There is lady out there, somewhere in this world. This lady has spent the last 15 years of her life helping others everyday, distributing medicine that is paid for by generous donors. She even spends her own money to buy expensive injections and pills that the distribution clinic does not provide. She once told me that there was this young mother that came to her, asking for her help. She said that if her son did not receive a certain injection for his ailment, he would die. The injection costed a couple of thousand dollars. She bought it for this stranger, and he lived. This is one of the many amazing things she has done for others. She does not get paid for what she does. And obviously she isint the only person in this world. There are others who dedicate their lives in service.

So the basic takeaway for me from this story is this- I know that there are millions of people out there in need of help. I do know that I also have bigger priorities in life, so there is nothing I can do in my power to help them, other than donating loose change to students at the mall with tin cans and stickers. But, if in the future I make a difference to just one person in the smallest of ways, it will make me a happy person. 

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean

Global Competitiveness Index

Competitiveness is an indicator for future prosperity. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the risk of a weak recovery in the United States, and the deceleration of economic growth in China and other emerging economies has cast doubt on the world's economy. With such uncertain times, a high level of competitiveness is the only way a country can ensure its resilience and sustained prosperity.

Political institutions and governance, infrastructure, macro-economic stability, the quality of human resources, labour market efficiencies, financial markets and innovation and technology are some of the factors taken into account when the Global Competitiveness report is drafted. The Nordic countries and the Asian countries all perform very well, with Singapore as the 2nd overall, behind Switzerland which has been 1st for four years running.

These are some of the findings from the World Economic Forum. It is rather encouraging that Singapore is ranked second which means it is highly competitive. A sustained economy now is the only way to ensure that Singapore is able to grow and develop in its economic sectors and ensures that it remains one of the top competitors in the world.

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

You.Are.Beautiful

Society puts so much pressure on your looks. But beauty is just a cultural thing, am i right? When talking about beauty one must keep an open mind. What one finds true beauty someone else might find outrageous, weird or even ugly. There is no such thing as ultimate true beauty because you can not compare beauty. We do not live all following the same standards or principles; we do not have the same ideals. We are different, so is beauty.

The tiny narrow feet of the upper class women in China were considered to be beautiful and were considered to make a women's movements more feminine and dainty.

The scarring process in some tribes of Africa is meant to attract men and start from childhood.

Kayan women wear these neck rings from as early as the age of two, to push the collarbone and ribs down.

""In the Western World the standards are different; the means of achieving beauty are sometimes extreme as well. From plastic surgery, implants, hair extensions, hair colour to fitness, diet and cosmetics, the beauty has a different meaning. What ever nature has not given, the knife can solve. The Western ideal of beauty is a skinny, tall, good looking lady (90-60-90 if possible) with perfect teeth, perfect hair and perfect fashion. A 24 hour working lady if possible, who never complaints, who is up to date with the latest fashion trends, is a fighter, considers herself a “Superwoman” because she can achieve whatever she desires, all by herself.

I don’t know which woman is more beautiful. I don’t know which one of the beauty rituals work and I definitely don’t know how one could compare the different types of beauty. One thing is certain: beauty is dictated by the places we live in, cultures we are a part of, traditions we are following.

All I’m saying is that diversity is beautiful and beauty is an individual, subjective concept."" 

Adapted from- http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3798150-beauty-ideals-around-the-world

So, which is the most beautiful?

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean

Fat Tax

Fat tax is not taxing obese people. No. Fat tax is placing a tax on unhealthy food in the market.

I participated in a Model United Nation's conference organised by my school yesterday and the day before. It was very enriching, and when the topic of reducing the number of Non Communicable Diseases came up, I was the first to say that we should introduce the idea of a Fat Tax. Everybody broke down in laughter. Because they were under the misconception that fat tax is placing a tax on fatty people.

That is why in this post I will talk about Fat Tax, and why we should implement it.

