to prevent too much OT and upon suggestion,
here's a thread dedicated to elitism
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Wee Shu Min [Politiks][Singapore][Policy]Moderators: boing, ghchua, Drizzt, dowz Wee Shu Min [Politiks][Singapore][Policy]
I refer to the photo posted in the other thread.
I don't like it at all!
Elitism is a rather sensitive topic to talk about.
I do agree we Singaporeans have been insensitive at times, especially when we go overseas and now even at home (ie locally); probably we think we are the best ~ elitism ?
In fact, people who display elite behaviour or think themselves better than others usually are insecure people. The truly powerful people are usually humble because there is no need for them to prove their superiority. There is a showbiz saying that goes "The smaller the star, the bigger the ego".
The Straits Times Forum, Oct 26, 2006
'Insensitive' blogger also lacked humility, empathy I REFER to the report, 'Teen blogger counselled for her 'elitist' remarks' (ST, Oct 24). I believe Miss Wee Shu Min has drawn enough criticism for her insensitive and offensive remarks. Hopefully, she will learn from this saga and move on. The public should spare her further personal insults and allow her to concentrate on her exams, bearing in mind that she is just an 18-year-old with a major examination coming up. What I am dismayed about is how her father, MP Wee Siew Kim, appears to agree with her opinion and sided with her when he said: 'She wrote in a private blog and I feel that her privacy has been violated.' If Mr Wee feels that his daughter's privacy had been violated, is he implying that the Government was wrong to punish bloggers who posted racist comments on their supposedly 'private' blogs that were viewable by anyone with just a click of a button? I should think not. One should always be responsible and conscious of his choice of words, be it in an essay or a blog. In the article, Mr Wee also stated that '(Miss Wee's) basic point is reasonable' and 'some people cannot take the brutal truth'. I have read Mr Derek Wee's commentary and I feel that he is not the unmotivated or whiny, discontented worker that he was portrayed to be. Mr Wee was merely airing his fears about how older workers are finding it difficult to cope with today's competitive and practical reality. At no point did he state that he was dissatisfied with his job and I believe he will 'get on with the challenges in life'. It seems that Mr Wee Siew Kim endorsed his daughter's 'elitist' remarks and that her only mistake was insensitivity. The issue at hand is not merely about insensitivity; it also involves values like humility and empathy. If Mr Wee's only concern for his daughter is about being politically correct, then I am afraid he is missing out on something fundamental. Hopefully, Miss Wee will learn from this episode about humility and empathy as well. Yang Sixiang The perfection of wisdom, and the end of true philosophy is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, we will then be a happy and a virtuous people - Mark Twain
it all boils down to "home education". She must have been hearing a lot of such "whiners and losers" from her parents at home. The way the father gave a half hearted apology just shows that he shares the same elitist opinion. Anyway, he gave another apology today. But if he does not have the empathy to do his MP duties, then I suggest that he steps down and saves S$13,000 per month for the tax payers' money.
PJL001
Teen blogger counselled for her 'elitist' remarks By Ken Kwek A TEENAGE blogger has found herself in the soup after comments she made in her online journal were criticised by many Internet users for being insensitive and elitist. Raffles Junior College student Wee Shu Min, a daughter of MP Wee Siew Kim, sparked a heated debate on the Internet when she derided another blogger, Mr Derek Wee, for his views on the anxieties of Singapore workers. Both Miss Wee's father and the principal of RJC told The Straits Times yesterday that she had been counselled for using insensitive language. Miss Wee, a second-year student on RJC's Humanities Scholarship Programme, has since shut down her blog and apologised for her comments, though not directly to Mr Derek Wee. Mr Wee, 35, a Singaporean who works for a multinational corporation, had written in his blog on Oct 12 that he was concerned about competition from foreign talent and the lack of job opportunities for older workers here. He urged the Government to understand Singaporeans' plight. Last Thursday, Miss Wee responded to him on her blog, calling him old and unmotivated and said he was overly reliant on the Government. In dismissing his views, she wrote: 'Derek, Derek, Derek darling, how can you expect to have an iron rice bowl or a solid future if you cannot spell? 'There's no point in lambasting the Government for making our society one that is, I quote, 'far too survival of the fittest'... If uncertainty of success offends you so much, you will certainly be poor and miserable.' She concluded by telling Mr Wee to 'get out of my elite uncaring face' Her attack was criticised by hundreds of Internet users, who accused her of being elitist, naive and insensitive to the lives of Singaporeans from humbler backgrounds. Though she has shut down her blog, her entry has been replicated on many websites and the issue is hotly debated. Technorati, a website that tracks the activity of blogs, yesterday listed 'Wee Shu Min' as its third most frequent search term. Mr Wee Siew Kim said he stood by his daughter's 'basic point', but added: 'As a parent, I may not have inculcated the appropriate level of sensitivity, but she has learnt a lesson.'In his statement, RJC principal Winston Hodge said: 'We are disappointed with Wee Shu Min's comments on Mr Derek Wee's posting on the Web. 'We have counselled Shu Min and have conveyed to her the importance of sensitivity and empathy, qualities that she should have exercised in her response to Mr Wee. 'We are confident that she has learnt from this experience and will be the wiser for it.' kenkwek@sph.com.sg
