Dark Angel 

Niagara Falls in Winter 

强者的责任

(刊登于联合早报，2005年12月25日。刊登版本有些删改。这是原本的稿件。)

柔道练习结束时，韩国籍的白教练向所有会员讲述一个故事：他朋友和妻子为了某些小事发生争执，一时情绪激动推了妻子。没想到她往后摔时不幸摔断了脖子，当场丧命。法官的判决是二度谋杀罪名成立，十五年徒刑。

“你知道故事的教训是什么吗？如果她会柔道，摔倒时就可以保护自己 (学习如何正确摔倒是柔道的基本技巧) ，也就不会丧命和连累丈夫入狱了。”

言下之意，这场悲剧是妻子的错，因为她太弱了，不知道如何保护自己。

我听了此话的反应是：“难道故事的教训不是习武之人应该比平常人更有自制力吗？一个无心的推手就可以致命，更何况是懂得柔道的我们？怎么把责任推倒手无寸铁的弱者身上呢？不应该是拥有力量的强者必须自我克制不去欺负弱者，或者尽起保护弱者的角色吗？这不是强者必须肩负的责任吗？”

最近国际人权组织发表了一份调查报告，指责新加坡没能确保其外籍女佣大部分的基本人权。有关当局对此报告的反应非常激烈，立刻反驳人权观察没有统计数据显示被剥夺人权女佣的数量，毫无依据指责新加坡虐待女佣的情况猖獗。

虽然我赞同有关当局的说法，认为只通过个案调查的研究可靠性不大，不过却对有关当局的回复感觉不舒服。或许有我们没必要承认夸大的罪行，不过至少应该采取适当的反思吧？还有有关当局的语气，只是一味指出新加坡法律的透明度，外国女佣可以选择接受或者拒绝雇主提出的工作条件。或者指出女佣也受到刑事法保护，伤害她们的人将受到严厉惩罚。假如这还不够的话，我们还有外国劳工雇佣法令，规定雇主不可虐待和剥削女佣。

按照有关当局这种说法，来本地工作的女佣都受到了保护。那么我们每天翻开报纸读到的那些虐待女佣的个别案例，到底为什么会发生呢？有关当局明明通过教育计划让女佣了解本身的权利和求助管道，也规定首次聘雇女佣和多次更换女佣的雇主上课，怎么还会有这些东西发生呢？

嗯，会不会因为是身为弱者的女佣即使知道雇主没有遵守雇佣法令，也默默地忍受这些委屈呢？如果投诉的话，女佣或许就被解雇并遣送回国。就如同当年从中国来到本地的先辈一样，多数女佣为了来本地工作都欠下所谓的手续费。如果被遣送回国，不仅无法赚钱支持家人，还得背下债务。雇主呢？如果没犯法的话，顶多被叫去辅导，或者被有关当局列入黑名单。在这种情况下，除非是受到严重的虐待，不然女佣大概不会向谁投诉吧？

每次有关当局受到外界批评时，总是摆出一种 “我们已经实行这些政策” 的姿态，暗示自己毋须为发生的事件负责，鲜少针对批评对政策做出反省。嘿，有时无动于衷也是一种失责的行为。人权观察的报告或许夸大和扭曲了，不过报告里确实指出了有关当局政策上的不足。与其异口同辞地肯定自己所做的已经足够了，为何不想想还有什么可以改善的？

你知道吗，要提出政策和法令实在太简单了。要确保这些政策的实行，并且时不时自我检讨这些政策和法令的不足，那大概才是困难的吧。有关当局这种异口同辞的自我肯定，在某种程度上不就如同上述的故事吗？当不幸的事件发生时，自己站在强者的立场上，数落弱者为何没有采取妥当措施保护自己，但从不反思自己其实应该尽起保护弱者的角色。

