MYOB Please
The New Paper just ran a full tabloid special on variations on the theme of sex in Singapore. The date? Just a couple of days ago lah. Anyways, a lot of the articles made for very informative and entertaining reading, especially the double-spread on what must have been the most often browsed Singaporean blog in recent times: the SPG blog.
Now in case the esteemed reader thinks that our beautiful little tropical island has been subjected to a sudden infestation of bookus wormius let me assure you that this is not the case. Most of us (yes even I popped into the site for a look-see) went in to oogle at the the marvelous mounds of mammaries (hows THAT for alliteration?) on display there. It was only after I logged out from the site that I realised I've fallen prey to two characteristics which I really dislike quite a lot.
The first is: the Herd instinct. Now, I'm really not a rebel. Hell, most of the time I don't even believe in any cause, cynic that I am. And so it is with a certain amount of disgust when I hear about people going some place, or buying something, or doing something, or idolising someone simply because other people are doing it. I mean, don't they have a mind of their own? Must we rely on the antics and whims of others to define our own self-identity? Many famous authors down the ages have noted that humans as individuals are brilliant. Humans as a group are sheep.
The second characteristic that I really am not particularly fond of is the Cannot MYOB syndrome. At the risk of sounding condescending, MYOB stands for Mind Your Own Business. Now, here I have add in a caveat: I really don't mind my friends and family minding my business; in fact, there have been many times where I have been eternally grateful to them for doing so. Timely and wise advice has pulled my ass out of the fire countless times (and most of the time it's because I put my ass there). But the scenario is completely different when it is a stranger who pokes his unwanted nose into my affairs. And that was what I saw in the Sunday issue of The New Paper.
I don't blame fellow blogger Wendy Cheng (Xiaoxue) for making those pithy and cutting remarks with regards to SPG's blog. In fact, I thought they were rather witty. What I do take umbrage upon is the fact that there were people digging for those comments. Whether SPG's blog was meant to attract attention or not, the fact that so much attention has been given to her blog must have made her a little uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong... Although I'm a relative newcomer to the blogging scene, I do know full well that eventually what I post in my blog is going to be read by total strangers. That's fine by me. But that's not my purpose for keeping a blog. My purpose for keeping a blog (and I suspect the purpose of most bloggers out there) is to share. There is a sharing of views, of opinions, of experiences, and of perceptions out there on the net. And the polite way to respond to such an open sharing is to be constructive about it.
The digging of opinions from people who really wouldn't have given two hoots about the blog otherwise is not constructive. No matter how much SPG may have been wanting a little attention, to be splashed across four pages of the national best selling tabloid must have been a little too much even for her. It's like whistling for a breeze and getting a typhoon in your face.
Pity the poor girl yeah? Give her a break. How she wants to write her blog is her business. Mind yours first. And remember: don't be Dolly the sheep.
Now in case the esteemed reader thinks that our beautiful little tropical island has been subjected to a sudden infestation of bookus wormius let me assure you that this is not the case. Most of us (yes even I popped into the site for a look-see) went in to oogle at the the marvelous mounds of mammaries (hows THAT for alliteration?) on display there. It was only after I logged out from the site that I realised I've fallen prey to two characteristics which I really dislike quite a lot.
The first is: the Herd instinct. Now, I'm really not a rebel. Hell, most of the time I don't even believe in any cause, cynic that I am. And so it is with a certain amount of disgust when I hear about people going some place, or buying something, or doing something, or idolising someone simply because other people are doing it. I mean, don't they have a mind of their own? Must we rely on the antics and whims of others to define our own self-identity? Many famous authors down the ages have noted that humans as individuals are brilliant. Humans as a group are sheep.
The second characteristic that I really am not particularly fond of is the Cannot MYOB syndrome. At the risk of sounding condescending, MYOB stands for Mind Your Own Business. Now, here I have add in a caveat: I really don't mind my friends and family minding my business; in fact, there have been many times where I have been eternally grateful to them for doing so. Timely and wise advice has pulled my ass out of the fire countless times (and most of the time it's because I put my ass there). But the scenario is completely different when it is a stranger who pokes his unwanted nose into my affairs. And that was what I saw in the Sunday issue of The New Paper.
I don't blame fellow blogger Wendy Cheng (Xiaoxue) for making those pithy and cutting remarks with regards to SPG's blog. In fact, I thought they were rather witty. What I do take umbrage upon is the fact that there were people digging for those comments. Whether SPG's blog was meant to attract attention or not, the fact that so much attention has been given to her blog must have made her a little uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong... Although I'm a relative newcomer to the blogging scene, I do know full well that eventually what I post in my blog is going to be read by total strangers. That's fine by me. But that's not my purpose for keeping a blog. My purpose for keeping a blog (and I suspect the purpose of most bloggers out there) is to share. There is a sharing of views, of opinions, of experiences, and of perceptions out there on the net. And the polite way to respond to such an open sharing is to be constructive about it.
The digging of opinions from people who really wouldn't have given two hoots about the blog otherwise is not constructive. No matter how much SPG may have been wanting a little attention, to be splashed across four pages of the national best selling tabloid must have been a little too much even for her. It's like whistling for a breeze and getting a typhoon in your face.
Pity the poor girl yeah? Give her a break. How she wants to write her blog is her business. Mind yours first. And remember: don't be Dolly the sheep.
posted by ekkie at 1:41 am
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