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One of the most intense disagreements @visakanv and I have ever had was about... the Singapore flag. https://t.co/o6eqXDN0lt https://t.co/k2qzID3c3s
So some guy posted that on FB. I guess I grew up on Bollywood? so the first thing that popped into my head was the terribly catchy song lol. (the movie itself is *fascinating* to rewatch in 2019, yellowface aside. here's a review from quora.) https://t.co/WkdwxJiRcv
But Singaporeans, generally, were *mad*. Tearing a flag is rude, offensive, disrespectful, disgusting, how dare you, etc.I didn't really get it. It didn't seem all that different from, say... flags printed on random stuff. https://t.co/lAmNO8uRv9
Singaporeans were also mad about this back in 2010😂(me: do you find this offensive too?visa: what. no that's glorious. i feel represented, empowered. majulah singapura. me: what's the difference?visa: don't fucKING TEAR MY FLAG! omgme: me:me: sir, pls,,, im baby) https://t.co/xp9kcaG8sE
anyway, we had a very long heated conversation about it that basically ended when he said "every year i have to cut my hair and put on my boots and uniform to defend this country and if i die doing that, all you get is that flag."which is like... yeah okay. don't tear flags.
In Nov 2018, a young NSF died during national service. This was the eighth death in 16 months. Visa changed his FB cover photo to this, with a comment at the end that said "RIP, sons of Singapore". somehow went viral-ish, with over 300 comments and 5.8k shares. https://t.co/h73Gfk4xOk
more frustrating than the people asking if he was "trying to stir up negative sentiments" was the response from the 'authorities', who asked the artists to take it down. no reason was given, i think. https://t.co/lOx5LBAIyz
the people behind the mourning pins are bright young men who were doing their National Service at the time. earlier in the year, Minister Grace Fu posted about them, "look(ing) forward to their contributions to Singapore in the future."BUT! NOT! LIKE! THAT! https://t.co/R6kxsXTrp7
fuck. this is so good. https://t.co/EkRG3dre7f
this is so painful to read https://t.co/0lsjRESvfB
"My question is, what kind of leaders do you want to come up from the army? We need leaders of quality, not bullies."https://t.co/YQmHx26hnJ