Stepford Citizen

Remember the Stepford wives? That horror movie about docile and submissive wives that agree with and accede to their husbands every wish? It is a HORROR movie and a version of it is in danger of being produced and filmed live right here in Singapore.

The recent brouhaha surrounding the admitedly in poor taste and judgement Facebook posting by Jason Neo can trace its origin back to the prosecution of a blogger's racist comments a few years back. In that incident, an offended online reader was apparently sufficiently moved to make a police report in the middle of the night, paving the way for the government to step in, prosecute the case and make it an example to apparently deter further such incidents.

It is my opinion that the government had a second agenda to its action. By coming out strongly in that instance, it had hoped that it would also send a message to netizens against being too critical of the government in their online postings. The unfortunate unintended consequence of that action is that instead of just damping down racist and insensitive comments, it had lowered the level of tolerance and primed the blogosphere to be offended by every slight or offence. What next? Someone gave me a dirty look. I'm offended. I'm making a police report and calling my MP?

This posting by Jason Neo should not have blown up into an incident that involved the police or indeed Members of Parliament. The reaction is out of all proportion. Normal healthy societies can and do withstand incidents like these on their own. Unfortunately, in this case Jason Neo is a member of the youth wing of the ruling governments' party. Not to take firm action will open it to charges of favouritism in view of the prior case that was prosecuted in court. But to continue to do so would be to further lower the level of intolerance (to incidents that are part and parcel of life) and common sense too, I might add.

Do we want to live in a society where everyone goes about with fixed smiles and false courtesies? Where never a bad word or criticism is uttered except in whispers in private conversation? The dilema the government finds itself in is of its own making. The Arabs have a saying: He who digs a pit for his brother to fall in will himself fall into it. Talk about unintended consequences. It would be interesting to see how the government digs itself out of this hole and defuse the situation.