No offence. But seriously, the obesity rate is too high. And therefore fat tax should be put in place. It will discourage people from buying foods with an excess of saturated fats, salt and what not. It is a bureaucratic nightmare though, and puts jobs at risk. Furthermore, if one taxes foods that have too much saturated fats like butter, then consumers will increase their salt intake, and this may have devastating effects. Therefore when introducing this tax, it must be done with a whole lot in mind and constant surveillance must be done to ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved.

Denmark introduced the fat tax in 2011, however in just a year the law was abolished  This was because the fat tax failed to change people's eating habits. 

I still have high hopes for the fat tax. It is an effective mean to reduce consumption of unhealthier more expensive) foods and people will resort to an healthier diet. 

What do you think? Is the fat tax an effective way of reducing obesity rates? If not, what are some other  ways? Comment below.

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean.

How I met your mother

Humans long for companionship. Put somebody in a palace, with everything he every could want, anything but companionship of any kind and sooner or later it will drive him nuts. Marriage is the only institution that allows two individuals to establish a relationship that is backed up with law and society. Marriage is key to a stable society.

In this post, I will explore the "Indian Marriage" and the some of the customs associated with it.

 The traditional Indian custom of dowry is now prohibited by law, but i wonder if it still takes place in smaller villages or even cities today. A dowry can be given in the form of cash, car, jewellery, and is asked by the suitor's family. The dowery system is known to put a great financial burden.

India has the highest percentage of arranged marriage in the world. It is said that over  90% of marriages are arranged, while less than 5% end in divorce. Whenever i talk to any of my friends about marriage, they often say "How can you spend your life with someone that you dont know and have never even met?" I ask myself the same question, because I am likely to be arranged married in the future.

Watch this video and it may change your opinion on arranged marriages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8X97OL06OY

One only gets arranged marriage when he/she has complete trust on their parents that they know who is best fit for their child. Or they have no choice, because this custom is such a norm in India, but now the love marriages is increasing. In the olden days, arranged marriages was such a norm that my own grandparents did not even see each other face to face until the day of their wedding. Hence, the picture above. However, even after 50 years of marriage, their love for each other grows each day. I admire that, but there is no way I'm gonna meet my future Mrs.Gadodia on the day of our wedding. No way.

So what do you think about the customs of the Indian Marriage. Also, comment if you would like me to post about any other countries' customs. 

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean 

Arms trade

Exams are approaching . Everybody is so called "mugging" or "tanking". I, am blogging.

This post will be more on a global issue at large. Hope its a good read. Ill write more on such if i get a good response.

So, I was on this site yesterday -  http://www.globalissues.org

An interesting article from that page- "The arms trade is big business." And after watching ironman for the third time, the message of the movie became clear as crystal.

They say that the want world peace. They say the want to stop war around the world. Then why are they still manufacturing and creating these weapons of mass destructions, and worse still of all selling it off to other countries who may/may not misuse the power. There is a doubt with what is going to happen in the near future.

Arms are fueling poverty and suffering, and is also out of control. 

" The  lack of arms controls allows some to profit from the misery of others.

• While international attention is focused on the need to control weapons of mass destruction, the trade in conventional weapons continues to operate in a legal and moral vacuum.
• More and more countries are starting to produce small arms, many with little ability or will to regulate their use.
• Permanent UN Security Council members—the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China—dominate the world trade in arms.
• Most national arms controls are riddled with loopholes or barely enforced.
• Key weaknesses are lax controls on the brokering, licensed production, and 'end use' of arms.
• Arms get into the wrong hands through weak controls on firearm ownership, weapons management, and misuse by authorised users of weapons.

— The Arms Bazaar, Shattered Lives, Chapter 4, p. 54, Control Arms Campaign, October 2003

"Heavy militarization of a region increases the risk of oppression on local people. Consequently reactions and uprisings from those oppressed may also be violent. The Middle East is a current example, while Latin America is an example from previous decades, where in both cases, democracies or popular regimes have (or had) been overthrown with foreign assistance, and replaced with corrupt dictators or monarchs. Oppression (often violent) and authoritarianism rule has resulted. Sometimes this also itself results in terrorist reactions that lash out at other innocent people."

