No Culture - This post started with the post dinner chat @ my cousin YT's house the other day. We were talking about Singapore culture when my cousin-in-law debated that Singapore has no culture at all. The word "Auntie" and "Uncle" were used too much that they sounded extremely irritating and provoking. Proper usage terms for greeting people your senior is much needed. "Mister", "Miss" and "Madam" would sound much nicer especially if you working in the service sector and they might even save your rice bowl. Also, in coffee shops where the way temp waiters ask you for drinks sometimes would really irk you. It seems like they do not mind losing a customer like you. It seems that we're pretty used to such terms already that its part our so called culture. That's pretty worrying for Singapore especially as its bracing itself for bigger things in the global stage like F1 and other global events. Imagine what would people from other countries think of our culture if they knew. Probably Singapore wasn't as ideal as what they had seen on websites or their own Discovery Channel. So at first when I heard my cousin-in-law's words, I wasn't really convinced but upon some deep reflections, I felt that what she said made sense. It really sounds much better and polite if you called someone "Mister" or "Miss" or "先生" or "小姐" instead of "Auntie" or "Uncle". What's worse is that even in some families, members call each other in such a manner that its pure gross. Imagine your nephew calling you "Auntie" or "Uncle", wow I would just slap the crap out of him man. Haha. Proper usage should be taught not just in schools but also in families. In countries like Taiwan or Japan, its courtesy that sells and that's what make people keep going to those places. So its ironic whenever I see people promoting Singapore, saying that the peeps here are polite and all. Bullshit I must say and we are really in need of some cultural revolution if you ask me. Its alrite to party hard but its also important not to forget about culture. Correct me if I'm wrong.Monday, November 26, 2007
No Culture
No Culture - This post started with the post dinner chat @ my cousin YT's house the other day. We were talking about Singapore culture when my cousin-in-law debated that Singapore has no culture at all. The word "Auntie" and "Uncle" were used too much that they sounded extremely irritating and provoking. Proper usage terms for greeting people your senior is much needed. "Mister", "Miss" and "Madam" would sound much nicer especially if you working in the service sector and they might even save your rice bowl. Also, in coffee shops where the way temp waiters ask you for drinks sometimes would really irk you. It seems like they do not mind losing a customer like you. It seems that we're pretty used to such terms already that its part our so called culture. That's pretty worrying for Singapore especially as its bracing itself for bigger things in the global stage like F1 and other global events. Imagine what would people from other countries think of our culture if they knew. Probably Singapore wasn't as ideal as what they had seen on websites or their own Discovery Channel. So at first when I heard my cousin-in-law's words, I wasn't really convinced but upon some deep reflections, I felt that what she said made sense. It really sounds much better and polite if you called someone "Mister" or "Miss" or "先生" or "小姐" instead of "Auntie" or "Uncle". What's worse is that even in some families, members call each other in such a manner that its pure gross. Imagine your nephew calling you "Auntie" or "Uncle", wow I would just slap the crap out of him man. Haha. Proper usage should be taught not just in schools but also in families. In countries like Taiwan or Japan, its courtesy that sells and that's what make people keep going to those places. So its ironic whenever I see people promoting Singapore, saying that the peeps here are polite and all. Bullshit I must say and we are really in need of some cultural revolution if you ask me. Its alrite to party hard but its also important not to forget about culture. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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