虽然是某部庸俗电影里的台词，不过用在此处倒是蛮恰当：力量越大，责任就越大。

Dandelions In The Snow 

Toronto, Outside Kenshington Market 

Tunnel of Light

在路的尽头
总会看到
光

我们不知道什么是爱情

---给方伟成

或许我们都误解爱情
如同被啤酒灌醉
就仿佛领悟什么人生真理

我们曾经狂妄自嘲
把伴侣比喻成监狱，爱情
只不过是镜花水月
只因为相信爱情是永远
不熄灭的火焰。直到黑暗
让我领悟誓言的脆弱

或者你已经忘了自己
曾经如何理性计算着我
情路上的得失，安慰劝说
爱情的回报率远远超越
我们的付出。单身的平静
胜过双宿双飞的负担，斥责
付出等同获得的幼稚理论
只是我不切实际的想法
却忘了本身正拉扯着
付出和获得的吊诡界线

或许飞翔在爱情的天空
温暖的阳光让人忘却爱情
其实是伊卡洛斯的翅膀
只有在陆地仰望的人
深深担忧着陆的沮丧

命运旋转门对调我们的角色
过去你口中的逆耳如今变成
我口中的忠言重播着
那段日子失落和安慰的对白
没有物是人非的感慨
只有似曾相识的恐惧

我从自己现在的幸福
担忧着你过去幸福
你从自己现在的痛苦
反思着我过去的痛苦，还有
那些将来无可预见的幸福痛苦
或者无法遇见的痛苦幸福

或许我们终究会妥协承认
谁都不了解爱情
或许我们终究会了解
爱情，就是无法理解的东西

Howdy 

Thinking In Process

谁说思绪是看不见的？

Derek And Chng

the rainbow

the rainbow


i was walking along my path
when the chaos of rain fell
down from the heavens
or maybe it was from hell
who really knows
except maybe the rainbow
that cuts the sky into seven paths
and like a ladder that beckons me
to ascend whichever path i desire
may it be blood red or green peace
may it be jazzy blues or orange flames
may it be loud neon yellow or subtle violet and indigo
they all light the path in front of me
but i choose not to
even if it means angering him
even if it means endless wandering
darkness may lie ahead
and chaos may devour me
but i'm still walking
even though i can't see
because i know there is a light
from my heart within

为什么我从不要求别人学习中文

由于从小在家里讲华语，以及中学和高中就读于本地某所传统华校，因此从不觉得平时讲华语有什么稀奇。直到上了大学放弃中文系而选修心理学系时，因为不习惯说英语和常说华语而被周围的人取笑为 “支那” (Cheena，泛指中国人的贬义词) 时，才发现原来自己的语言习惯属于本地人的少数，而常和朋友在高中取笑的 “香蕉人” 和 “臭蕃薯” 所说的话才是新加坡人普遍的语言习惯。尽管朋友们的 “支那” 称呼都是属于友善的作弄而非恶意的中伤，不过有时听起来还是显得刺耳。

然而，我提醒自己，我没资格向谁控诉，因为自己和朋友在中学时曾因为某位同学的华语讲得不灵光而为他冠上不雅的外号。

由于在大学期间还搞文学创作，因此有很多机会出席许多文艺活动。每当我出席此类活动时必定会听到的一个论调，就是现在的年轻人深受西方文化影响，都不尊重和了解自己的文化了，还有在场的每个人 (通常包括许多教育和文艺界的朋友) 都应该尽力维护所谓的中文教育。

每当我听到这种论调时，总是觉得非常反感，就如同每当我翻开报纸的言论版读到许多读者的来信时一样。最让我受不了的是这些人总是把中华文化说得如此伟大，把华文当成是全世界最优秀的语言，然后直接或者间接暗示所谓西方文化的不足。这种论调最典型的例子就是这些人会告诉你其他语言无法跟咱们中文相比，因为中文的字形里包含了咱们文化的精髓。

当然，任何对语文学稍微有些认识的人都会告诉你这是一派胡言。

别误会，我并不讨厌或者鄙视中文。相反地，我经常以自己能够用中文写作和交谈为豪。然而，这并不代表我就必须批评他人的文化，或者刻意夸张地美化自己的文化。就如同我听到任何 “英语派” 的华人声称中文本来就是落伍的语言，然后以自己不会说华文为豪时会上前斥责他们，我同样也不认同任何为了鼓吹中文教育而采取文化沙文主义的人。

有很多从事中文教育的朋友经常在我面前控诉本地中文教育的水准每况愈下，尤其是前些时候有关当局简化华文科目的课程时，某些人的反应之剧烈仿佛让人误以为此政策会导致世界末日。天啊，顶多不就是少读几句成语，少懂几个汉字罢了，不见得会死人吧？

