Get A Brain, Girl. And While You're At It, Get Disinfectant For Your Mouth.

WARNING: EXTREMELY WORDY POST.

Coming back home after a long day of studying in school and I log on to Twitter, and guess what? Everyone's talking about Adelyn Hosehbo. Giggling to myself a bit, I click on the hashtag and start checking her out. Turns out, she's a 14 year old Singaporean girl who studies in Marsiling Secondary School, and got famous by posting on her Facebook that she slapped her mum. Twice. This was gathered from the pictures at Stomp (click for direct link to article), and it received so much attention that apparently, Stomp jammed up. Well.

Firstly, my opinion on the matter. Under no circumstances, should any child slap/hit/beat his/her parents. Simple as that. Abusive or not, retaliation is not your due, and even more so in a culture like that of Singapore which demands respect and filial piety. Foreigners may mock us for being "narrow-minded" and "stifling", but just logically thinking about it, would allow one to arrive at that conclusion. From my point of view as a child under the authority of my own parents, parents deserve respect because 1) they brought me into this world, which was no mean feat, 2) they have loved me, fed me, clothed me, supported me, encouraged me and so on, and 3) as a Christian, I believe parents are figures of authority representative of God, the highest authority. It's an issue of gratitude; would you choose to repay the favour your parents have given you? Like how someone put it really aptly:

If you saw a homeless guy in a corner, shivering to death on a cold day, and you happened to have a spare jacket which you gave to him; would you expect a thank you? Or perhaps a smile, or just some expression of gratitude? Or would you be perfectly fine if he got up, cursed you, spat on you and kicked you in the balls?

Most parents don't even expect this gratitude and simply bring up their child because they love him/her. I can't say I know exactly how it feels to be a parent, or what it's like to experience parental love. But I do know what it's like to love someone so unconditionally that I don't expect anything in return for anything I do. Most parents love that way, that kind of agape love.

Now you might say that I'm picturing the perfect ideal family where parents love their children and treat them like kings and queens, but I ignore those who unfortunately have abusive parents. On that note, I still think one should give the respect due to one's parents because your survival to this very day (and hence, reading this) should give them at least some credit. Okay, it's really hard to put it into words, but the point is, respect them no matter what okay!

I sound so serious and GP-ish! Okay, time to let loose and give my opinions in more heartfelt words. Ahah.

Secondly, I am pretty heartened at the reactions of most Singaporeans who express outrage at Adelyn and her highly disrespectful actions. I guess it just shows that Singaporeans' conscience and principles of decorum are still intact. I would be horrified if most of the reactions were neutral or even worse, supportive of Adelyn's actions.

Seriously, it is not "cool" or "insert-some-other-lame-reason-here" to do something so damn outrageous, and then brag about it on Facebook. Attention whore much? Some comments have said that she did not actually slap her mother, but simply posted it as a "joke.

WHAT.
KIND.
OF.
SCREWED.
UP.
SENSE.
OF.
HUMOUR.
IS.
THAT.
WTH.

Giving her the benefit of the doubt that she posted it as a "joke", it is so NOT funny. Clearly, this small one has not a notion of her limits. Or she has a VERY questionable sense of humour that requires psychiatric help. NOT FUNNY OKAY. Neither is your Facebook surname. Seriously, kids nowadays make me feel terribly terribly ashamed of being a Singaporean.
"Hiix, moii name iish xiiaostupidxx, n moii lao gong iish xiiaoboiix".

Grabs paperbag to cover my face and flees from Singapore.

It doesn't help that I have terrible impressions of lots of ah lians (no arguing on the fact that Adelyn is an ah lian, IT'S SO DAMN OBVIOUS). Don't like the way they type, don't like the way they speak (curse, rather), don't like the way they dress, don't like just about everything. It's a pet peeve I have yet to get over...

Okay, I digress.

Yes, I am relieved to know that most condemn her actions (whether she did it for real or posted it as a "joke"), so my faith in Singaporeans is partially restored :) Until I see youths not giving up their seats to the elderly/pregnant women, queue cutters, and generally rude uncivilised people. Singapore may be a first-world country, but just look at the general behaviour of the people. Ranked 5th most UNCOURTEOUS COUNTRY in a Readers' Digest courtesy test in 2006. Absolutely disgusting. This is something the government cannot simply just implement policies to change. It is a reflection of the societal changes that have taken place, for the worse. Parents are no longer taking their children in hand, and letting them run loose like hooligans. Perhaps due to an over-emphasis on materialism fueled by our exponentially increasing affluence?

Thirdly, there are those who think it's alright to let her be, since she is supposedly "young" and "ignorant". Screw you, this is a painful lesson that she better learn now. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Through the outraged reactions towards Adelyn's ridiculous actions, she learns 3 very important lessons:

1. The importance of self-censorship.
2. Showing respect to her mother is non-negotiable.
3. Pride comes before a fall. Hubris, essentially.

And I say, bring on the comments! If it's gonna teach her these lessons, it's definitely worth it. It will also serve as a warning to those who want to attempt such shennanigans that this Singaporean society still disapproves of it, and you will be held heavily responsible for your words and actions, both online and offline. This is the price she has to pay for her actions; choosing to disrespect her mother or just stupidly boasting about something that is socially unacceptable.

She is young, and therefore, the mistakes she makes now will be perhaps the most ife-changing ones if handled properly. Most importantly, all the attention focused on her would hopefully nip the problem in the bud before she grows up into another disgustingly rude and uncivilised Singaporean girl with no qualms about subverting authority. Damn right that the social media is going to teach her a lesson on this.

Just caught wind of this on Twitter:

Woah, like seriously?!

On a side note, this would be a very good example to use in my upcoming A level GP essay, regarding the Singapore society (if I choose to do a question which requires this sort of example ah!). HAHAH.

Cheers!