SINGAPORE: A Reddit user sought advice regarding a particular, not to mention peculiar, dilemma, asking other Singaporeans if they have ever experienced the same thing.
In a recent post on r/askSingapore, the post author explained that they were not born in the city-state but became a naturalised citizen after more than 15 years of residency.
Their issue concerns a close Singaporean friend whom they met at work many years ago and who has a young son who is about four years old.
“They made comments in the past about me leaving my money to their son. Always jokingly, but a bit weird to me,” the post author wrote.
However, they are not the only person who does this. The post author added that they have another friend who has two daughters, who once made the same joke about leaving the post author’s money to the girls, which they found a little disturbing and, moreover, left them with an important question.
“If they encourage their kids to treat me well, is it with ‘inheritance’ in mind? I am not even rich, but I work and own my own house and am not in debt (other than mortgage),” they wrote, adding that if they die of old age one day, they are likely to have very little left anyway.
“So, question to Singaporeans, especially singles.. have you come across these sorts of comments? And is it something in the upbringing here because I would never hear of people from my birth country make these kinds of comments to friends.”
The post has since received a lot of comments. While some Reddit users have never heard of people making this type of “joke,” others definitely have, and one noted that it “tends to be more culturally prevalent upon some subsections of Singaporeans (but) is not common practice.”
“Oh, I have noticed this breed of extremely materialistic sociopaths amongst us Singaporeans. They are absolutely a pain to be around, and it’s best to avoid them for the sake of your mental health,” another wrote.
Some found the “joke” to be weird and unfunny, and advised the post author to find new friends.
“If you want to address the issue non-directly, the next time they make the same comment again, ask if they’re low-key looking forward to you dying or something. If they have a sense of shame, that should cause an awkward tension in the air,” another chimed in.
“It means their intent of being friends with you is not pure anymore. It’s like grooming you into their kid’s future ATM; of course, they can joke about it, but that idea is obviously in their head already. Either you speak up about it or move on to other friends, so you have peace of mind,” urged a commenter.
A Reddit user shared a similar experience, writing, “My wife and I are DINKs (double income, no kids), and we have a distant relative who made a similar joke once. She wanted us to take her son as a godson and to leave him an inheritance. I said no. We no longer speak to her.” /TISG
