What a fucking grotesque conservatopia.
Singapore has been ranked as the happiest countries in Asia and in the top 25 happiest in the entire world.
I find it rather hypocritical of people who have never been there, denounce the country but the residence who live there apparently are very happy.
Also, I’d be willing to bet that many of the people speaking ill of Singapore are also the type who would say you shouldn’t judge other cultures. Well that’s exactly what you are doing now.
I’ve never been there and I have little interest in going, but the people there have chosen those draconian laws and with them, they have incredibly low crime and drug use. So you might not agree with their laws, but you can’t disagree with the results, and the people there feel it is a tradeoff they are willing to live with.
So who the fuck are you to tell those people how they should rule their own country?
I don’t really like this take. The death penalty isn’t cultural and people who oppose it are free to vocalise it. Singaporean culture is great because it is a unique melting pot of many different cultures, the death penalty is a legal matter and isn’t drawn from the composite cultures of the people that live there.
you can’t disagree with the results
It’s the third hanging this week for drugs offenses so it would seem that the policy isn’t completely effective
the people there feel it is a tradeoff they are willing to live with.
They may be willing to live with it, but i wouldn’t presume that they are in favour of the policy. Singapore is a one party state and rated a ‘flawed democracy’ in The Economist democracy index. Frankly, Singaporeans aren’t consulted on the matter.
who the fuck are you to tell those people how they should rule their own country?
On a micro level, who the fuck are the authorities of Singapore to take another person’s life.
Apparently you know better than a country of 5.4 million people and their freely elected government and the rules that they enacted.
Gotcha.
Yes, yes I do.
even 5.4 million people are doing something wrong, it doesn’t make it right.
What do I know better?
Apparently you think it’s okay to take a life.
I wonder what the punishment in Singapore is for murder, because you deserve it.
Nazi Germany was a country of 100 million people. So no one should have criticized their ‘kill everyone unlike us’ policy, right? How dare the Allies tell Hitler how to run his own country!
I bet the people who were executed weren’t happy with it
They can’t vote in next year’s survey.
Well, they were stupid enough to do something drug related in Singapore. Which is known to be less than nice about all things drugs.
You don’t know their circumstance. Gun to your head you would do stupid shit too.
In fact, one of the people executed was a drug mule, ie someone who was probably in serious debt and was being blackmailed to do it.
If you are stupid enough to get into circumstances where someone puts a gun to a head in the first place. Like living in the USA or something.
TIL an accident of birth means you’re stupid.
Or their families.
I don’t know anything about Singapore besides what a friend who grew up there said. She came here to the US as an adult. Tried very hard to stay and worked very hard to bring her parents over to the US. Very confusing given that she had nothing but great things to say about the place and got very mad if I said that the US might be better in any small way. She had a lot of complaints about the US and many I found unfair even if many were totally fair.
So then I asked her: do you think that I a black woman could do what you did here in the US in Singapore. And she skipped over my question and continued her rant about how great Singapore is. That’s all I personally need to know. Singapore probably is great, but only if you’re the right kind of person, the acceptable person. I get the feeling that she and her family weren’t those kinds of people and that’s why she left and she’s pulling her family here to the US.
From my perspective, Singapore is a dystopian shithole I’m glad I wasn’t born to.
With that said, it’s so common for immigrants to criticise the country they migrate to. And it’s usually unfounded. But not always.
The only Singaporeans I knew were heavy travellers. Strong desire to study and work out of their country. Very proud of their country, however. One of them was a friendship I had to end because I couldn’t handle the eccentricity and constant showing off.
The grass is always greener for some.
Inversely, the only Singaporean I know (born and raised until adulthood, lived in the states briefly and went back) has always been proud of the good but very critical of the archaic things, and does not agree with the pedestal the US occasionally places Singapore on. He’s just one person but has been fair enough that I’m weirdly surprised to hear there are people like that.