换另一个角度来看待这个问题。想读中文的人就让他们去读，别想读的人也不需要勉强。现在全世界经济已经向中国看齐，你还怕下一代的新加坡人不会自告奋勇地去修读中文吗？当然，有些人会斥责这种被经济利益左右的 “中文教学” 并非真正的中文教学，因为学习者只学到了工作上所运用的语言，而非中文的真正精髓，包括了历史、哲学、典故、文学等等。这不禁让人反思，支持中文教育的人到底鼓吹的是中文教育，还是中华文学教育呢？

虽然我本身从事中文的文学创作，照理说应该希望越多人喜欢阅读中文越好，不过我从来都不站在强烈要求他人学习中文的立场上。我会鼓励别人学习中文，但是如果他们没兴趣的话，我绝不会站在 “华人应该懂得华语” 的所谓道德高地上斥责这些人都失去了 “文化的根”。理由非常简单，我宁可因为别人不懂某种语言而听不懂我所说的话，也不愿意强迫他们学习此语言以让他们知道我是思想狭隘和不懂得包容多元文化的沙文猪。

Nice View of a Hill

Seafood Galore @ Jilong Seafood Market 

Balloons in the wind

Conversation with WC about love

"Actually, I was kinda hoping that there was a third party involved. In this way, maybe everything will make more sense and the hurt will be less." wc typed over the internet.

"Don't be silly. The hurt will not be less. If you found out that there was a third party, what will happen is that any remaining love for her will transform into hatred fueled by a sense of betrayal. The hurt will still be there, it is just that it will take another form. Until the day you can walk past her without feeling any emotional stirrings in your heart, maybe that is the day when the hurt really ends." I typed.

"Given what we have been through for the last six years, I'm not sure if I can ever walk past her again without feeling emotional." wc replied.

"Well, there are just some scars that can never heal."

"Not even with time?"

"Yeah."

"That sucks."

"I know."

Man Pushing Car

仿佛推着一车的遗忘
与时代的步伐
抗衡

旧情人

你继续走
一如以往
我烧掉桥
你淹死掉

her ghost

for a friend, w.c.

like a windmill trapped under the tides
you're getting weary of walking
through this mobieus strip
of memory, a haunted past

a cigarette burns
on the edge of the window sill
nobody should shed fiery red tears
bloodied, only to fade into grey
as the night washes them away

the circumstances when she appeared
without a trace, yet vanishes
by knotting your convulsed heart further
friends turn into conspirers in an instance
possessed and exorcised by ignorance

the scent of a withered flower fades
yet out of its carcass, another season blooms
there are no chains on your feet
but you can’t say the same
for the bitterness caged within

wake up!
show some respect for the ghosts
that are screwing up your life

淡水捷运站

Along Kranji Reservoir

Some wierd structures along Kranji Reservior, Singapore

我讨厌星座

（刊登于联合早报2005年11月）

要追溯占星术 (astrology) 的起源并不容易。有些学者认为占星术可追溯于史前，并以公元前30,000年动物骨头上的刻印为证，尽管此论点并非无争议。然而，大家所熟悉的十二星座起源于公元前450年的古巴比伦 (Babylon) ，并且由希腊人发扬。

所谓占星术，其实是种利用各行星的位置和移动来进行占卜的玩意儿，其主导原则是各行星在每个人出生时的位置和移动对我们一生有巨大的影响。因此，我们才会在综艺节目上听到双鱼座不适合和处女座交往的论点。或者翻开报纸时看到白羊座的朋友这个星期会有好运。或者是在工作上不小心犯错时，你的上司会说出类似：“因为你是双子座，性格粗枝大叶，所以做事就比较粗心大意。” 的话。

本人不相信占星术，以及一切有关的荒谬说法。我不相信一个人的生辰足以影响他的一生。我不相信自己因为出身在某个星座下就注定有什么样的性格。我更不相信自己如果碰到倒楣的事，是因为星座受到了其他行星的影响。

