[nirvAnA]

Yet again another piece of drama from Singapore. I wonder why this year has so many of them! Did we always have this or is it because of how online media now has become so transparent?

What would happen if something like this is said in Australia? Her comments were posted on her personal facebook.

+ [The Remarks] +

A friend say that the public had mis-interpreted the remarks. It isn't so much racism as it is class discrimination and that makes her a snob, not a racist. Does she deserve to lose her job by posting this on her personal facebook?

Vanessa Lee Fitness Club bans her from being a member (LOL)
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/ea...b-3928520.html

Part of the problem

Also, in Singapore there is an entire site called STOMP that unwittingly encourages witch hunting from the public. Basically because scandal = hits = money. And thus there is the incentive for stories to be twisted into something scandalous. Here is what Singaporeans think about the site. Think of the Reddit witch hunters on Steroids.

Review 1
"What i really see STOMP as a ranting place for Singaporeans. The most common post that we will find on STOMP is people complaining about foreigners/Singaporeans seating on reserved seats. This not only showcases the ugly side of Singaporeans but also fuels the xenophobic side of Singaporeans.

Furthermore, STOMP is using money incentives to encourage people to post more 'juicy' articles on STOMP. This may even cause some people to be 'unscrupulous' or even twist the facts just to make things more interesting. This shouldn't be the case. But once again, isn't it all the same with all gossip sites? Guess everything should just be taken with a pinch of salt. "

Review 2

"Stomp is one of those websites which should have been banned or put away from the surface of the internet. The website is filled with nonsenses and the writers there made such a big fuss over small matter.

They write things that Singaporeans see every day, like rowdy teens, people being intimate in public, and a lot more. What the writers do not see is that they are hurting these normal citizens, mentally and emotionally, with their post on Stomp.

I had a friend who was being featured on a Stomp article about a mistake he did during a performance. He went to depression for like a week and pushed everyone away. He could not forgive himself for the mistake, whereas it was not his fault. The Stomper just had to post it up online, probably to make the article popular.

I think Stomp has harmed more people than we know. What if one day you wake up and saw your face on a Stomp article? Would it be embarrassing and painful for you? It has to stop. "

More reading:

More reviews | Stomp Website | Official news link

[AuXCoolpuff]

I'd say her comments are a bit extreme haha,

[yongming]

lets not kid ourselves. tbh im pretty sure many singaporean feels the same way as her. it just happens that she made her comments public and it got put into the spotlight.

[mGGDaedalus]

She sounds like an asshole but that's not worth losing your job over. I don't think this is just a SG thing, it's more the fact that facebook allows people's private comments to be broadcast to a wider circle of people (inlcuding employers).

I remember like a year or so ago (a bit fuzzy on the details), there was a similar example here in Australia. I think it was a Gold Coast lawyer or something got fired because someone not even related to his workplace found some racist jokes on his facebook feed and reported them to his employer (I tried googling the specific incident but there's so many results for people getting fired over racist remarks on facebook that I couldn't find it lol)

Quick Comments

nirvAnA:

So its not just Singapore! phew

[ToRLuneth]

I'm more interested in where this gay world park is lol.

I also think that it clearly her university education in perth that led to these remarks

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:	hahaha wtf!
	Cyanide:	I got my education in Perth, and I am offended!
	NOM:	;P i agree

[Syn]

pretty sure malay weddings only last for like 1 day lol

[Antel0pe]

LOL, I was reported on STOMP once :3 with a couple of friends,

Quick Comments

nirvAnA:

LOL link please!!!!!!!

[fur]

My question is how did her employer see it?

Should someone be fired for venting on facebook? Of course not.

But would remarks like that get you fired if they were said the workplace? Absolutely. Now if this person is FB friends with a co-worker and/or boss then they've really got to think twice before going off like that. Be it racism or even just verbal abuse.

[Antel0pe]

Originally Posted by sRAntelope

*
LOL link please!!!!!!!

No! My criminal record is worse enough here :3 no need to add more stuff

Quick Comments

DM.MCZ.Shondy:

CSI team roll out! :P

[Cyanide]

She's not racist, just... stupid.

We've all made racist remarks before. And that won't change any time soon. Does that make us racist? Nope.

But being in a small city state, and a country that highly regards (and protects) the values of a multicultural society, it is no surprise that she's getting (or will be getting, I presume) severely punished for her actions.

The real moral of the story here?
Social Media will be the bane of stupid people for a long long time.

[NOM]

i hate it when people write f-c-u-k instead of ****.. like French Connection is cool and stuff but just say **** god damn it.

Quick Comments

Antel0pe:

lol, the first thing she picked up from that :3

[AssyrianKing]

You dont need to have a big wedding to get married o.O

Quick Comments

TACeeSerps:

How does that even relate to the OP?

[ZizLah]

if your dumb enough to post anything like this online, how on earth did you get a job in the first place.

seriously it's not hard to not be stupid online.

[nirvAnA]

To give some perspective to our Australian readers, land in Singapore is expensive so over 80% of our population live in "government subsidised" apartments. Most new ones average over 25 stories tall. The "Void deck" is basically the common area ground level needed to access the lifts.

