Just came back from Mini Mart, I was quite fed up with this man (who shares the same ethnic group as me but from another country and my university has plentiful of people from this nationality) - Plenty!
First, he and his 3 sons were blocking the fruit section, ermm... that was still fine...
Then as I was walking towards the cashier, I heard that guy who said to his sons in their national language: "Quick, Go to the cashier.." Even before I could decipher what I heard.. and before my eyes the next minute, I saw this boy came running to the queue before me!
I smiled at that boy thought nah, since he's just a young boy, it's still alright. I just smiled at that little boy.
But what was most appalling to me was that adult man walked over smiling and I thought he was apologetic, so I said to him "it's alright".
Finally, the ultimate thing came... To my greatest disgust, that adult man, I guess he might be either a postgrad student or teaching faculty in my uni, this man in his 40s, replied and said "It's the survivor strategy." Then he smiled, paid the money and walked away with his three kids!!!
I was so raged by his digusting and irresponsible acts. If he's a faculty in my uni... if he is one.. then..... I don't wish to think further... haiz...
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Well, I guessed it was God's way of teaching me a lesson because this morning, I also kind of "snatched" someone's rights to a table in the library... accordingly, the rule of the game I was told was: only the fittest survives (doesn't that sound like "it's the survivor strategy").
Anyone who been to Shanghai and took its metro train would know what I meant.. It was a very similar and terrible experience for me at the library this morning. I've not done such thing before, except once I was in Shanghai when I had to push my way in the metro train or I would have missed the 4th train... What happened was after standing still for the first 3 trains and still trying to be like a "civilised" Singaporean. I was standing at the edge of the platform, then I saw everyone pushing everyone else in and out of the train (young, old, men and women)..
They don't care about anyone else but themselves.. for the first three trains then I knew I could not be "civilised" anymore and when the 4th train came, I stood in front of the train door and allowed myself to be pushed in by the local people.. It was then I managed to get into the train.. Oh man.. The feeling was so terrible and I had it to core! I was so glad, in Singapore, it was so much more civilised.
I am not trying to make people in Singapore more superior but I was just being objective and after comparing, people in Singapore (perhaps with other nationalities living in Singapore doing as what was required) were more civilised and civic-minded.. There were of course, to a large extent, environmental factors contributing to cultural values and behaviours of people in the two cities.
So what happened this morning..
During exam period, many of us would go mug in the library then before 8.30am, there were about more than 50 of us waiting outside the library, waiting for the librarian to open the library door at 8.30am. Tension was building up. It was my first time mugging in the library. I never went there before in my first 2 and a half years of uni life..
I was instructed when the library opened, people would rush in and grab as many seats or tables they could with all the files and textbooks they had with them. So I needed to do the same..
Then this morning, as we're rushing into the library, a guy was walking in front of me to grab seats, he was still considering if he should go further to another table, then I was behind him, then as he wanted to lay his hands on the table, I said to him, I needed 4 seats. Then he tried taking the table next to "mine" then he was also rejected because the other person also wanted to occupy the entire table.. Haiz.. At that point, I felt that I was such a jerk.
I told myself, I don't ever want to do such things again. When I was taught that: 这是狗吃狗的社会 (this is society where the fittest survives) , since that guy chose to give up his rights , then it's alright since he was not decisive. I still felt so lousy.. but I still did what I should not have done.
Father God, please forgive me. I really hope I don't have to do this again. The feeling was terrible.. really... Forgive me, Father God.
Daniel..
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