Where sympathy is a crime.

In Singapore, sympathy is a crime. At least, it seems so, from the way posters respond to me whenever I express sympathy for the plight of anyone, at all. I find this both revealing and perturbing. It reveals the Singaporean psyche - such as it is - and perturbs all who understand what is laid bare.

Recently, I have written with sympathy of David Hartanto Widjaja, Zhou Zheng and Dr. Allan Ooi: they all share one common bond - the manner of their deaths. Their suicides have brought them together in a way that life did not, for I doubt that they knew each other. Yet, in death, they are one: the Singapore suicides.

Now, my posts on the pressures that led to their deaths attracted a response that I should have expected, but didn't. Many of the respondents were quite harsh. They blamed the victims. They called them (in some places on the net): "losers", for killing themselves. They were looked down upon for their "weakness". In all, the general thrust of the comments was most unforgiving, not at all sympathetic and altogether rather cold. The impression was left that Singaporeans are a heartless lot, without feeling for their fellow humans - indeed, without any care for them at all. To me, this observation is a greater tragedy than the deaths of the three young men. It is tragic that Singaporeans should care so little for each other that the manner of these deaths should not inspire any sympathy. One begins to understand why, living in this heartless, cold, uncaring society, that three young men would decide to kill themselves. Surely, life, in some quarters in this city, cannot be very pleasant, when one is surrounded by such heartless, unfeeling people.

Another thing that surprised me about the comments I received and read on other sites on the web, is that some of the commenters are noted for their intelligence. They are relatively well-known writers on the net and have, in the past, seemed intelligent on quite a few topics. Yet, on the subject of these recent suicides they are blunt, dismissive, unmoved, unfeeling and uncaring. Quite simply, they react as if at the passing of three cockroaches, rather than three intelligent young people. I found this rather perturbing, for it indicates that in the Singaporean "elite" there is a lack of feeling for one's fellow man. In its place there is cold reason.

This observation of mine is not one based on one instance. It is based on the fact that EVERYTIME I am sympathetic towards someone or something, on the net, I get coldhearted, uncaring and even nasty comments. It happened when Nordin bin Mondong climbed into the tiger enclosure, too. I find this really rather concerning. It indicates that Singaporeans have never really learnt the value of the lives of others. They have never really learnt to appreciate the general concept that life itself is valuable and that each of us is uniquely precious. They have, in its place, a detachment from each other - and a disregard for the fate of their fellows. In particular, they don't care for those who "couldn't cope", those who were overwhelmed by the stresses of this society. There is the general opinion that they were "weak" and therefore deserving of their fates. There is no sympathy, here, for those more sensitive than ourselves. Indeed, sensitivity, as a characteristic, is seemingly despised.

As an outsider, I see a society that has lost sight of what matters. People matter. Lives matter. Money doesn't. Yet, in Singapore it is the latter that matters, and the former which are undervalued.

There is also a general lack of insight from the respondents concerning the causes of the suicides. They never look at themselves and their society to see if it could be to blame, they always blame the victims, instead. In Singapore, the victim is always at fault - for Singapore is a thing of blameless perfection and flawless wonder that could not possibly have played a part.

Well, it is clear to me, as an outsider, that were Singapore a kinder, warmer, more human society, that none of those three men would have killed themselves. It is the very harshness of the Singaporean people before human sensitivity, that led to their deaths. It is also that very harshness they show in response to those deaths.

The funny part of this is, of course, that when anything befalls the coldhearted respondents, no-one around them will give a damn - and so they will come to know what it feels, to have done to themselves, what they have so often done to others.

I shall continue to be sympathetic to those on whom misfortune or too much of life's pain has fallen. No doubt, my commenters shall continue to be unsympathetic and heartless, too.

I am not going to change my outlook simply because the people around me don't share it. It is important to retain one's deeper humanity, even if the society in which one lives has lost its - or never really known it.

Singapore has yet to learn what to value. At present, they have selected the wrong things to worship. Here, Mammon is God - and, in all else, they are unbelievers.

