Which of these rile you up?
Don’t get us wrong, there are plenty of reasons to love Singapore. However, outrage culture is nothing new, with even the littlest things getting the best of us. Want to know makes Singaporeans brim with fury? From train disruptions to slowpokes on the phone, here are eight trivial things that get us red-misted.
If the North-South MRT line is your mode of transportation, you have our deepest sympathy. The line is notorious for constantly breaking down or experiencing delays. Whether you’re in a hurry to get to work or rushing to a restaurant you’ve made a table at, finding out your train is unavailable for the next hour is an absolute nightmare.
This isn’t The Walking Dead, so chop, chop! The worst bit? When you bump into someone who stops abruptly in the middle of the pavement, blocking your designated path. It's a good thing you have ninja-like reflexes to dodge any potential accidents.
Doesn’t matter if you’re the driver, the cyclist or the pedestrian, you’ve probably experienced this one way or another. Whether it’s cars refusing to give way, buses blocking the crossing or cyclists ringing their bells incessantly when, clearly, there’s space for them to pass. It’s safe to say you have at least given them the death stare. Unfortunately, the roads get worse when it rains – cue traffic jams!
If there’s one thing that Singaporeans love doing, it's queueing up for things. So breaking the cycle or holding the queue for ten of your mates definitely results in a swear-filled rant from a hothead in line.
Manspreaders, pole-hoggers, PDA-ing couples, people who stare at your seat expectantly, groomers (we’re looking at you, nail cutters!), commuters talking on their phones loudly (is it really necessary for you to shout?) – the list goes on.
According to the Singlish Dictionary, kiasu is defined as someone who’s “afraid of losing out to someone else, and therefore often behaves selfishly and with a disregard others.” It's led to a culture of everyone trying to one-up each other – tuition for kids under three, buying things beyond our means, turning our nose up at those in need – just to get ahead.
Whenever the government announces a price hike, a wave of disapproval follows – we're talking about the increasing cost of car ownership and the water price hike last year – and let's not mention the impending GST increase, shall we?
Need we say more?
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