So should the trade of arms be stopped in order to prevent what is an inevitable war. Not in this decade, maybe. But surely. We all know the reciprocals of arms trade. But should it continue? Leave your comments below!

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

Why do i go to school?

I was asked this question months back, and until today i can remember my answer to that question. Now i realise how much i have learnt over the past few months, and how much more there is to learn, about society and everything that has to do with it.

Ok, enough on my reflection. The question was- "Why do you go to school' 

Hold on now. Think carefully before you read on, and i reveal the correct answer. Yes, there is a correct answer. Why did i attend school that morning? Why did i forcefully drag myself out of bed at 5.30 in the morning, brushed(i hope) and went to school where for the next 8 hours. The answer i gave, was "to learn something new" That was what i felt. Most of my friends gave "chim" answers, like something that was read of a textbook.

What i want to discuss today is what is the desired outcome of our education system. After researching on the Ministry Of Education (MOE) website, under the subheading "Desired outcome of education" I studied what was written. 

The Key Stage Outcomes of Education

At the end ofPrimary school, pupils should:	At the end ofSecondary school, students should:	At the end of Post-Secondary education, students should:
be able to distinguish right from wrong	have moral integrity	have moral courage to stand up for what is right
know their strengths and areas for growth	believe in their abilities and be able to adapt to change	be resilient in the face of adversity
be able to cooperate, share and care for others	be able to work in teams and show empathy for others	be able to collaborate across cultures and be socially responsible
have a lively curiosity about things	be creative and have an inquiring mind	be innovative and enterprising
be able to think for and express themselves confidently	be able to appreciate diverse views and communicate effectively	be able to think critically and communicate persuasively
take pride in their work	take responsibility for their own learning	be purposeful in pursuit of excellence
have healthy habits and an awareness of the arts	enjoy physical activities and appreciate the arts	pursue a healthy lifestyle and have an appreciation for aesthetics
know and love Singapore	believe in Singapore and understand what matters to Singapore	be proud to be Singaporeans and understand Singapore in relation to the world

What really surprises me is that the the main aim of MOE, under the first three columns of primary, secondary and post secondary is to be morally upright and have good values. But isn't that quite ironic? 

In one week, out of 27 hours in a week, only one hour is "allocated" for character leader education in my timetable. If the whole idea of education in mainly to be morally upright, than how can only 1/27 of the time we spend in school be for character learning. To be honest, i dont think enough time is spent on teaching values but rather on subjects like math and science. Isn't the aims of education and the outcome seen on timetables is contradictory. A problem-solution mismatch maybe? Im not too sure.

So why did i go to school today? The answer is simple. To pass my board exams, (with flying colors of course), getting a job, and eventually just helping to grow this countries economy. I went to school today, so that i can get a job, get married, children, and work for the rest of my life, until i retire peacefully.

Dont get me wrong, thats what i want as well. But its kind of sad to think that eventually everything will just play out like how everyone wanted it. And i think, if that is the outcome eventually, why do i take subjects now such as biology, chemistry, literature, when in the end i wont need them in the future. So that i have a "holistic learning?" 

What do you think? Why did you go to school today, or in the past? Is there something more to our education system than just helping this countries economy? Comment below.

Signing off,

Just another Singaporean.

Social construct part (ii)

Hello once again folks.

For those who read my blog regularly, last week i shared on social construct. The funny thing is that now, a week later, my opinions of social construct and what it means has changed completely. I want to make things right.

So what is social construct? To put it in its simplest form, social construct is a two step process.

Step 1) People see patterns
Step 2) Somebody points it out

It cant get any simpler than that. And something i learnt at the start of this year, is that examples are an excellent way to explain something. So let me explain this using an example. A social construct, in gender, is how people consider blondes dumb. Where did all this originate from? Many believe that it was- Marilyn Monroe.