Events held there can inconvenience everyone in the block and some are really noisy too and go into the wee hours of the morning. If you live on a low level story, well good luck to you at work the next day. So people sometimes get quite upset and the level of noise varies and depends on the event. Weddings aren't so common. Amy must have been mad but wasn't thinking straight when she made those rage posts. I think this is way most of her anger is coming from, shes not really a racist, shes more of a snob (discriminating against low income people) who was annoyed by something that inconveniences many people that should have had better solution. I think the government should do something like allow people to use community centres at a cheap rate which have proper function halls and facilities.

A normal void deck


A void deck wedding.

[FS.Kezz]

I can understand her anger, especially after you show those pictures for context nirvAnA, but it shows some immaturity on her behalf for ranting like that on what is basically a modern public forum. To be fair, some common sense and a bit of forward planning would probably lead to a positive outcome for all involved.

[kyzers0ze]

Originally Posted by yongming

lets not kid ourselves. tbh im pretty sure many singaporean feels the same way as her. it just happens that she made her comments public and it got put into the spotlight.

We learn to tolerate. This woman on the other hand, given her position, decided to do something really dumb without thinking.

[FSDele]

man,

if game devs got in trouble for what they post to social media ( other than unannounced titles / project details ) i don't think there would be many games made....

[TABjornbrandr]

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

What would happen if something like this is said in Australia? Her comments were posted on her personal facebook.

You'd probably have a whole heap of people agreeing with her and complaining about boat-people in some poorly hashed together argument that isn't even relevant to what she's complaining about.

[Meatex]

really depends on who you are racist to
make anti muslim racial slurs and you are okay
take a look at alan jones - he says the most disgusting and foul racist shit on radio and he gets done in by a much lesser comment made at a private gathering

[crAzerk]

My disgruntlement with this whole issue is how people suddenly become spotless knights of moral justice and start slamming her like crazy, as if they were not guilty of any form of racism themselves.
Xenophobia is a big thing here and I am certain MANY of them are guilty of some sort of racism at some point in their lives. And there they are sitting on their high horse, trying to ruin her life (and succeeding) for a stupid mistake.

[VoxMSI.Rogue]

I think a lot of "racism" isn't genuinely because people don't like the race involved or have some form of hatred toward them, but more that they are angry and struggle to articulate their anger in a way that leaves out the need to blame race or even mention it.

Realistically in her situation, she never had to mention the races of those involved, nor the sex, nor the age. None of those things actually influence why she was angry and I think this is the case a lot of the time.

We have been unfortunately conditioned to directing our anger in a way that describes those involved "That Asian driver" "That woman driver" etc when those descriptive features actually don't have any influence on the situation at hand. Instead of "That person was a shit driver" someone may say "That Asian lady is a shit driver"

I don't think most of what people perceive as being "racist" is actually really truly racist, more so a lack of being able to put into words the anger they are feeling.

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:	really well said! :)
	Cyanide:	my sentiments exactly

[FSNiseH]

She made some asshole comments on her private social media, unless they were related to her workplace in some way, she shouldn't have been fired. I don't really see the comments as racist either, but asshats and white knights will be what they are I suppose.

[FS.Kezz]

Originally Posted by FSBattleToaster

She made some asshole comments on her private social media, unless they were related to her workplace in some way, she shouldn't have been fired. I don't really see the comments as racist either, but asshats and white knights will be what they are I suppose.

We don't know if there was anything written in her employment contract about social media and the like though. They may have an attitude that any potential liability in terms of 'personal comments' made over social media can't be treated lightly.

[Cyanide]

Originally Posted by FSBattleToaster

She made some asshole comments on her private social media, unless they were related to her workplace in some way, she shouldn't have been fired. I don't really see the comments as racist either, but asshats and white knights will be what they are I suppose.

Social norms and context dictates what can and cannot be said in your country. In an area that is wary of Muslim sensitivities, I can see why she got fired. Seeing as how much of a shit storm it became, her employers cannot stand by and condone such actions (especially an organization such as NTUC, which stands for National Trades Union Congress).

No one should police social media, so self-censorship is important here. Which she obviously failed to do.

These moral white knights that above posters mentioned, I cannot tolerate though. STOMP has that unfortunate side effect, on the grounds of being a site for "citizen journalism" (read, Gutter Journalism).

Lastly, I just want to say that there's no such thing as "private" social media. In my opinion, as long as you willingly post anything on the internet, it belongs to the public sphere.

[nirvAnA]

Rogue made such a brilliant post It echoes exactly what she says in this recent interview from Stomp.

"Amy Cheong said one of the reasons why she took to facebook to vent her frustrations against a Malay wedding at the void deck was because she had been faced with a noisy neighbour for the past few weeks. She was flamed and subsequently sacked for her racist comments.

Ms Cheong said: "It just never stopped. There were funerals, karaoke sessions, and weddings. Not to mention that my neighbours' flats were undergoing renovation. There were loud drilling sounds as early as eight in the morning."

On Saturday, the former National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant director of the Membership Department said she was "really cranky" and "there was someone screaming into a microphone". She had been looking forward to the weekend to get some rest.

It had nothing to do with race, but was about the situation, Ms Cheong claimed in the phone interview. She said she also didn't think carefully about what she was saying because she was just venting her frustrations."

Oh and Amy actually fled back to Perth where she got her degree! No danger of Void Deck weddings there!