I live in Singapore; this comparision is deranged. The worst you could say for SG are draconian drug laws, we aren’t upholding slavery and slaughtering journalists/opposition parties in broad daylight. This is like equating Taiwan to Palestine or South Korea to North Korea for fuck sake
It’s like gateway drug of crimes. JK, It all goes back to litering, gum has lots of wrappers and the inedible gum itself. No gum helps build the SG culture of zero tolerance for crimes. If you teach children even the smallest of crimes have serious repercussions they will be less likely to commit future crimes. At least that’s the idea, it’s easier in a rich country where people have their basic needs fulfilled.
That’s definitely one way of viewing it. I’m definitely anti-authoritarian, but the city-state has the right to agree upon a strict set of rules and standards of behavior and to hold people accountable to uphold peace and order. It’s a trade-off for a life in a much more stable country compared to the US where there is always a risk of people infringing on public peace. Ranging from simple things like littering, obnoxiously loud music in public, to something more dramatic like robbery, or even getting caught in a mass shooting because some depressed guy in his early 20s bought a gun from walmart. Say what you will about their government structure but none of these things mentioned are an issue in Singapore.
The same goes for the UAE or Saudi Arabia
I live in Singapore; this comparision is deranged. The worst you could say for SG are draconian drug laws, we aren’t upholding slavery and slaughtering journalists/opposition parties in broad daylight. This is like equating Taiwan to Palestine or South Korea to North Korea for fuck sake
The hardest of drugs: chewing gum
It’s like gateway drug of crimes. JK, It all goes back to litering, gum has lots of wrappers and the inedible gum itself. No gum helps build the SG culture of zero tolerance for crimes. If you teach children even the smallest of crimes have serious repercussions they will be less likely to commit future crimes. At least that’s the idea, it’s easier in a rich country where people have their basic needs fulfilled.
Sounds like it would teach them to fear and blindly trust authority. Which I’m sure sounds fine to them.
That’s definitely one way of viewing it. I’m definitely anti-authoritarian, but the city-state has the right to agree upon a strict set of rules and standards of behavior and to hold people accountable to uphold peace and order. It’s a trade-off for a life in a much more stable country compared to the US where there is always a risk of people infringing on public peace. Ranging from simple things like littering, obnoxiously loud music in public, to something more dramatic like robbery, or even getting caught in a mass shooting because some depressed guy in his early 20s bought a gun from walmart. Say what you will about their government structure but none of these things mentioned are an issue in Singapore.
The states are a pretty low bar
They are drastically different places, that’s why I compared them
I guess, but I’m quite happy to not be living in either.
You can swallow gum. Not sure why that myth exists. It’ll pass whole and come out with the rest of your shit.
But why.
If you swallow the occasional one it’s fine but probably not if you make a habit out of it.
You can swallow a marble too, that doesn’t make it edible.
for the most part I agree, and I grok SG’s laws on free speech as a concession to too many religious folks bottled up in too small an area. ok.
but.
Death for marijuana? REALLY? Like… DEATH?
That’s where it goes off the rails for me. deport somebody, put 'em in jail for a few years, sure, have your rules…
and fuck, cocaine? opium? heroin etc? I guess if you really need to but the mary jane? naw man… just… naw.
fan of the country, been for business, love the food, but won’t visit for personal travel because of this.
I agree with you - hell, we fucked over our best athlete (Joseph Schooling) just for partaking overseas - nobody gets a pass.
He’s not even “our” athlete. He was trained and brought up overseas. Just happened to be Singaporean by birth.