She was an iconic "dumb blonde", and many believe that thats where this persona originates from, though there is no evidence to support this perception. So basically this is how a social construct works right?

Social construct happens from the young. For example, in gender, how women always need men to save them is portrayed by the original disney princesses. How a knight in shining armour must save all the princesses from witches and what not. (Notice how they many are blonde- Aurora, Rapunzel and Cinderella) This, from a very young age, has taught the youngest in our society that the girls must wait for her prince to sweep her from her feet and save her. All this has to do with social construct.

So now i hope i myself am more clear on what social construct means. Are you? And do you have any of your own examples to explain what this means? Comment below.

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean




 

Art and Censorship

Its good Friday people, and a public holiday. I am in a good mood.

Today i would like to share my thoughts on art. So what is art? I like to define art as any form of ones expression. Even someone walking on the street is art am i right?

So there has been a lot of debate going on art and the freedom that we are given in Singapore to express ourselves in the form of it as a medium. The story of "sticker lady" is a famous incident where a lady pasted stickers on traffic like control boxes and spray painted words on public roads around the country. It brought smiles to many people's faces. Or at least it did on mine. But what she got in the end was a court case where she was charged with mischief.

So the question arises- is the scrutiny of art here too strict?
                                                                                         
I personally disagree to this statement. I believe strongly that the government has a duty of care to ensure the sustainability of its art form for its people and therefore they censor and limit the freedom given to its people. Here is a in script of a speech i once heard that elaborates more on this point.

"There are people in the society who are unable to understand and interpret some intence forms or art and as a result, have some implications on their lives and society. What the government is trying to do is protect these people who do not have a mature and rational mind to understand and interpret some form in intense art and extreme arts and this is done by censorship, and if these susceptible people are not protected, it can lead to detrimental consequesnces such as normalization. Normalization, to put it simply, is a process where certain people adopt certain traits about themsleves. For example, if there is a picture shown to you that dipicts a afghan child golding some sort of weponry, would we able to to understand and interpret this picture in an approprite manner? I don't think so. He might get the wrong imppression from the true meaning of the art form and he does not have a mature and rational thinking as yet, if he were to be a teen for example. Similarly, this applies to all other art forms which are difficult to interpret and would lead to similar behaviours to these vulnerable viewers.This in no way depriving the person from arts as they are not able to apreciate it in the first place so there is no point in potraying these art."

Can you understand what the main point of the speech is? And if you can, do you agree to it? Leave your comments below. What do you feel on the censorship of art?

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

Boys and Girls

Gender. Something that all of us are part of.

I hope.

On the serious side, today i will talk about feminism. So what is the difference between a male and a female? Apart from the obvious. Why in so many societies men are seen as higher than females? There are so many countries in the world that are patriarchal, but there are matriarchal societies in this world.

Let me throw a classical debate topic here in Singapore: This house believes that women should serve National Service. Will you serve NS here in Singapore if you were a girl?

Gender is defined by society. In my previous post i mentioned that gender is a social construct. Don't we decide what are signs of masculinity? Lets say we have a doll. Dress it with short hair, "manly clothes" and add a floating cap on him one will say he is a dude. Dress it with long, flowing hair in a skirt and it becomes a girl.

I want to discuss the idea of American femininity vs the idea of french femininity.

American femininity is the idea is the idea that- Anything a man do, i, as a woman can do. Sometimes better. Why must men always be treated differently? I should be able to do what men can.

French feminist believes that OK, when men can do it better, let them do it. Let us as the women do what we are good at, but reward and accept us for the way we are. Because of the simple fact that men and women are engineered differently.

So what do you think? What do you believe in? Leave your comments below.

Signing off,
Just another gender.

Social Constuct

 Unfortunately i havent posted for about a week now, and i apologize for that, but fear not.

Today i will be talking about social construct. Dictionary.com defines social construct as:
a social mechanism, phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice.

Social construct basically means what society is based upon. Let me give you an example. You are a blogger, because i call you a blogger. Because anyone on the internet reading my opinions is called a blogger. 