Singapore probably is great, but only if you’re the right kind of person, the acceptable person.
And where would be the difference to the US? Too many people in the US seem not to be the “right kind of person”. Especially those with non-white skin or in some states even those who happen to be born with two X chromosomes.
You’re lecturing an American black woman about what it’s like to be non-white in America.
Nice job.
Neither your sex nor your gender was evident in you post, so I targeted neither.
I wasn’t talking about me. I was talking about the self-identified black woman you were lecturing.
who the fuck are you to tell those people how they should rule their own country?
A human. Humans understand murder is wrong. This isn’t debatable.
If you think murder is ok in any situation, then you best be ok with being murdered when enough people are convinced if that situation, whether or not it’s true.
5.5 million humans said they were OK with it which is why they have the laws that they have. You’re just one schmuck behind a keyboard trying to tell 5.5 million people how to live their lives. How dare you.
No dude. Just no. Murder is wrong. That’s a hard stop. A bunch of people being ok with it or too scared to stand up doesn’t mean it’s not wrong. That’s an insane take. A whole bunch of people think racism is ok but that doesn’t magically make it so. You should really work on being less of a follower. Especially if it makes you genuinely defend murder.
How dare I? Simple. I’m not morally bankrupt. And a lot of people being morally bankrupt together doesn’t make them right.
If everyone on the planet agreed that you should be killed because you picked that username, would you be wrong to disagree?
You do realize that most of the people who support punishing drug users are corrupt themselves? They have this idea that if they don’t like something, then neither should anyone else.
Anyone with a modicum of life experience realizes this.
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You think every single person in Singapore agrees with these laws? Are they a hive mind? Seems like you’re the one telling them how to live their lives since you’re saying they all are of one mind. Unless, of course, you have a poll that shows unanimous agreement. Do you have such a poll?
How could anyone seriously come up with a take this stupid?
“It’s ok that the state murders peopl for fake crimes as long as the people not being murdered don’t mind.”
You’re a fucking psychopath.
Okay? Even if people were 100% truthful about being happy in a dictatorial hellscape, that doesn’t mean everyone else shouldn’t actively criticize that country for…being a dictatorial hellscape.
Your post has real “but he made the trains run on time” energy.
From the article:
Mohamed Shalleh had argued that a friend he owed money to had tricked him into believing he was delivering contraband cigarettes.
You support this man being executed? Per the article it was for 54 grams of heroin which the state claims is enough for:
600 users for a week
Which is a blatant lie and evidence the state resorts to falsehoods to justify its barbarism. 1/2 a gram a day is common for an addicted user, so this man was carrying (unknown to him) just over 100 doses.
Singapore has not been voted happiest country. I have no idea where you are getting this info from.
Singapore has been constantly highlighted as most stressed, most unhappy and least satisfied.
https://mothership.sg/2023/03/singapore-happiest-country-asia/#:~:text=Singapore has been ranked as,UN)%20World%20Happiness%20Report%202023.
UN Happiness Index 2023.
You’re perfectly fine to take your complaint to the UN since apparently you know better. Apparently.
I do know better. Better than the UN.
I live in this country.
5,449,999 other people seem to disagree. Take it up with them.
Based on the article, the variables that determined the scores were: Gross domestic product per capita Social support Health life expectancy Freedom to make life choices Generosity Perception of corruption
Let’s face it, these aren’t good indicators of happiness.
… what is?
Lol
Why don’t you go live in Singapore and see how long you’d last?
incredibly low crime and drug use
So does Japan, on paper at least. You have no idea what is actually going on behind the scenes over there. Japan is an incredibly dangerous place to live if you live in the cities, so easy to disappear.
Yeh can agree, been there done that as a foreigner.
You went to Japan and disappeared?
No but we had a night that 2 of us ended up in some random bar 3x3 in size. Weird night that we could have easily been chopped up in. Nobody would have ever found us.