曾经有研究人员对所谓星座论进行了研究。他们召集了一群星座学家，要求他们把属于不同星座的人的性格简略写在不同的卡片上。然后，研究人员要求每个星座学家去阅读其他人所写的东西，并且要他们断定哪个性格描写是属于哪个星座的。结果呢？没有一个人可以准确地把其他星座学家的性格描写归类于它所属的星座。别说猜对一半，就连四分之一都没有。结果，这些星座学家的准确性跟瞎猜没什么分别。当然，这也不奇怪。因为占星术原本就建立在这些 “专家” 事后孔明般瞎掰的基础上。

美国某研究单位于1991年的抽样调查显示有超过75% 的美国人每日阅读报纸上的星座预测，并且有25% 的人相信此类的预测。虽然我没有本地民众对星座的看法和信任程度的数据，不过从书店里架上的各种有关星座的书、报章上的“明日星座” 一栏、以及网路上几个搜寻网页上的广告，本地大概也有许多民众相信所谓星座这玩意儿吧。

每当我听到朋友们聊天时谈到有关星座的课题时，都会毫不客气地斥责他们迷信，以及试着向他们解释为何星座学没有科学根据。当然，朋友们都会指责我过于认真，并且说：“哎呀，我当然也知道所谓星座没有科学根据。我只不过是讲来好玩的，饭后闲话嘛。”

这些朋友们对待星座的态度，大概就和那些每日阅读报章上的星座预测，却不完全相信的50% 的美国人一样吧。他们认为这些迷信无伤大雅。或者，只要有一点点头脑的人，肯定不会照单全收。

换另个角度看待这问题吧。你听到某位老师在课堂上对学生说地球是四方形的后上前指正他。如果他解释说这只是消遣的话，有头脑的学生不会相信，你会接受吗？当然不会。因为有些学生会信以为真。当然，比较聪明的学生会知道老师只是在说笑。可是，他们并没有纠正老师和不知情的同学，还陪老师一起瞎闹，导致越来越多相信地球是四方形的学生出现。

喂，那些把迷信当成无伤大雅的聪明人，我担心的可不是你们，而是那些会把迷信思想照单全收的人。如果一直把蠢话随便挂在嘴边，迟早会让人误会成真理。或许读者这时会像朋友一样指责我过于固执和认真。或许你会认为这跟我家教有关。或许是因为我主修心理学。或许是因为与生俱来的性格。

不过我可以向你保证，这跟星座毫无关系。

Freaky Religious Institution

More evidence on the lunancy of religion...

Windvane

方向就如同风

Joss Stick Holder

原来神明只是一种装饰品

Comments on newspaper article

This news article I saw in the Straits Time today just cracks me up. It's just like the story one used to hear as a kid about the bully who pouted and whined because someone bigger and stronger had came along and became the new bully on the block. The bully thus becomes the bullied. So how come NTUC was not complaining when they priced the small provision shops and mama shops out of business???

Ah, the ways of the world......

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warehouse stores: FairPrice upset with decision

By Marcel Lee Pereira

THREE large retailers - Ikea, Courts and Dairy Farm - will be allowed to set up factory outlets on the edge of Tampines, a decision that has upset Singapore's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice.

Under the Economic Development Board's (EDB) Warehouse Retail Scheme, the three can set up retail outlets within a warehouse development.

Previously, permanent retail activities were not allowed in industrial developments. Now, up to 40 per cent of the gross floor area can be devoted to retail.

However, the three companies must house their regional headquarters management activities, training, logistics and warehousing facilities at the 93,000 sq m site.

They will also have to meet other criteria, including annual turnover of at least $100 million by the fifth year.

The retailers will invest a total of $200 million into the project, and expect to open their warehouse stores between next November and March 2007. A ground-breaking ceremony will be held next Friday.

FairPrice, which had also applied for the scheme, claimed that it had not been offered a chance to compete for the site.

Madam Cynthia Phua, deputy general manager of FairPrice's property department, said the site was 'directly allocated' to the three retailers without being offered to others.

'It is not within the boundaries of the announced guidelines,' she added.

Last year, the EDB stipulated that the scheme was restricted to 'outlying' areas. One of these areas was north of the Tampines Expressway.

However, the announced site is south of the expressway, pointed out Madam Phua. FairPrice said it had stuck to EDB guidelines by looking at sites in Kranji and Tuas.

