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National hero Joseph Schooling made headlines this week for smoking marijuana. For his admission, Schooling was issued a formal warning letter by the Department of Defense. “
The swimmer issued an apology on Tuesday (August 30), citing “a moment of weakness after going through a very difficult time in my life”. Some people express anger or disappointment towards him.
Schooling is a public figure of sorts, but is it fair to project all our moral expectations onto him? Why not? This case might be the perfect opportunity for us to investigate the issues behind this case.
Schooling is an international sporting success and Singaporeans are justifiably proud of him. It also rivals the course Schooling has worked so hard to get to where he is.
As a result of his success in the field of competitive sports, he was labeled as a role model with certain expectations placed on him. But are these social predictions and is it his responsibility to meet our expectations? Expectations he never asked for? End of story.
Despite his sporting achievements, he’s a human being with problems, emotions, and a routine to deal with.
As a society we can’t discern what is good for us and need role models to look up to?
Second, and unavoidably, Schooling’s “indiscretion” has put Singapore’s drug problem back in the spotlight. Singapore has long held to the belief that strict drug laws prohibit drug consumption. But with Singapore now allowing people to travel globally, are these laws still working?
Another problem that Schooling’s narrative posed is that Singapore clings to the concept of crime and punishment, with no nuances in between. When a frustrated employer took to her social media to ask what kind of punishment should be given to an employee for helping with domestic chores, Micro He was well aware of this at the level.
In an anonymous post on Wednesday (August 31), her employer washed her Louis Vuitton shawl “without asking me how it should be done or if I want it washed.” She added that the shawl cost S$1,000 and was only used twice.
Has this employer ever considered themselves at their workplace? Have they made mistakes that cost their employer money? and ask how they should be punished as if they were little children in need of discipline, how would they like it?
After all, we are all human. we all make mistakes. Does every mistake require a “punishment”? Why not simply see your mistakes as a learning experience? To both helpers and employers.
Why would this employer assume that her helper knows how to wash said scarf? Isn’t it the employer’s duty to train the helper instead of simply blaming the helper? This allows employers to learn not to be held accountable and helpers to learn how to clean (or not clean) expensive scarves!
Perhaps it’s time for us as a society to reflect on our understanding of “wrong”. Instead of a binary model of crime and punishment, why not think about the value of learning? Wouldn’t that make for a more compassionate society?
In addition to equations, sometimes it seems impossible to look behind mistakes to understand the underlying reasons behind them. We tend to assume malicious intent and are quick to punish. However, this never solves the root of the problem, and the “mistake” is destined to repeat itself over and over again in many ways, to no avail.
In July this year, a foreign domestic worker took to social media to ask netizens how he could transfer to another household immediately. She struggled with her workload, which included cleaning her three-story bungalow with her two dogs and washing the car. A question arises here. Are our employees making “mistakes” because they are overworked? If so, shouldn’t we be doing something to mitigate this instead of reaching straight for the stick of punishment? do you want?
There are always two sides (often multiple sides) to a story, and the truth lies somewhere in between. The more we understand the nuances, the more we can find solutions that move us through the endless cycle of repeated crimes and punishments.
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