Tommy Koh: S'pore is snobbish & 'look down on those who are poor'

[Guest ffffffff]

https://mothership.sg/2022/08/tommy-koh-singaporeans-snobbish/

[sgmaven]

I do have to agree with that statement. We look down on cleaners and garbage collectors, because they are lowly-paid, and treat them almost with contempt. Meanwhile, we treat many of the bankers and big-wigs with utmost respect. Frankly, cleaners and garbage collectors are also making an honest living, and they are not doing harm to anyone. In fact, I think none of us can survive without them, and most would rather not do that kind of job. Meanwhile, who knows how many bankers and big-wigs have swindled and cheated money out of innocent but gullible investors?

[Guest ffffffff]

Long ago, I reported for wrok as a school administrator. The school principal looked at me as though I was demented and asked incredulously:"why do you want this job?"

 

As i was to understand, the role involved supervising school cleaners,, office attendants and other non teaching stafff like the clerk. Mostly, the role centered on maintenance and estate management.

 

I don't know if they are fit to teach values like humility and other morality related stuff but the teachers mostly women would giggle and/or laugh openly at me for doing this kind of job. They treated the school administrator role as a joke. Even the P and VP. Because they would snigger quite open;y. Sometimes,, I thought they are even more childish that the children they teach.

 

Even the teachers, females again sensed that my job scope could be abused and so any non teaching matter they don't feel like doing, they pushed onto me. One HOD was very rude but it's her nature. She would come into my room and scatter her bag and books all over my desk and sit on my table to retrieve some of the school books in my room. And then there was this handyman, not even school staff, who would sit on my chair  in an insolent manner as if he wanted to provoke me.

 

An ang mo auntie that conducted enrichment classes was also very nasty and rude. And then there was this parent volunteer Veronica, who basically treated the school and it's office as her home. She was there everyday, gossiping and politicking, She was also mean and hostile to me. SBeing very lazy, she once asked me to get her a chair. I declined as I was busy. Later she complained to the school principal she fell because I did not get her a chair. Of course the school principal sided with her.

 

The principal and VP treated me like a marathon runner. If there was something to be fixed, I had to run to the exact spot to see to the problem. And why do I have to run? But no point reasoning with them. If they wanted someone who could run from 9 am to 6 pm with an hour break for lunch, perhaps they should call the national running team.

 

They were also very calculative about time, mine of course. The clerk and/or the miserable wretch of an office lady would look at the clock everytime I left for lunch and do the same as I came back. They aren't even subtle, they did it with me watching.

 

The principa,l as  I came to realise cannot separete peronal matters from professional ones. She would say to me:"Oh my son is younger than you and sad to say, he's more mature." On my secind day at work she told me she had her womb removed. She dressed in a gaudy fashion and the office would be plastered with quotes from the Bible,, hinting at me,  if I had a disagreement with her. The Principal is also a big mouth gossip. She told me the auntie clerk was having an affair with one of the married men teachers. Then she would giggle like a 16 year old schoolgirl. She would also make fun of people's names :"oh Mr Thng!?" She'll make that sound effect "tng tng tng." ANd giggle. 

 

The crater faced VP once insisted that I sign a document without revealing the contents to me. I think it was a poor appraisal. But their appraisals are often laced with personal commentary. On my last day, the school pricipal mocked:"don't leave with a bad taste in you mouth!" These people really give Jesus a bad name!

 

And I absolutely regret putting in kind words for the canteen people as they can be quite ungrateful, bitching about my Australian degree. They'll go :"is it a degree or diploma?" On another instance, after I persuaded the higher ups to give that office wretch a raise, she had the temerity to be nasty to me. Should not be kind to these people. They are scum. Lower tha scum actually.  You say I look down on them? Be nice to them and they turn on you. 

 

Most of the HODs are quite nasty too, save for one young chap. One female HOD said during a meeting that I should be the night watchman since I live so near. Some of them tried to be freindly later but I kept my distance.

 

I want to stress that I wasn't nasty to any one of them , they all fired the first shot.

 

That's why I advocated that girls should be given NS as they have adverse attitudes to cleaning and towards jobs that involve dirt. They are also more childish and sobbish than the male teachers. Some NS would make them better people. Some Women are the biggest snobs.

 

But I'll have to stress that there were teachers of both genders who were nice and respectful towards me. They practised what they taught. 

 

Now you know why I hate (some) women so much. Physically lazy, mean, entiltled, spoiled, backstabbers, always pushing unpleasant stuff onto others. 

[sgmaven]

I think this "stratification" of society by earning power is all over. I can remember when I started my job after grad school as a researcher, my boss had given me a book to read. I soon got a bit bored by just reading, and thought it good to get some practical experience. So, I went into the lab, and went to help the lab techs with their daily analyses. This got everyone sort of into trouble, since I, as a PhD-holder, was not supposed to do such menial jobs! WTF! I was gaining real world understanding by doing those analyses, and not as if I was going to keep doing it for years on ends...

[sgmaven]

I recall another time, when I was helping a friend, who was an event-organiser. It was a corporate event with an open bar, and the bar-tenders were running out of glasses for their cocktails. So, I started washing the glasses that were left after the guest had drunk their cocktails. One of the client managers, who knew that I was a highly-qualified person, saw me washing the glasses, and immediately asked me why I was washing the glasses (implying that someone like me shouldn't do such menial duties, but should only be supervising the manpower). I just told him that everyone was already very busy, and since I was available, and the glasses were needed, I would wash and dry them for the bartenders...