Stores like Giant Hypermarket, owned by Dairy Farm, and Courts were already operating in the HDB heartlands, noted Madam Phua.

With the warehouse stores coming up 'so near to existing malls at Tampines and Pasir Ris, competition will be very stiff, and we pay very high rentals there', she added.

Old Building, Blue Sky

深蓝的天
俯视着
苍老的房屋

1984

1984
i was six years of age
just a year before enrolment
into school and education
my childhood memories consisted of
loafing all day in the playground

my father would tell me not
to pout and cry in protest
whenever it gets dark
whenever i have to return home
because the police
will arrest if you don't obey
daddy would always say
and I’m always frightened

1984
when i was a bit older than six
and the nation was approaching nineteen
i would sing in delight the songs that unite
the recollections of my childhood melodies
joyous and without purpose

as i watch men in green matching
from my television set, commands were
shouted but i'm disinterested, only
waiting for the fireworks, nothing
could tear me away, not even
my mother’s call for dinner

1984
as i slowly approached seven
i couldn't understand the commotion
about this thing they called election
i've tried to ask my parents, but
they did not try to explain
telling me i was too young
to understand, too innocent
to comprehend, my father whispered
lightly into my ears and my mother
wore a disapproving look that dispelled
all queries and curiosity

my only memory of that incident
vague and maybe unreal, perhaps
was this headline on the newspaper
saying something about someone
winning some unknown fight, somewhere
without a challenge, i remember the stern
smiling face and joyous eyes on the
photograph on the front page of the
papers, and i knew who he was and
i think, possibly, i wondered if he
knew who i was, in 1984*

* in the general elections in december 1984, the then pm lee walked over in his constituency for the first time in history.

如何被他人尊重

(刊登于联合早报2005 年11月)

我从小就被父亲灌输许多做人的道理。当然，长大有了自己的想法后，难免有些人生观与父亲之前的教导有些不同。然而，父亲所灌输给我的处世待人的道理是我始终没有遗弃的。

我记得小时候有一次和父亲到杂货店去买东西，当时我以不礼貌的态度对待了杂货店里的店员，结果父亲当场就在众人面前处罚我，并且要我向杂货店的店员道歉。

“华彪，我不是教你要学会尊重他人吗？不管是谁都应该如此。不要以为别人收了你的钱，你就可以把他们当成例外。就算是别人有求于你，还是他们必须听从于你，也并不代表你可以不把他们当人看待。”

这是父亲当时的训话。我到今天依然把它当成处世待人的基本原则。

最近消协和新加坡劳务仲介协会提议女佣介绍所在雇用和约里加入让女佣每月至少休假一天的条件，或者以金钱补偿无休假日的女佣。然而，这个提议并不受法律强制，不遵守的介绍所顶多无法通过消协或劳务仲介协会的鉴定。况且，现有雇主和选择与女佣直接更新合约的雇主将不受影响。这意味在我们的 “优雅社会” 里，还有一些女佣都没有休假的福利。

如果要各位全年无休地工作，包括周末和公共假日，我想各位一定马上想转行吧？很可惜的是许多女佣们都没有这种选择的权利。如果各位也毫无选择的话，一定会向别人抱怨雇主的不人道吧？下次在各位必须加班时，请想想女佣们的感受吧。

或许本人过于苛刻了。除了少数害群之马之外，或许多数新加坡人都善待女佣，尽管海峡时报在2003年做的一个统计显示只有半数的女佣有休假日。或许正如联合早报10月26日的报导里受访问的雇主所说的一样：“休假对她 (女佣) 来说没什么意义，一来她没有地方可去，二来出去外面就是要花钱，那倒不如留在家里，接受我给她的补贴更划算。”

我倒想知道女佣们的想法，只可惜在网络上阅读了本地两大报纸的报道后，却找不到任何女佣们的访问。奇怪了，这项提议除了影响雇主外，也会影响女佣。怎么报纸都觉得没必要去访问她们呢？