A train is a train because i call it a train.

So what i would like for you to think today, is that has everything around us been constructed by ourselves? Have we in fact constructed faith, the government, everything basically?

Some food for thought- If there are enough people on the planet that would say that I, the writer of this blog, can fly, will you actually start to believe that i can fly?

Then comes the point when i start to question the truth about everything around me. Somewhat, becoming paranoid. The questions i ask myself are-  Has man really been on the moon? Is there really a god? Are there UFO's, Alians, Ghosts?

So what do you feel?  Is everything around us a social construct? 

Do comment below. I wait for your response eagerly.

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean
   

"Eh, Racist la"

Evening bloggers!

Today i will be talking about the issue of racism. Below is a speech i had written last year on the issue. It is exaggerated though. I find that racism is becoming  bigger and bigger problem in todays society. Especially in a country like Singapore, which is a multi-racial society. 

Black, white or yellow. I can already see some puzzled faces. You must be thinking, huh what is this black,white or yellow? Are they some random colours?

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I will be Touching on the issue of racism, and the effects that racism has on us individuals. As a child, I have been bullied many a times. Some people my age just walk up to me and say,  your black colour, you worship cows, you have no rights. Why, just because some people have the misconception about my race, language or religion because I am a minority in this country they can judge me on prejudice and stereotype us?

Firstly we must see why people do this. Isn't because our schools teach us these values? Is it that some parents teach their children to hate who look different? I don't think so. I see no reason why there is a need to make fun of someone other than the fact that this person is trying to inflict emotional pain on these people or maybe they just want to see a reaction from their prey. Most children, especially in their early teenage years are prone to be easily influenced by their surrounds and the comments some of their peers make.  

I can remember when I was a primary schooler friend once made this joke. It goes-what do you call one thousand Indians falling from the sky? Nightfall. Pretty funny right? Well, it's not funny when the joke is made at you. I used to laugh alongside trying to push aside my hurt feelings, but inside I knew that  y friends were not laughing with me, they were laughing at me. I can tell you that it's not funny when other people are discriminating against your looks and culture. That's when it started to hurt.

My parents used to tell me how carefree, cheerful and jubilant boy I was when I was younger.but my character started to change. My class,acted would not accept me for who I was as a person and I would succumb to peer-pressure and change my personality just so that I would be accepted. One way or another, I think that everyone here has done that.

There is this really beautiful paragraph in my favourite literature book, the merchant of Venice. It shows how this problem of racism has been going on since well, forever.

 William Shakespeare had written, 
He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew: hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, armed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. 

This shows that the ideology of racism has been the same throughout time and throughout the world. In 2009, a 15 year old schoolboy racially abused a 14-year-old mixed race girl, to the extent that the girl tried to take her own life by swallowing a cocktail of pills after he waged a six-month campaign of abuse on his victim by telling her: "Go back to your own country, you don't belong here." people think that, well this girl is overly sensitive or maybe that this girl was abnormal, but is that really the case? I can read out a hundred more of such cases but I won't due to time constraint.  Take a moment to think about it ladies and gentlemen. Why would a person go to the extent of risking his or her own life due to such comments being made?

We need to make a change in our lives. Ladies and gentlemen, the next time you see someone not responding positively to your comments and being affected by them, stop, and think twice.You never want to cross that line because you don't even know where that line exists. And who knows, we might just change someone's life altogether. So, what do the words black white or yellow mean to you now? I hope it's more than just some random colours. Thank you 


After reading this speech, do you think that racism has negative implications on the victims? Comment below.
Signing off,


-Just another guy living in Singapore

The new daughter in law

Hello again, and today i will be discussing domestic helpers, or in a more colloquial term, "maids". Whilst Singapore is one of the few countries where full time domestic helpers are legal, the debate on should we have them in our homes in the first place is ongoing.

"The new daughter in law" is a quote i heard a few days ago. And i ask myself, is this true? Have our maids taken the role of the mothers and wives of the family? And furthermore we really so dependent on them that our household cannot run without them?

