A scholar from China, Sun Xu, posted a remark "there are more dogs than humans in Singapore". Many Singaporeans were outraged and condemned him vociferously and relentlessly in the social media. The anger was amplified by the fact that he is studying in Singapore on funding provided by the Government, and is seen to be quite ungrateful. There were calls for the scholarship to be rescinded.
Sun Xu regretted his careless statement and made an apology in a microblog. He also sought the assistance of the Chinese embassy to be given a chance to "repay the kindness" that he has received from Singapore. I hope that the condemnation and the call for vengeance should now subside and that this matter can be laid to rest.
Let us look at this statement from the perspective of logic and reason. When Sun Xu said that there are "more dogs", he must be imputing that many Singaporeans behave like dogs, He did not say that "all" Singaporeans behave in that way but he did imply that "most" Singaporeans fit into that mold. In that respect, many people (including me) would disagree with him. But, we would probably agree that "some" Singaporeans do behave badly.
In the heat of anger, we forgot to ask him to explain his remark. What exactly is the negative behavior that he was alluding to?
I have a dog, a Schnauzer, called Twinkle. She must have felt very offended to be associated with bad behavior, especially of the kind that is practiced by humans rather than her kind. She wanted me to point out that her kind also has positive traits, such as loyalty and friendliness, as described by the phrase " a dog is a man's best friend"
There is, frankly, one part of her trait that can be attributed to some (perhaps many) Singaporeans. She wants to appear brave but deep inside, she is not that brave. When a stranger comes to the house, she would bark most loudly and relentlessly, but would keep a distance from the stranger. If challenged, she would probably run into hiding. I do not blame her, for she is really small compared to the stranger.
Let us take a lesson from this saga. While many of us disagree with the statement made by Sun Xu, he has already apologized. We should display a more tolerant and forgiving attitude.
We should also avoid "jumping to conclusion" and, in a similar situation in the future, ask "can you explain your statement? " That would be the trait of a reasonable person - a positive trait that Singaporeans should cultivate.
Tan Kin Lian
Sun Xu regretted his careless statement and made an apology in a microblog. He also sought the assistance of the Chinese embassy to be given a chance to "repay the kindness" that he has received from Singapore. I hope that the condemnation and the call for vengeance should now subside and that this matter can be laid to rest.
Let us look at this statement from the perspective of logic and reason. When Sun Xu said that there are "more dogs", he must be imputing that many Singaporeans behave like dogs, He did not say that "all" Singaporeans behave in that way but he did imply that "most" Singaporeans fit into that mold. In that respect, many people (including me) would disagree with him. But, we would probably agree that "some" Singaporeans do behave badly.
In the heat of anger, we forgot to ask him to explain his remark. What exactly is the negative behavior that he was alluding to?
There is, frankly, one part of her trait that can be attributed to some (perhaps many) Singaporeans. She wants to appear brave but deep inside, she is not that brave. When a stranger comes to the house, she would bark most loudly and relentlessly, but would keep a distance from the stranger. If challenged, she would probably run into hiding. I do not blame her, for she is really small compared to the stranger.
Let us take a lesson from this saga. While many of us disagree with the statement made by Sun Xu, he has already apologized. We should display a more tolerant and forgiving attitude.
We should also avoid "jumping to conclusion" and, in a similar situation in the future, ask "can you explain your statement? " That would be the trait of a reasonable person - a positive trait that Singaporeans should cultivate.
Tan Kin Lian
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