有关为女佣争取休假日的事件，或许它反映了这个可爱的社会并不是我们想象中那么优雅吧。尽管我们有所谓的礼貌运动，而多数新加坡人表面上都显得友善和懂得尊重他人，不过女佣们的待遇却让我们不得不思考所谓尊重他人的定义。我常告诉朋友，如果要衡量一个人的人格，别只着眼他对待上司和同事时的行为，更应该看看他是如何对待那些听命于他的人，例如下属、女佣和餐厅里的侍应生。不是说要提高服务DNA吗？最有效的方法大概是学习如何打从心里尊重他人吧，而不是因为你想赚人家的钱才假装友善。尽管在功利社会里我们必须讲求效率，不过并不代表我们不能够学习尊重他人。

也就是说，如果各位家里有女佣的话，请不要把她们当成做家务的机器或者是廉价的劳工看待。请不要觉得她们是低你一等的外劳，所以不能和你同桌吃饭。请不要允许你们的孩子对她们大吼大叫，因为你绝不会允许孩子对陌生人无礼。如果你自己认为在短时间内完成所有家务是不合理的要求，别在女佣无法办到时大骂她们。

就如父亲二十年前告诉我的一样：当你开始尊重别人时，别人才会尊重你。不然的话，那只是虚伪的奉承。如果我们不把女佣当人看待的话，她们也没有义务把我们当成人看待。

On The Streets Of Taipei

emptiness travel at the speed of light

do not
mistake emptiness for loneliness
the analogy is akin to the comparison
between hunger and appetite
i chose the easy way out
of this city, no more memories
of this numbness, chain-mailed into the deepest
repository of my existence

from singapore to taipei, does time bend over
distance to give us fate's kaleidoscopic reflection
in this neon eruption of lightness
something must have been displaced
by this emptiness, traveling the other direction

those lovers who passed away
way back then, they crawled into this void
in my dreams all their faces were identical
their voices dissolved into a cacophony
of a singular question:
"why did you send them away
in their shriveled husk; didn't you feel
their glow, even though we're all deceased
in your eyes?"

something must give

i do not know what to make out
of this emptiness, the veridical reflection
in the mirror or the distorted body on the hotel bed
lying like an abstract art piece
the glorious sketches of all those ex-lovers

emptiness travel at the light of speed
so what about darkness?

i close my eyes.

战争

从黑暗到光明的诺言
被遗弃的距离总是
把我们痛苦
当啤酒畅饮

站岗的军人
把历史写成断头台
没有人怀疑赤子心
担心血河过于冲动

信仰如此顽固
然而子弹却一致
没有人怀念
和平的云淡风轻

昨天和今天一样残忍

On the Death Penalty

Breaking News: Nguyen Tuong Van faces death by hanging
(Think Centre)21 October 2005

Think Centre is very disappointed that Nguyen Tuong Van faces death by hanging for a non-violent drug offence. The death penalty for Nguyen Tuong Van is unfair, cruel, inhuman, degrading and disproportionate punishment. It violates the right to life.

I saw this piece of article on the Think Centre website where they criticise the Singapore Government on the use of death penalty. As you can see, this guy was sentenced to death due to a "non-violent drug offence", or so the people at Think Centre claimed. However, when I looked up the details of his conviction, it turns out that this guy was smuggling heroin.

Hmmm, the way Think Centre puts it, you would have thought this guy is going to be hanged for smuggling panadol.

Of course we know that heroin is a non-violent drug. I mean, we've seen heroin addicts on TV right? They look like skinny zombies, like someone you can really just take out with a punch, right? Not to say that a lot of heroin drug addicts commit crimes to get the money they need for their drug habits. Not to say families are broken up. Not to say those addicts who overdosed and died as a result. Yeah, heroin is a non-violent drug.

No, I'm not a keen supporter of the death penalty either, and I respect the right to life as much as anybody else. However, in the view that the extent of harm that is caused by drugs to the society, albeit in a more insidious and not-so-salient ways, I will not reject the death penalty as a harsh deterrent to stopping drug trafficking. This is because I respect the right to life of those mislead and probably impressionable teenages who might have their lives ruined by drugs, thus you will never find me signing any petition for someone who is sentenced to death by smuggling in drugs.

Just because you do not see the dead bodies, doesn't mean it is not violent.

