DISCLAIMER: In case some people think I have all the time in the world to write notes aside from doing FYP, I consider this article to be disturbing enough to take a break from work (yeah, more excuses: 8 points)
Recently, a friend alerted me to this piece of news...
http://singaporeseen.stomp
In short, a scantily clad woman was molested by 4 men (they look Indian, origin unspecified) at Singapore's annual countdown event @ Sentosa's Siloso Beach. Instead of offering any aid, the crowd merely flashed out their cameras and furiously snapped away (not sure if they had SLR), with some even taking a video of the incident and posting it online.
I'll like to think about and present my thoughts on a few points.
1) Did she deserve it?
2) Are the crowd's actions justified?
3) Inferences from this incident and a myopic glimpse into the future
Frankly, I don't think it's fair to judge if the woman deserved it. One of the first arguments to have surfaced was that her provocative wear invited the molesters, but that is seriously a huge farce. Note the name of this event "Countdown Party @ Sentosa's Siloso **BEACH**". In case you didn't get it right, it was conducted at a BEACH. In fact, if I were not mistaken, participants were encouraged to attend the event in BEACHWEAR, which would most certainly include "bikinis". Why should dressing up in accordance to the theme lead to molestations? So if the party theme was "Medical", one who dressed up as a patient would necessarily lead to an operation forced upon him/her? Therefore, in my view, it is not right to hurriedly (and conveniently) blame it on the woman. Nonetheless, having witnessed a woman being molested @ Zouk last year, I will not deny this possibility totally. That night, I saw a Chinese girl flirting (kissing, hugging, dirty dancing) with a group of guys, consisting of both Caucasians and Chinese. After going around the club looking for a spot for my friend and I, we unfortunately saw this group of people again. This time round, she seemed to have lost it, either due to excessive alcohol and/or drugs, and these men were groping her in an even more outrageous way than that you might have seen in the previously provided link, and they even started to unclothe her. I did not even attempt to help her, because in this case, I think she deserved it. Flirting with a group of guys and then indulging in excessive drinking/drugs is most definitely unwise, especially if they are strangers to you. Now, if they were your friends, I would consider it most sad that you have such sickening friends who would take advantage of you when you are drunk. Towering over all, it is your fault if you not only do not know how to take care of yourself, but even go on to invite trouble upon yourself. Let this be a warning to all silly girls out there who would go clubbing, like to drink, and to mix with a large group of guys - It is your fault if you do all the above and your modesty gets outraged.
As for the crowd, they are a disgusting bunch of creeps. The mentality is clear - there is a free show; I am not implicated; I do not want to invite trouble - so therefore, I sit back and enjoy this taboo action (molestations and crimes in general are somewhat regarded as taboo in Singapore) while being totally in the clear. What's better is that I can totally blame it on the atmosphere, booze and that I alone would be powerless since "everyone else is not doing anything" and that whatever action I take would be "overpowered". Allow me to summarize that into 3 adjectives: "Selfish", "Cowardly", and "Irresponsible". Note that "apathetic" is missing from there, because the above 3 adjectives make constitute the reasons behind the apparent apathy. Personally, I would regard even comments appealing to the crowd to help the woman since "you would not want that to happen to someone close to you e.g. your wife, daughter, girlfriend". It is probably an effective persuasion, but it is from a selfish perspective. Instead, isn't it human nature to help someone in trouble? You need a reason to hurt others, but helping others doesn't really require a logical, justified argument, does it?
If you go on to watch the various videos asking people for their comments, I suppose you will agree with me the general perspective is that...
For guys: She probably deserved it and I would not help. What is the big fuss anyway?
For girls: Eeewwww, sick. This is disgusting! People should really help her...oh but I can't help. You know, she might even have asked for all this.
Minority: This is outrageous. I would have gathered my friends and helped the poor girl out of the mess.
Myself? I would have helped, provided that she were not the cause of this. Like I mentioned, if she had already been flirting with these men - which reminds me, honestly, screw u assholes who even try to argue if the men are Singaporean or foreigners, cos this only tries to invoke discrimination and it doesn't change the fact that they're molesting the girl - and she had been a drink too much/drugs, I wouldn't bother. It takes two hands to clap, indeed. However, for those who've watched the video, she struggled and tried to squat down to escape from the clutches of these men. Based on that, I would have helped her. Not because I am a righteous hero, but just because it was some form of help that I could have offered to someone who needed it.
Now, what would you have done?