So who the fuck are you to tell those people how they should rule their own country?
I’m a person who values human life.
Btw capital punishment isn’t culture.
Here is a link to the World Happiness Report website with the list for 2023. Singapore is 25th overall, which is ten spots behind the United States. I also took the liberty of averaging out the total from the available years of the World Happiness Index on Wikipedia, and you can see that information below:
2023 - 25th
2020 - 31st
2019 - 34th
2018 - 34th
2017 - 26th
2016 - 22nd
2013 - 30thAverage from the 7 available years of available Wikipedia Data (rounded up) - 29th
Link to the World Happiness Report for 2023:
https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2023/world-happiness-trust-and-social-connections-in-times-of-crisis/#ranking-of-happiness-2020-2022I’d say I was happy, too, if I thought they might hang me or cane me if I didn’t. Happy as hell, sir!
I’m against the death penalty in all cases . I also think all drugs should be legal , it will literally saves thousands of lives people could buy the drugs from a trusted source and not accidentally overdose . Making it illegal just makes it so you have to buy untested drugs from sketchy places . It doesn’t really matter how many people the police arrest there is always going to be someone there to replace them as long as someone is willing to o buy . But I guess the threat of death is a good reason not to do drugs …
Who the fuck are you? Only brainwashed Singaporeans leap to its defense. Shitty little city honestly.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/singapore
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You can go to a Starbucks and leave your laptop and phone on a desk. Literally no one will take it. Mostly because of fear of execution.
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Lmao pretty much every country is a shithole these days then.
Lmao nope, no EU Country practices executions…
Wow so EU countries never kill anyone? That’s amazing, I wonder how the police could possible do their job if someone is fighting back with lethal force.
Official executions aren’t the only way a government could kill someone. Weird that you would think that.
Are you insane?
How is fear of execution a good thing is beyond me.
It is also not true.
No one is executing you for theft. What nonsense.
Exactly, lived there a while, you replace your fear of crime with a fear of authority. Don’t speak out, don’t protest, don’t ruffle feathers. It seems fine right until something effects you, then you have no recourse, except for leaving.
Hyperbole isn’t helping you make your point. Singapore’s punishment for theft:
Punishment for theft
379. Whoever commits theft shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with both.I wasn’t making a point. It was a joke. It’s something people who go to Singapore say. I thought it was obvious but I always over-estimate the intelligence of an average human.
Yeah another reason why my next vacation in Asia won’t be there.
Seriously, I haven’t smoked in years and don’t use any other drugs but I’d be worried about being caught with a cannabis seed on my shoe or something stupid like that. Forgot to flush the urinal at the dive bar? Ten lashes! Fuck that shit
This is the best response - vote with your dollars. And let any friends / fam in Singapore know they’re losing your travel, perhaps, eventually they’ll join the modern world in terms of prohibitions.
Just curious, Japan, China and Indonesia aren’t pot friendly, where would you go instead around the pacific side of asia?
It isn’t about cannabis for me in terms of travel. It is about all the other insane legal stuff there. Yes, I prefer to get high before I get on a plane these days but I can manage fine without doing that.
In any case my next vacation to Asia is probably going to be a two day stopover in South Korea followed by a week or two in Thailand.
Singapore’s success is partly due to the absence of minimum wages and also the use of migrant workers like Qatar. Take that away…
…But mostly due to their extremely privileged position at the strait. That’s probably even more valuable than having oil.
Yes… partly due, or minutely due. It’s not like they’re building their success overnight. Their main sector is service, and partly manufacturing which used to be their main sector. And have been building strong reputation that’s good enough to attract expats. Take the expats away, they can still thrive. They’ve got very competent locals breeded from their hight quality school system and many top 50 universities, which is a lot considering their size.
For the low skills needs they import the migrant workers. Take that away… no worry, many other will come. They threat their workers well - not like the middle eastern counterpart.