Wee Siew Kim apologises for remarks By Ken Kwek MP WEE Siew Kim has said sorry for remarks he and his 18-year-old daughter, Shu Min, made about Singaporeans who worry about jobs. In a statement issued to The Straits Times last night, he apologised for the comments he made in an earlier interview on his daughter's criticism of another blogger, Mr Derek Wee, 35, on her Internet journal. 'We both apologise to the people whom we have offended, and especially Mr Derek Wee,' the MP said. Miss Wee, a Raffles Junior College (RJC) student, had last week called Mr Derek Wee 'old' and 'undermotivated' after he wrote in his blog that the Government should try to be more understanding of Singaporeans' employment woes. Many on the Internet slammed her for her remarks. She subsequently shut down her blog and was later counselled by her tutor at RJC. In an interview with The Straits Times published on Tuesday, her father tried to smooth things over by acknowledging that she had used insensitive language. However, he said he stood by his daughter's 'basic point', saying well-educated Singaporeans such as Mr Derek Wee should 'get on with the challenges in life' rather than complain to the Government about them. 'I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic point is reasonable,' he had said. 'Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it,' he added. The MP's comments drew further criticism, especially online. Yesterday, in his apology, he said: 'I should not have said what I did about people's inability to take the brutal truth and strong language.'
MP's statement
'I AM sorry that my statements carried in The Straits Times of Oct 24 offended some readers. I should not have said what I did about people's inability to take the brutal truth and strong language. I have also counselled my daughter Shu Min. She is fully aware and remorseful over her tone, insensitivity and lack of empathy. I have advised her to learn from this. We both apologise to the people whom we have offended, and especially Mr Derek Wee.' MP WEE SIEW KIM
A lesson learnt, says MP and dad Wee Siew Kim [align=center]  [/align]
'WHAT she said did come across as insensitive. The language was stronger than what most people could take. But she wrote in a private blog and I feel that her privacy has been violated. After all, they were the rantings of an 18-year-old among friends. I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic point is reasonable, that is, that a well-educated university graduate who works for a multinational company should not be bemoaning about the Government and get on with the challenges in life. Nonetheless, I have counselled her to learn from it. Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it. In our current desire to encourage more debate, especially through the Internet, our comments must be tempered with sensitivity. I will not gag her, since she's 18 and should be able to stand by what she says. The new media of the Internet is such that if you don't like what she has said, you have the right of rebuttal. Hopefully, after the discussion, everyone will be the richer for it. As a parent, I may not have inculcated the appropriate level of sensitivity, but she has learnt a lesson, and it's good that she has learnt it at such an early stage in life.' ANG MO KIO GRC MP WEE SIEW KIM on his daughter's comments Teen blogger counselled for her 'elitist' remarks Last edited by claypot on 26 Oct 2006, 12:43, edited 2 times in total.
There was a follow-up article in today's ST papers with MP Wee apologising again (though a bit half-baked) for his remarks made in defense of his daughter's blog and lack of sensitivity. From the way his new apology was worded, it seems that this latest apology was motivated more by the continued criticism heaped on him for his remarks while defending his daughter (the now infamous "some people cannot take the brutal truth" and her blog being "private" and that by us reading it, we have "violated her privacy" - the man clearly doesn't understand how public a blog is or what putting information on the Internet means. Someone educate him please!) than in actually doing so, because he realised that he has a very poor and unfeeling attitude towards those like Derek Wee.
In it, he apologises and admits he "should not have said what I did about people's inability to take the brutal truth and strong language". While I appreciate his second apology, this time on HIS own remarks, it still concerns me that his original thinking was to agree with his elitist daughter. He being a MP, elected by the people to work for the people, has obviously the same attitude as his daughter. He has provided an outward apology but I doubt his internal thinking and belief system has changed. 
His daughter is still young and in the midst of forming her personality, opinions. Hopefully with proper counselling and guidance, she will change her stance. But her father? He's obviously believed his daughter's stand to be the case for years (hence his daughter's thinking via influence from her dear old dad). How do I trust him to provide compassionate and understanding support to his AMK constituents now, some of whom definately fall under the group of people that his daughter would term “whiny, unmotivated and discontented workers”. Infact I would bet that quite of few of them would not be be able to spell properly either! This incident has not only shamed him because it shows up his extremely poor family values, but has made transparent his actual views on everyday lower-to-middle income Singaporeans who may not have had the good fortune to be born with a silver spoon or provided easy opportunities to get rich and who may (like all of us) complain at times about work, the gahmen and life. Showing compassion and sensitivity for those not as fortunate as us differentiates us from the animals who live solely according to the "survival of the fittest" law. I think his credibility as a public official is shot, and eventualy, he’d do more harm than good, staying in his MP position.
