Today was the first time this happened to me. While it wasn't my fault, I was caught inevitably in the squabble. It all started when me and my mum boarded the train at Chua Chu Kang heading towards Jurong East. Upon entering, we caught sight of an empty priority seat at the side. Beside the seat was an old woman in her sixties. Leaning against the panel was her daughter (which we realised only later) and in standing in front of her was their maid. The daughter was a well-dressed lady, seemingly in her twenties, with looks that were above average. Under her seemingly normal demeanour hid an imperceptibly warped character. This was something that shocked me the most.

My mum went to sit at the seat, not knowing that they were apparently deliberating on whether the maid or the daughter should sit. When sitting, the old woman shoved my mum off and scolded her in Hokkien. The daughter quickly sat in the seat. After my mother left the seat, she mutter under her breath "she pushed me". The daughter, now seat seated, yell at the top of her lungs "PUSH WHAT PUSH! SHE WHERE GOT PUSH YOU! ......". Then the old woman also started scolding in Hokkien to my mum. I was dumbfounded. My mum shouted back the daughter. I can't remember exactly what but it was about the pushing, not any insult. She then walked off. Everyone was watching intently at the scene. I stayed behind, due to the shock of my mother's suddenly departure. Meanwhile, the old woman was talking loudly in Hokkien, and scolding me, which I inferred from the "kia" she said. I just ignored their existence.

I was really upset by how they treated my mum. They were downright disrespectful. A simple "Excuse me, my daughter was going to sit here" would have sufficed, but instead they snapped and made a fool of themselves.

This didn't just end there. When we alighted at Jurong East to Change trains, I rendezvoused with my mum. The two ladies, mother and daughter start shouting at us again. This time, I couldn't take it. I went to them and said, "Can I please ask you to quieten down?" repeatedly, even saying in chinese. I used a tone of equanimity and calm composure in a polite fashion. No it didn't work. They continued yelling at the top of their lungs at me! They were screaming the same thing; the daughter ranted about the pushing and the old woman shouting in Hokkien. "Call the police larh! Call arh!" they threatened me. Everyone was staring at us. I didn't feel nervous. Adrenaline was placing me in confrontation mode. My attempts to resolve the conflict were interrupted by the arrival of the MRT. I won't know whether this would have worked anyway since my efforts all fell on deaf ears.

My mum dragged me away to board the train at a different carriage. And no the provocation didn't end there.

When the two woman alighted at Clementi station, they stood there, staring at us and yelling at us. As the MRT departed, my mum and I were relieved that this toturous confrontation finally ended.

"Is this how Singaporeans behave, yelling and scolding their fellow Singaporeans?" This I would wonder if I were a tourist. This shocking behaviour left the issue of courtesy reverberating in my head for a long while. I could not comprehend how the daughter could have the audacity to scold a person many years senior to her in this fashion. The arrogance, the uncouthness.

Without intentional provocation of any sort, they started making a public disgrace of themselves. They lost their composure completely, exposing their ugliness to the whole world. As a bystander to the first confrontation. I would have been utterly horrified by the way the younger lady treated the ageing woman with such disrespect. Furthermore, what she sat on was a PRIORITY seat. A younger lady, snatching the seat from an older woman. Something has gone horribly wrong with the priority seat campaign.

The way the old lady spoke loudly, with unmatched (in the carriage) loquacity and spitefulness in the carriage was very unbecoming of a woman of her age. One would expect an elderly lady to be someone imbued with wisdom and experience, someone tempered by life's journey, someone mellow and magnanimous. Very unfortunately, she was the direct opposite; jaded by the world and a downright bore. I was completely disappointed that she supported her daughter rather than admonishing her. On top of that, the action of pushing one from their seat is completely unacceptable. To put it in plain, her actions were in line with the stereotype of the common Ah Lian.

While a normal person would have brushed this incident off, these two had the indecency of provoking us further after the incident at the platform. When I politely asked them to stop making a scene, they dared me to call the police and shout even louder. I was not part of the incident. I didn't join in, I didn't provoke them in anyway. But in trying to protect my mum from their harassment I took the brunt of their attacks. This reflects the lack of their judgement. Why couldn't they just bury the hatchet after the unpleasant encounter? Why did they continue to pursue the issue over a comment about a mere shove? Why is it that my earnest request for them to stop was completely ignored?

The implication of this whole incident can summed up with the conclusion, there are shameless Singaporeans who have completely no courtesy. When I think of discourtesy, I will always recall those hateful eyes that gazed upon us unjustly as the MRT departed Clementi Station.

Labels: courtesy, disrespect, rudeness