Netmaid, a popular website for domestic help in singapore boasts that they have over two thousand maids for our selection. While that number seems small, there are over 200,00 maids working here already. As a student, and someone who has a domestic helper at home, feels that yes, we are becoming too dependent on them. I see myself, asking my helper to pour me a glass of water, to turn on the fan in the room for me, and do other minute tasks that can be easily, easily done by myself and sometimes a feel disgusted. Forget doing chores around the house, if i can pick up after myself that in itself would be a job well done.

There had also been the recent issue where the maid was seen carrying the NS man's bag. People were outraged when they saw the image being circulated online. But i do know for a fact that harsh actions were taken against the person after the incident.

Do we really need, someone to do all these tasks for us full time? Why not part-time help for families where both parents are working where the maid can come in, cook, clean and iron then leave? I find that to be a much better option as having someone to look after you all the time makes you become lazy and over-dependednt.

What do you think on the issue on domestic helpers. If you had a choice, what will you do?

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

English Vinglish

Just saw this video. In my opinion, i think that this issue of "singlish" speaking here is really getting out of hand. Singlish is neither a language nor a dialect. As a Singaporean it is embarrassing that other countries are mocking us for our excessive use of singlish.

Sitting on the bus a few days ago, i overheard the conversation between two primary school students. They were conversing on an online game, Blackshot. Obviously there is nothing wrong with talking about that, but the English they were speaking would sound as another language altogether to a foreigner. Ï quote the conversation between them. This is not the exact content of the conversation, but it sounded like this to me.

(A) "Eh you know ah, the granede fly ah, so far that it kill everyone you know. My fren ah, all die you know. Later ah, i shoot them with my pistall and i headshot they all. I tell you i damn pro at blackshot"

(B) ""Aya that is nothing la. Yesterday i play with my brother and i own him i tell you. He got so much skill but he still loose to me. Then later i play team match and i get MVP eh. My kd is 40 pe cent. You think you can win me?

Seriously? Nobody would expect 10 year olds to talk in perfect fluent English but this has gone too far.

When i see between grown up working women, all decked up in the MRT stations going to work, they seem to be real professionals looking very smart, clad with high heels and briefcases. But when they open their mouth, my opinion of them changes. They can seem to pronounce their "r" and syllables.   I ask myself weather they had taken English as a subject in school. Sure i am over generalising singaporeans as a whole when this is not the case for many, but as a whole i think that there needs to be changes, and drastic ones to make a difference.

I am sure you can relate to me. What do you think? What are some things that can be done to improve the standard of English here?

Signing off,
Just another Singaporean

Cows of the world.

I absolutely loved this when i first read it, simply brilliant how different countries have their own ways to capitalize their cows. Haha. I dont agree that all of these are true, but many are hilarious.

 I tried to make my version after i read this, ill post it on a later date. What do you think about Capitalism? Do you have any of your own you would like to share? Comment below.

Signing off,
-Just another, cow?

Pilot

Hi readers, this is my first ever blog post, im calling it my "pilot" post.

This blog will interest those who, like me, enjoy to be aware on current issues, on a more basic level rather than political issues at large. Something like social norms. If you read this website called "stomp" you will know what i mean. But the problem i find with stomp is that stomp is petty and though some of the posts i like, the rest of them, to put it harshly, are dumb. If you agree with me i think you will enjoy my future posts.

Just to make things clear, this blog does not seek to hit a sensitive nerve such as race and religion. But please do not get me into trouble due to conflict of ideas. So if you don't like my writing and the ideas i put forth, please don't read further.

I would really like this blog to become a forum in the future, where other people can comment and share their points of views. I would be elated if the posts would be from teens, as i am one myself and i see that nowadays the youth are loosing their voice. Maybe i should address this in my future posts.

Do check in again soon, signing off now.

-Just another person living in Singapore
P.S. Apologies for spelling errors. Honestly i dont care for my spelling. Modern technology and such, spell check fixes everything. .