Since its more appropriate here, I will transfer my former comments from another thread.
A complete misuse of the term. "Survival of the fittest" comment originated from Darwin in his book on evolution theory and it was used to describe how the animals species adapted themselves in order to survive in their environment, any unfavorable characteristics that it might possess, are slowly eliminated, if not, the animals would die. Thus as a result, those creatures who survive up to today, possess the most favorable characteristics in regard to the present environment. Misinterpretation of the verse as "Who is stronger/bigger, eats whoever is smaller/ weaker" is common misconception among laymen who know nothing about sciences and are prone to the Nazi or capitalistic way of thinking. Even then, there is no excuse that we should treat our fellow humans like how the animals treat their own kind. We are building a civilized society for God sake, not a jungle. Everyone have their ups and downs. So, by the elitists' logic, its a matter of time before they become the outcasts of the society since they will fall sick, grow old and inevitably make mistakes during their courses of work. When that happens, accordingly to the rules of the jungle, they should be "eaten" or throw aside/abandon. Life is a loop, what goes around, comes around. So, be careful when you make a general comment or naive statement about someone unfortunate. You never know when it will be your turn. DK TO MISS PRIVILEGE Coming.......... GREAT Depression.............
a case of double standards obviously.
how can bloggers be punished for racist remarks, and then defend WSM for making remarks in a blog? Simply because she's an elite, hence her blog is private, and normal folks blog are not private, hence subject to punishment? ridiculous?
Wee Siew Kim had very good education (don't know if they are all scholarships), and he is the number two man in a GLC. I understand from some of the blogs that the family lives very well, travels extensively and stays in good class hotels. It shows that the family is "elite". The question then is, if he is so cocooned in his comfortable and elite lifestyle, why would he be deemed to be MP material? This saga shows his true colour. He does not have any more moral authority to represent the people in his GRC!
We are said to be violating Wee Shu Min's privacy. But you know, she wrote the blog entry in response to a Derek Wee's blog entry which was sent by "her mother's friend". In this case, who is violating Derek Wee's privacy? And I understand Derek Wee was not even writing about his own "hardship" but rather the general mood of the population. There is no reason for her to write the way she did, with so much venom and bile and condescending. It cannot be she did not understand the issues involved, because she is a Humanities Scholar at RJC, and she had been all along in the GEP programme. She is actually on the fast track to be one of Singapore's future ministers. I shudder to think how our second generation would suffer if the future ministers are all like that. PJL001
maybe reserved for the elites to read only? oh well, maybe she has a whole bunch of elite friends. so it's okay loh.
Yeah, thanks to her father's indirect help. If she is really so smart, she wouldn't have gotten herself and her father into this hot soup. Hope some of her classmates will criticize in front of her.
Hence one of the main reasons that I'm heading for Australia. Guess who is going to be the next PM after LHL? Coming.......... GREAT Depression.............
It puts in "brutal" colours the kind of leaders we are electing so hopefully we will exercise better "choice" next time...
Does morality and ability to lead links? If it does why should the MP still be in the GRC?
Dear Mr PM Lee, Are we endorsing the people who cannot look after their children, to look after and lead the country? Are we saying that people who make mistakes can just simply say sorry and quietly go off without some form of moral restructuring by means of community work? Even litter bugs get fined and young boys and gals got into boy/gals' home, why should not this child of an MP be punished for hurting the feelings of Singaporeans? I think we need to set the record straight, we do not need this kind of leader that probably will defend himself/herself when the times are bad. Such characteristic would ruin the future of Singapore.
It's hard to be unpopular but someone has to do it
http://smootie.blogspot.com/2006/10/its ... meone.html It's incredibly difficult to become so deeply deeply reviled overnight and with so little effort but someone has actually managed to accomplish this feat. What an amazing achievement. I've heard of high-fliers, over-achievers and overnight sensations but achieving this kind of publicity in such a short time is truly worthy of praise. It's like she just reached inside and ripped our collective guts out, then waved it in our faces. See? These are your guts. See? Now I'm throwing them on the floor and stomping on them. How do you keep a nation of citizens compliant and non-critical? How do you keep them on the side of the Government? BY KEEPING *mumble Mumble mumBle* LIKE THIS OUT OF OUR FACES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. It's easy to believe that our MPs really care about the common good if we don't hear otherwise. It's not so easy when some 18-year old kid starts parroting condescending nonsense like this. How about we just NOT have any news? Just insert more advertisements. Or just say "Sorry - what she said was wrong" - even if you don't mean it? Give us half a reason to continue to suspend our disbelief. I'm happy to say that it's still a few more years yet before the next election. Given that I have enough to occupy my mind from now till then, I'll have had time to forget this sordid little incident as well as the fact that my God Damn electricity bill is higher now than it's ever been even though we use less airconditioning now than we ever have.
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