SINGAPORE: A Reddit user took to the platform to express their unhappiness at the rudeness and entitlement of tourists in Singapore, saying they had never experienced it this much anywhere else.
In a post on r/askSingapore, u/hooli-failure identified themself as a Canadian Chinese and said that they normally “try to be considerate and approach a situation with kindness. Queuing and fairness are important to me. F1 weekend hasn’t even started, and I’m at my wits’ end.”
They went on to provide four examples of the kind of rudeness and entitlement they experienced in Singapore.
The first occurred at an appearance of F1 drivers at a mall, where they stood in the second row of attendees, and everyone had enough space. However, a girl kept pushing into the railing, not bothering to say “excuse me” and swinging her hair around to get more space.
“Another person kept hitting me in the head with their long lens,” they added.
The second incident took place under a rain canopy near Marina Bay Sands, where the post author took shelter when it was pouring. One of the men who was also present moved right in front of them, so close that they could smell the sweat on his neck.
“This forced me backwards into the rain. I feel this was very inconsiderate and selfish. We are all trying to survive the storm.”
The third example involved an Australian couple on the sidewalk at MBS Promenade. After the post author, who was walking very slowly due to blisters, walked past the couple, the man, who was very tall, “dropped his shoulder and merged right in front of me, almost hitting me.” In addition, the post author claimed that the woman laughed at them as well.
Finally, as they were walking back to their hotel one morning, they were clipped on the shoulder by a female jogger, almost causing the post author to fall. The jogger neither looked back nor apologised.
“I would say all but #1 were tourists. How should I be dealing with this? Should I have confronted all of these ppl? How do locals deal with the tourists this weekend?” they asked.
Commenters on the post encouraged u/hooli-failure to call out the rudeness of others.
“Lots of people, local and tourists alike, have absolutely no sense of boundaries and/or ‘city manners.’ If they want to escalate, don’t forget that Singapore is heavily CCTV-ed and also has a large police presence with the F1 weekend,” one wrote.
“Saying ‘OUCH!’ and ‘EXCUSE ME!’ very loudly usually works for me. Also, I will loudly request that whoever it is flipping their hair to stop it. But yes, develop your own elbowing if necessary,” another chimed in.
“Locals aren’t very confrontational, but one curt EXCUSE ME helps to snap people out of whatever zombie daze they’re in lol. Sorry about your experience, though, it’s why a lot of locals avoid the touristy areas during major events. The amount of stress is enough to spark off any confrontation with that one person who somehow decides your ‘excuse me’ is an invitation for a shouting match,” shared another. /TISG