Footsteps In The Sand

old photograph sitting in the drawer

old photograph sitting in the drawer

photographs don't lie
even if they were yellow
even if your smile
was frozen, back in time
when you were eighteen
it was an accidental snapshot
neither of us were prepared

do we throw away memories
or keep them hidden
in drawers, where dust collects
stardust, no sorry, i was mistaken
it's only age that has gotten into
the photograph of us, no i'm mistaken
again, these things get blurry after
a while, only you were in the photograph
smiling, and i'm still wondering where
was i, way back then, was it really
so far back in the past, i'm only sure
right now i am twenty five.

By The Sea

Going Into Water

淡水河边

在鸡毛蒜皮里挑骨头

在鸡毛蒜皮里挑骨头


是自己的幻觉吗？近几年翻阅报纸和观看电台时事节目时，总觉得某种病态思想正渐渐侵袭我们可爱的社会。原本以为是自己多疑，不过周遭的朋友们也留意到了这种病态思想。朋友们通常以笼统的 “无聊” 一词称呼此病态思想，不过我觉得将它称之为 “在鸡毛蒜皮里挑骨头” 是最恰当不过了。

这是种什么样的病态思想呢？在本人具体说明之前，先举出几个例子吧。

例如前些时候在报章里争论不休的 “贝弗兰” 命名事件吧。最近在报章的言论版又再度看到类似的批评，只不过是针对 “宝门廊” 和 “达哥达” 地铁站。或许本人不是语文系出身的，无法看清这其中的 “语言暴力” ，更无法感受它的伤害，所以对激烈的争论觉得莫名其妙。正如同去年母校华侨中学和华中初级学院决定合并时，许多人对合并的学院应取的名称争论不休的情况一样。真奇怪了，怎么我们看问题的焦点不是着重于地铁应该如何在保持合理车资的情况下更有效地服务大众？或者，合并后的学院如何更有效地教育学生，以及从四二制转换到六年制所需做的调整？

说到教育，就不禁让我想起有关本地人对于会考成绩和学校排名的着迷。每当会考来临或成绩放榜时，总是在媒体上听到家长对于小数点的差异特别在意，只因为他们觉得这会影响子女进入优等学院的机会。或者，为了让子女进入名声良好的小学而搬家和做义工的例子已经听得层出不穷了。奇怪了，如果时间和金钱投资在自己子女的身心发展，不是更好吗？把话说难听点，不聪明的人不会因为进了好的学校而突然变聪明，聪明的人也不会因为没进好学校而突然变笨。还有，即使没办法进入好学院，或者会考成绩不理想，就不等於人生从此黯淡。小时了了，大未必佳的例子，我相信不只是自己看多了。与其只是抱着 “只要进入名校就可以了” 的目标，不如着重于身心的磨炼，以让子女有能力面对人生的考验。毕竟，进入了社会后是没有成绩单可言的。

或者新加坡人的英语差不差。天啊，我们当然无法说 “标准的英语” 。很简单，因为我们不是英国人。况且，什么是标准的英语呢？本人到了美国后，发现不同国籍的人在说英语时都有不同的发音。然而，这种字不正腔不圆的状况从未导致任何人无法沟通。应该说，语言不是死板的东西，而是会随着时间演化的。谁在乎它是否“标准” ？只要对方听得懂就行了。大家被无聊的争论拖得团团转。

所谓的鸡毛蒜皮里挑骨头，其实就是把精力浪费在微不足道的问题上争论。例子也不限于以上所举的。任君随便通过任何媒体管道，一定能够看到不胜枚举的例子。例如选择曾吸过烟的偶像歌手当戒烟大使是否恰当。天啊，如果你的子女会因为崇拜偶像才不吸烟，那么只证明父母教导无方。

本人并非想在此鼓励大家采取一种 “什么都不管” 的心态。认识我的人都知道，本人对于许许多多的社会现象总是喜欢发表自己的看法，以及做出许多批评。有关当局这样子做是不对啊、虽然这样子很好，不过我们可以做得更好啊等等。讲好听些，是坚持尽善尽美。讲难听点，就是鸡蛋里挑骨头。然而，我只是希望大家可以衡量轻重，把精力运用在值得讨论的课题上。