They are like night and day compared to Qatar/UAE.
So, to get back to your last sentence: Take that away… no big deal.
p/s: this is my rational view as their overlooking neighbour.
It’s also literally a tax haven.
This incredibly inhumane. What horrible and despicable people leading this crusade. I really don’t understand how a bunch of them can proceed with this barbarity and continue lifting their heads proudly.
History will forever condemn them for this.
I imagine they’d cite their society’s success with stringent laws.
I don’t agree with them, mind, I’m a pot smoker, I don’t travel for pleasure to countries that criminalize people like me. But I have been to Singapore for work. It’s an amazing multicultural society with fantastic food. In order to get these groups to co-exist politely, you can’t say things about religions, they prohibit Charlie Hebdo, for example.
Considering the tiny land area and enormous population density, strict and often, what people in the west would consider anti-free-speech policies are probably the only way to make things work.
I don’t begrudge them their policies but won’t support their economy with my business. I feel for anyone living there, but can’t control where people are born. Being born in a rich, educated, and vibrantly multi-cultural country like Sinagpore is probably an enormous leg-up compared to many other countries, in terms of QOL.
Not trying to change any opinions, just offering some nuance.
Sorry but “the only way to make things work” is a dumb argument used by dictators.
Also I fundamentally disagree with your assessment of Singapore. It’s an awfully square and drab place. The food is a shallow copy of surrounding areas. It’s not worth a visit tbh.
Pray tell what part of Singapore is ‘drab’ exactly? time to get your eyes checked, that sounds like glaucoma or you’ve got cataracts.
TBH, sounds like you’ve never been, because every fuckin square inch is either lit up with electronic displays or in the glow of bustling underground malls and street food. seems like you have other issues lol… Not defending their repressive gov’t, but drab? what a stupid thing to talk shit about.
I’m sorry for not finding malls and street food exhilarating. It’s square, it’s sterile, it’s boring. The whole city is just a giant mall with little character. It sucks. Especially if you compare it to the rest of South eas Asia. Go to Manilla, Bangkok, Hanoi and fucking tell me Singapore is not the most boring place in the region. Sorry for getting a bit angry but man I hate how overrated that place is. I lived in SEA as a digital Nomad for almost 20 years now. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are just a waste of space imho.
America is just as bad
I’d assert in some ways, the US is worse:
Singapore is a melting pot of dozens of ethnicities and cultures; I doubt they have a preponderance of laws that are applied to minorities like the US. I might be wrong, but while visiting there saw so many different kinds of people, systematic racism like you see in the US wouldn’t work.
Something tells me the rich people in singapore have no problem getting drugs.
You don’t have to be rich lol I lived there for a few years and it was pretty easy to get Molly/k/weed.
A bit harsh but hey, respect their laws.
Yes good law. Piss someone off, they can plant heroin on your belongings and then turn you in. Next thing you know you lose your life.
Honestly. it’s a country where you can kill anyone if you can plant drugs on them.
That’s why anyone defending this law is an idiot
Do you actually hold this position in all situations? It was illegal to harbor Jewish fugitives in Nazi Germany, should those laws be respected?
When you say “no, of course not”, maybe actually consider what your position is before posting. Because nobody’s position is to just “respect laws” in all circumstances.
Yeah. Same goes for north korea and iran and all the bullshit laws that have existed throughout history just to oppress vulnerable people.
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What a disgrace Singapore is.
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I agree. It is very good at propaganda though, so it turned into the internets favourite dictatorship. But hey, what are some human rights violations when it is clean and has a cool train station, right?
It ain’t right
it’s their country. It’s not like these laws are secret, these people are hoping to make a large reward from a large risk.
I see this like I see people buying cheap homes next to the airport and complaining about the noise. Or buying a really nice house in a HOA and then complaining about the fees.
If you don’t like it, leave. But that’s how those people are choosing to live.
Takes “hang em high” to a new meaning
