irksome.
I often start a rant-type post (like this one) on a nucleus of a thought and slowly expand on it till it gets rhapsodic and complex and (hopefully) comment-provoking/-worthy.
This one started off when I noted the irony of China beating Singapore at table tennis yesterday at the women's finals; I'm no patriot or sportsman as many of you know, but the Olympics are such a monumental commemoration of the human spirit that as a humanist it's impossible for me not to get caught up in it. And for Singapore to get only its second medal ever... that's quite a neat piece of awesomeness.
Well yeah when I mentioned 'irony' I meant the incongruity between expectations and reality, namely the expectation that the Singapore team would actually be Singaporean, and the darkly amusing reality that it wasn't, really. Reminds me too of the Commonwealth Games I'm not too sure how long back (2006?) when the Singapore-assembled badminton team of Chinese mercenaries beat England and were much trumpeted at that time.
On the one hand it does seem incongruous that we're burnishing our sports record by importing players (especially PRC Chinese players), but on more reflection I can't just condemn this out-of-hand. True, to market this as an achievement of Singapore sport is being rather economical with the truth. However to proceed to the other extreme, and reject the Singaporean-ness of their accomplishment (or their nationality), is rather small-minded. I can't agree with either.
[That's the problem with a sophisticated stand. You can't agree with either extreme and you end up setting out your own position which no one understands because of the very human tendency to express the world in polar opposites of black/white, good/bad, right/left and forget the possibilty of grey, amoral and centre... This I blame on Zoroaster xP and I'll explore this one day.
Where was I?]
Yes I'm sure instinctively something in every one of us rebels against the idea that this medal is wholly and deservedly Singaporean - I'm not disputing the validity of the achievement, I'm examining the right to count it as ours. I mean, admittedly I don't know the details but the whole team (and coach) were born and bred in China, and, what, brought over here by some through some sports council thing or other? So to claim this for Singapore seems a tad rich.
On the other hand to reject it entirely seems a tad rich too. Well for a start, a silver's a silver and this one's ours, so what's the problem eh? Less frivolously, the team have devoted a fair bit of time and energy to playing for Singapore, and to question their nationality and motives is to discount all that they've put in.
Moreover - and this goes right to the very heart of Singapore's existential struggle with its foreign population - scratch any Singaporean hard enough and you'll find immigrant in that blood. Why then should we have such a problem with migrants in our midst? Singaporean Indians have problems with expat Indians, lots of Singaporean Chinese resent PR Chinese, and everyone is deeply suspicious of the Filipino nurse, the Korean student, the Malaysian accountant. It's all awfully hypocritical, and reflects a closed-mindedness, a meanness of nature that seems to be ingrained in the Singapore mind.
What we are today is a direct result of the pains our forebears took to get here. And I think that by extension, to resent those who're taking that very same path now, is to reject our own heritage and who we are. That is just one of the existential contradictions that underlie Singapore's tortured national soul.
I've gone very, very far from the Olympics. You might wonder what I feel about the medal. I'm sure I'm happy for the players' personal achievement. But more than that, I feel that questioning their nationality or the Singaporean-ness of their victory (regardless of the final outcome, a silver is a victory too) is missing the point; maybe this medal should be taken as both an affirmation of, and a reminder of the pressing need for, inclusiveness in Singapore society.
Hell, I know. I'm sure people like Wally and Peck are like ^^ wtf watch the sport screw the thinking lah. Alright man, I get the picture. Just a thought...
This one started off when I noted the irony of China beating Singapore at table tennis yesterday at the women's finals; I'm no patriot or sportsman as many of you know, but the Olympics are such a monumental commemoration of the human spirit that as a humanist it's impossible for me not to get caught up in it. And for Singapore to get only its second medal ever... that's quite a neat piece of awesomeness.
Well yeah when I mentioned 'irony' I meant the incongruity between expectations and reality, namely the expectation that the Singapore team would actually be Singaporean, and the darkly amusing reality that it wasn't, really. Reminds me too of the Commonwealth Games I'm not too sure how long back (2006?) when the Singapore-assembled badminton team of Chinese mercenaries beat England and were much trumpeted at that time.
On the one hand it does seem incongruous that we're burnishing our sports record by importing players (especially PRC Chinese players), but on more reflection I can't just condemn this out-of-hand. True, to market this as an achievement of Singapore sport is being rather economical with the truth. However to proceed to the other extreme, and reject the Singaporean-ness of their accomplishment (or their nationality), is rather small-minded. I can't agree with either.
[That's the problem with a sophisticated stand. You can't agree with either extreme and you end up setting out your own position which no one understands because of the very human tendency to express the world in polar opposites of black/white, good/bad, right/left and forget the possibilty of grey, amoral and centre... This I blame on Zoroaster xP and I'll explore this one day.
Where was I?]
Yes I'm sure instinctively something in every one of us rebels against the idea that this medal is wholly and deservedly Singaporean - I'm not disputing the validity of the achievement, I'm examining the right to count it as ours. I mean, admittedly I don't know the details but the whole team (and coach) were born and bred in China, and, what, brought over here by some through some sports council thing or other? So to claim this for Singapore seems a tad rich.
On the other hand to reject it entirely seems a tad rich too. Well for a start, a silver's a silver and this one's ours, so what's the problem eh? Less frivolously, the team have devoted a fair bit of time and energy to playing for Singapore, and to question their nationality and motives is to discount all that they've put in.
Moreover - and this goes right to the very heart of Singapore's existential struggle with its foreign population - scratch any Singaporean hard enough and you'll find immigrant in that blood. Why then should we have such a problem with migrants in our midst? Singaporean Indians have problems with expat Indians, lots of Singaporean Chinese resent PR Chinese, and everyone is deeply suspicious of the Filipino nurse, the Korean student, the Malaysian accountant. It's all awfully hypocritical, and reflects a closed-mindedness, a meanness of nature that seems to be ingrained in the Singapore mind.
What we are today is a direct result of the pains our forebears took to get here. And I think that by extension, to resent those who're taking that very same path now, is to reject our own heritage and who we are. That is just one of the existential contradictions that underlie Singapore's tortured national soul.
I've gone very, very far from the Olympics. You might wonder what I feel about the medal. I'm sure I'm happy for the players' personal achievement. But more than that, I feel that questioning their nationality or the Singaporean-ness of their victory (regardless of the final outcome, a silver is a victory too) is missing the point; maybe this medal should be taken as both an affirmation of, and a reminder of the pressing need for, inclusiveness in Singapore society.
Hell, I know. I'm sure people like Wally and Peck are like ^^ wtf watch the sport screw the thinking lah. Alright man, I get the picture. Just a thought...
Labels: Everything
posted by Unknown at
9:11 pm
1 Comments:
wtf watch the sport screw the thinking lah
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home