因为，即使鸡毛蒜皮里真的挑出骨头，所剩下来的还是鸡毛蒜皮。

Jelly Fish 

Giant Hands 

Kitties Galore 

The Sky of Taipei 

Quote by Robyn Hitchcock and my comments

“It is very dangerous to mock people's beliefs, because you can be tortured and destroyed by other human beings …… very seldom do divine forces actually wreak their vengeance on you …… but it is very dangerous to be an infidel in someone's eyes. I believe very firmly in god ... in terms of spirituality. I also have an infinite contempt for religion, which I think is hijacking people's spirituality for political purposes, and I think that religion is perilously close to pornography in that respect.” --- Robyn Hitchcock

My two-cents comments:

Well, have to say I do not agree totally with Robyn Hitchcock's views. At least no one has died in the name of pornography, or blew innocent people to bits with bombs, or coerced individuals into accepting their views.

Sadly, that can't be said for religion.

Give me pornography over religion anyday.

Looking On 

nice quote

"don't call me a poet. because that is the single most digusting word that one can be addressed by. call me that, and you'll be associating me with all the fake fucking pretensions, the skulduggery, the weak-mindedness, and the unadulterated snobbishness of human nature."

found this as i was tidying up my old archives of files. forgot whether it was me who wrote it, or i copied it down from somewhere. i think it must have been the latter, though i'm not sure. if anyone knows who wrote this, please let me know...

although i think i wrote it....

Flyer Along Street of Penang 

Senoko Fishing Port 

Sky 

Charity is not neuroscience, but it isn't stupidity as well

Anyways, saw this forum article on The Straits Times a few days back. Evidently, the writer was sort of berating the directors of the Centre Neuroscience in Singapore for pointing out in an earlier article that the treatments that the Nepalanese and Yishun twins were receiving were dubious and hinted that the parents of these twins could be out to con Singaporeans out of their sympathy money. The writer took the moralistic man-in-the-street perspective by pointing out that:


"The man in the street would not have, before making his donation, the exclusive information that Prof Lee had. He would not be able to confirm with Ms Angella Cheng, the Nepalese twins' guardian in Singapore, that the motive of the twins' parents in coming to Singapore was to get more sympathy money.

He would not know that the Gurkha contingent in Singapore had turned them down because the contingent had already donated to the twins on the first occasion.

He would also not be able to assess if a shunt operation, Botox and intensive physiotherapy will have permanent effect on leg deformity or the ability to walk because he is not as medically proficient as Prof Lee.
As for the Yishun siblings, the man in the street would also not know that the deep-brain stimulation could have been performed at the Singapore General Hospital or the National Neuroscience Institute at a fraction of the cost incurred in Taiwan."

And he concluded with this paragraph:

"I would rather live in a country where my fellow citizens are compassionate and sympathetic than where they are critical and demanding.

Charity is not a neuroscience."

My thoughts? Hmmm, I wonder what this guy has to say when he knew the NKF funds were not properly used. Did he display moral outrage? Or did he say something like: Oh, never mind that we were conned, it was the compassion and sympathy that counts. Heck, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt by assuming he took the former stance. And what? The take-home message is that it is okay for people to con us out of our sympathy money, as long as they are not some big-evil organisation???

Lest I come across to readers as an evil bastard with no compassion, let me set the record straight by stating that I believe in welfare for the less fortunate. It is just that I also believe in something known as efficiency and utility as well. Okay, so the average man on the street doesn't have the necessary information, so that is why the directors from the Neuroscience Centre are providing you with this information, so as to enable you to make a better judgement. If the reaction to this kind of information is the kind of moralistic high-ground in which the writer adopts by saying that oh-I-didn't-want-to-know-that-because-it-is-my-kindness-that-counts-even-though-I-may-be-gullible, then so be it.

Stupidity kills.

An Unfinished Poem

Friend of mine wrote it. Gave up because it just didn't mattered anymore. Anyways......

谁能舞动那场抽象忧伤
聆听着 Keith Jarrett 就幻想置身
于维也纳空荡广场演奏着无声
悲哀掌声如同冻结泪水敲打
那场身陷迷宫往事的愚蠢告白
坠落的爱情永远进入冬眠

秋天已经开始倒数整个九月
渐渐长了的头发即将遗弃帽子
然而苍白的长发再也不为谁
留下遗憾在通俗歌词里对你
好到无路可退的慈悲也不失残忍
这样的关系我说多完美

The Quintessential Singaporean Sign