Is there no room for mediocrity in Singapore?
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Some of you might have passed Ngee Ann City on Sunday afternoon and seen this middle-aged mum carrying a baby and crying out at passers-by begging for money.. She would say that her husband has ran away from loan sharks, and she has to buy milk powder for the baby and support her parents, and can't find a job..
Most people who passed her pretended not to notice her.. Ironically a few steps away was this grand Buddhist fair and the NTU Buddhist Society members doing their hearty group cheers..
I've seen her at Khatib MRT platform before when she approached me and pleaded for help.. I don't normally give to these panhandlers nor even those coin donation tins, but felt this genuine pain emanating from her facial expression and tone of voice so I slipped her $10.. Looking at her, I could understand why people jump onto MRT platforms (there was a mild fear within me that she would jump on the track if I rejected her coldly). I did think about it later given so many con artists around whether she's genuine, but seeing her on Sunday with a baby in her arms, I could only feel a numb mixture of shame and anomie..
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In the mean time, some ladies can sell their bodies and soul for branded stuffs... bear in mind that they are not poor.. in fact kate stays in private property.. what is happening in singapore? are we mis-informed of whats the real situation? are we really a gracious city as proclaimed? or is it just a decaying states beneath those blinkers of cosmetic that we(singaporean) are trying to hide?
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Your last sentence is the answer to what's really happening here.
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Am confused.... What has 'mediocrity' got to do with the story???
To be fair to most Singaporeans... It is not a matter that we are apathetic or cold-blooded, but how do we know if it is a genuine case of a lady in need? We have got too many tricksters on the streets to keep us worried of falling prey...
I have passed many such $10 notes to the 'needys' that I met in Orchard Rd and other neighbourhood estates... I can never be sure if I was taken advantage of, but I juz thot that as long as at least one of them is a genuine case, I had at least put food onto his plate... -
Not to forget, the cliched mention of 'charity fatigue'... Singaporeans have had too many metal tins shoved in their face on Sats/Weds... I can vaguely remember this illustration in a local paper tt really explained the syndrome...
Say, u meet one amputated old man one day, u would be kind enuff to pass him $10 to make his day... On the second day when u walk past the old man, you still think he is pitiful enuff to deserve the $5 note in your wallet... But on the third day, you steal a glance, then walk away...
Have you turned cold and heartles in a matter of three day? Not really... -
There are only so many people we can help, with our own limited means, that it is simply not possible to give money to every person on the street that ask for it.
Did you advise the woman to see her MP? That's what those overfed white cats are paid to do right, help their constituents?