Seismic shifts and home
Was listening to a radio programme about a week ago and I've kinda been ruminating about the issues for some time. It was one of those programmes which had call-in callers discussing about teenagers who have consensual sex and whether legal prosecution should be the way to go.
I guess, it would not have been hard to guess that most people would be against legal prosecution but were more in favour of education, counselling and sound parenting. Yet, the programme being on 93.8Live, most of the callers were understandably middle-aged people, who talked mainly about in-my-days, 'what-are-young-people-coming-to', 'no-more-morals', 'it-all-gets-worse-with-each-generation'... etc. Many suggested counselling, education, but the host rightfully pointed out that few took on the responsibilities of themselves as parents.
The picture that came to my mind as I heard those callers was almost like those cavemen shows, where the caveman clubs the cavewoman on the head and drags her back to his cave. We want the youths to be 'with us', not different from our generation. And so we club them on the head with moralistic judgments and hope that they pass out from the intensity of whatever-they-think-counselling-and-education-is and then drag them back by their ponytail back into the supposed safety of our own caves that we're used to hiding in.
Interesting, because in every other situation these people are in, business, work, social interactions, we know that we need to get out there and engage people. But it seems that when it comes to youth, we gotta club them on the head. No wonder our youths are always seeing stars.
What few of the callers understood is how there's been a seismic shift in terms of exposure and conceptions of morality that they can hardly understand. They don't understand that thoughts have changed, and will always be changing. Except that in this generation, they are changing as fast as it takes to update a Facebook status. 'What's on your mind?'
Perhaps the way to go isn't a moral lecture and a ponytail-drag. Perhaps the way to go is to enter their seismically-shifted world and re-create the rules into something healthier.
And perhaps, a few more hugs for our youths, would give them more of the physical closeness they seek in sex.
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It's a little strange that I don't feel THAT out of place in Melbourne. Except I think I still don't feel very safe walking along the quiet streets at night. This place is as much of a multi-racial place as Singapore, probably even more. Don't know why we play up our multi-racialism so much back home.
Zhen was asking me how Singapore has changed and I told her it has changed much the past couple of years. And I shared that sometimes I don't know if I truly feel Singapore belongs to me anymore.
It seems that all the new developments are built for tourists. The IRs, ION Orchard, Sentosa, new hotels like Hotel Ibis, etc. Some of the shops in these places actually sell watches that cost as much as a condo. Many of these places are not places I would go to; I can't afford it.
Is it still home? Or maybe, I could just hide in my cave.
I guess, it would not have been hard to guess that most people would be against legal prosecution but were more in favour of education, counselling and sound parenting. Yet, the programme being on 93.8Live, most of the callers were understandably middle-aged people, who talked mainly about in-my-days, 'what-are-young-people-coming-to', 'no-more-morals', 'it-all-gets-worse-with-each-generation'... etc. Many suggested counselling, education, but the host rightfully pointed out that few took on the responsibilities of themselves as parents.
The picture that came to my mind as I heard those callers was almost like those cavemen shows, where the caveman clubs the cavewoman on the head and drags her back to his cave. We want the youths to be 'with us', not different from our generation. And so we club them on the head with moralistic judgments and hope that they pass out from the intensity of whatever-they-think-counselling-and-education-is and then drag them back by their ponytail back into the supposed safety of our own caves that we're used to hiding in.
Interesting, because in every other situation these people are in, business, work, social interactions, we know that we need to get out there and engage people. But it seems that when it comes to youth, we gotta club them on the head. No wonder our youths are always seeing stars.
What few of the callers understood is how there's been a seismic shift in terms of exposure and conceptions of morality that they can hardly understand. They don't understand that thoughts have changed, and will always be changing. Except that in this generation, they are changing as fast as it takes to update a Facebook status. 'What's on your mind?'
Perhaps the way to go isn't a moral lecture and a ponytail-drag. Perhaps the way to go is to enter their seismically-shifted world and re-create the rules into something healthier.
And perhaps, a few more hugs for our youths, would give them more of the physical closeness they seek in sex.
_______________________________________________
It's a little strange that I don't feel THAT out of place in Melbourne. Except I think I still don't feel very safe walking along the quiet streets at night. This place is as much of a multi-racial place as Singapore, probably even more. Don't know why we play up our multi-racialism so much back home.
Zhen was asking me how Singapore has changed and I told her it has changed much the past couple of years. And I shared that sometimes I don't know if I truly feel Singapore belongs to me anymore.
It seems that all the new developments are built for tourists. The IRs, ION Orchard, Sentosa, new hotels like Hotel Ibis, etc. Some of the shops in these places actually sell watches that cost as much as a condo. Many of these places are not places I would go to; I can't afford it.
Is it still home? Or maybe, I could just hide in my cave.
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