Perhaps it would take the fall of Mammon (which might be happening) to wake them up to more meaningful aspects of life.

However, it will not be until there is a flood of shared sympathy, when I post, again, on something unfortunate, that I will finally know that Singapore has matured to become fully human. Until then, sympathy shall, no doubt, remain a crime.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The cause of NTU's suicide habit.

Every effect has a cause - and NTU's recent suicides are no exception. The question is: what could motivate two young men: David Hartanto Widjaja, 21 and, now Zhou Zheng, 24, to throw their lives away? It seems clear that both men thought their lives not worth living, anymore. What could have driven them to such a conclusion? Well, recent news reporting has inadvertently provided me with a clue.

In the Channel News Asia report of the hanging of Zhou Zheng, a recently appointed Project Officer, in THE SAME LABORATORY AS THE OTHER SUICIDE, they mentioned something in passing, which I think to be of great importance. They said that reporters from the radio station 938 Live had interviewed other residents in Block 101 C Nanyang Heights (a residence on campus for staff and graduate students). They weren't very successful in their interviews. They learnt that residents kept largely to themselves and interacted little with each other. Without realizing it, those reporters had, I feel, stumbled on a big clue as to what is happening at NTU. If people do not interact with each other, they feel alone, isolated, set apart. Without sufficient human interaction, they may begin to question their own worth, or value, they may begin to think little of themselves. A person who is isolated, though living in a block surrounded by many others, who basically ignore them, can very easily succumb to depression, or be led to dark thoughts.

That passing remark by 938 Live reporters makes me wonder what sort of culture now prevails at NTU. Is it one of relatively little interaction, at all levels? Or is it just among the graduate students and staff? If it is at all levels, that would provide some insight into David Hartanto Widjaja's and Zhou Zheng's death. We must not ignore that both were from the same lab. That means that both were exposed to the same social forces, the same environment, and many of the same issues, stresses and problems. What amazes me is that Zhou Zheng had only been at work for, I think, five days, before he decided to kill himself. Is working at NTU really such an unpleasant experience that he would end his life, so soon? Or is the problem restricted solely to the EEE lab (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) where he worked - and where David Hartanto Widjaja had studied?

This situation should not be dismissed as just a dark, unfortunate coincidence. That two young men should die, allegedly by their own hands, from the same laboratory at the same University, in the same week, is far too unlikely to be just coincidence. There is something afoot in the EEE lab of NTU, though what, it is difficult to say. It could be as simple as "the residents kept largely to themselves and interacted little with each other." A little social isolation can go a long way to undermining many people's belief in their own worth and that of life itself.

I would say that Universities, here, in Singapore, should pay less heed to academic demands and more heed to creating a convivial, warm, human and HUMANE atmosphere that makes staff and students alike feel welcomed and valued. I cannot believe that either Zhou Zheng, or David Hartanto Widjaja felt welcomed and valued. Had they done so, I cannot believe that either would have taken their own life, at the very beginning of what could have been. They both seem to have thrown everything away, just when it was beginning. No-one does that, without a very good reason. The question is: what was the reason? Why did David Hartanto Widjaja and Zhou Zheng, both of the EEE lab, both decide to kill themselves (allegedly) in the same week?

The answer may be as simple as social deprivation - or it could be a whole lot more involved. However, the social issue is one that should be looked at, after all, David Hartanto Widjaja, was described as someone who spent a lot of time to himself, in several reports. Maybe he wasn't too happy with that, in his own way.

I am watching this situation with interest, for I feel it deserves a full investigation and not one that proceeds by assumption or the need to preserve the good image of the institution concerned. What is needed is a good dose of truth seeking, no matter what truth might be found. People just don't kill themselves without a strong proximate cause. Now is the time to look for that cause - before others join Zhou Zheng and David Hartanto Widjaja, in death. To cover this up, might be to kill others, too. Let us not allow that to happen.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)