Overcrowded

LS sent me this youtube link at 1am. A videoclip about an argument on a public bus. It happened in Hong Kong but the similar thing also happened in Singapore before and LS and myself are part of it. In an overcrowded urban setting in Singapore or Hong Kong, personal space shrinks, the patience of individuals runs thin and ugliest side of a person is magified.



This entry was last done on my fridae on 18 Dec 2006 on my fridae blog.
On Saturday, I was taking a bus 197 with my friend LS We walked to the rear of the bus and found a bag of Lego's and toys on a seat. A Malay woman sitting next to that asked if I wanted to sit, I said yes politely and she cleared the seat of the toys. As soon as we sat, she suddenly turned around and started screaming at a Chinese girl behind her. Obviously the Chinese girl must be making some comments of her being inconsiderate. The Malay woman then said the Chinese girl insulted her daughter. The Malay woman got louder and threatened to bash the Chinese girl with the Lego set. Her poor little daughter appeared indifferent to what was happening. Then a Chinese man next to the Chinese girl starting to defend the girl and said they will not saying anything ill. The Chinese girl then unafraid, threatening to call the police if she is hurt.

At this point, a Indian man in front of us tried to pacify the three people. I was listening to the whole thing and deciding on how to act. I cannot do nothing though I agreed the toys should not be there in the first place but I dun really know if the Chinese girl said anything insulting. LS looked at me and was concerned if I am disturbed. And a part of me was telling me that it is unacceptable for me not to say anything. Then I decided to act.

I went over to the Malay woman and spoke to her gently that she is really loud and since her daughter is next to her, let's just let the whole thing end. I asked if she really wanted to bring the whole bus to the police station. She sort of lowered her voice with me but insisted that she was insulted. Retrospectively, if I have acknowledged her anger maybe she can listen to me calmly. By now, the bus reach the Old Airport Road and stopped by a bus stop. The bus captain came over and tried to resolve the ongoing conflict. Since he came over, I went back to my seat.

The conversation went on in Malay and I used my limited Malay to understand the whole thing. The Chinese girl got louder now and the Malay woman felt more antagonised. Now, new characters entered the drama. A young Malay boy stood up and scolded the Malay woman for misbehaving on the bus. Then a middle Chinese man stood up and asked if we are all going to police station or let get moving. Another unidentified voice started to ask the Malay woman to get off.

It went on for 5 min... and I stood up, feeling totally embarrassed by the act of the individuals, decided to alight and at one point, look at some passengers and said that this is embarrassing. Actually, I was embarrassed by some of the words by non related individuals and the indifferent passengers. I was not upset with the Malay woman at all, strangely though she start the whole thing, I just hoped she won't yell in front of her child. I was brought up to think it is wrong to yell.

After alighting, I turned around and give my mobile number to bus captain, told him that I cannot stay cos I have a party to go to (and I really dun want to spoil my weekend mood cos of a bag of toys) No call so far but I thought I did what I possibly can.

The bus was a perfect representation of the Singapore society. It is majority Chinese.

When the argument started, the Malay woman obviously felt outnumbered by the Chinese girl and the Chinese man. She probably felt helpless even though she knew she is in the wrong but with the daughter next to her, she need to protect the child.

The third race, the Indian man tried to calm everyone down and remain neutral. The bus captain who is a Malay, was also neutral. Me being a colour blind, was concerned about her being a mom but behaving this way publicly. (My own value) The young Malay boy, maybe colour blind or upset his own race is upsetting everyone, started to say something.

The impatient middle Chinese man wanted to get on with his own life, wanted to bus to go on without resolving the issue. The unidentified voice, representing the majority of Singapore, spoke in the background with anonymity. The bus suddenly was sliced into two... The dramatic rear and the 'Oh what the heck, let's move on' front.

LS later pointed out he has a feeling that the Malay woman is a single mom, thus resulting a overly aggressive manner in this case though he felt empathetic to her.

The little girl, uninterested in the adult world, continued to look into her bag of colourful Lego's, the key element in this public commotion...

All these, happened on the day I decided to do my Master of Social Science (Counseling).