My press letter on the above subject appears today in
MediaCorp’s TODAY newspaper – Friday 28th April 2017.
I refer to
the report “Toa Payoh couple arrested: Experts caution against lynch-mob
mentality (April 27).
People often
turn to the Internet and social media to ensure action is taken against what
they deem to be unfair treatment.
Like many
who have viewed the video of the couple abusing the elderly man who was looking
for a seat at a table, I was upset about the bullying.
I have
observed regularly that patience and graciousness is lacking among many of us,
whether on the roads or in the community.
While mobile
phones can easily capture ungracious behaviour, why not get netizens to film
people doing the right thing for a change?
Let us work
towards being more positive in life, rather than allowing a negative mindset to
damage gracious living. For example, diners at hawker centres who do not
“chope” seats but offer them instead to anyone in need — a pregnant lady,
senior citizen or person with a disability — could be caught on camera showing
kindness.
The National
Environment Agency could spearhead this drive in collaboration with the
hawkers’ associations, town councils and the Singapore Kindness Movement.
Such videos
could be posted online, and write-ups of the gracious acts and interviews with
the persons who displayed them could be publicised in newsletters and placed on
public housing notice boards.
With such
initiatives, I am confident that graciousness and consideration for one another
can be part and parcel of life here, sooner or later.
We must
develop patience and understanding as we grow as an inclusive society, and more
so when the population swells in the years ahead.
RAYMOND
ANTHONY FERNANDO
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