in defence of the guys behind the scdf ragging incident

its been weeks but some have continued flogging the dead horse in the forum. a bit like multiplier. after the autonomous injection it takes time to taper out. like the female writers who probably have never been in actual uniformed service, i also enjoy flogging dead horses. because they are already dead, they probably wont throw me off and i wont land face down in the sand. on my stupid face. and maybe get a few kicks up my sorry ass.

it is completely unacceptable for ragging to this extent, and it was brazen for the persons involved to have posted it on youtube for all to see. i agree that the person kiwied all over would have an indelible scar forever etched into his person, that he would remember and he would be traumatised for life. this action on the part of his friends is completely unforgiveable and disciplinary action should and must be taken.

but before calling for their blood, let us be reminded of the situation they are in. these are hot blooded males feeding on probably misplaced ego and misdirected masculinity. or perceptions of masculinity. in such a world, the heart comes second; guts come first. in such a world, there is time for thinking, but only after action. inasmuch we do not want this, this is the world.

it is also important to point out that these individuals, at the tender age of 18,19,20 have been plucked from their families, dumped in camps across the island with who knows who. under such circumstances, they must already be under severe stress. add to this a completely different social construct. in such uniformed organizations, they surrender part of their individuality to the group, and in this part of the individuality rests their ability to think and reason. in such a situation, they are not just prone to groupthink, they are generally nothing but groupthink. couple it with the bravado that comes with the age, it is crystal clear that it takes little to unleash such a maelstrom of mischief. and such a conclusion.

acts of violence against anyone should not be condoned anywhere. but let us not assume a holier than thou attitude. if you have a maid, think of how you treat her. i know for sure that many people have their maids do ridiculous things like clean the parapet. i also know for sure that many people staying in puny hdb flats and pussy upgrader condos have their maids housed in the teeny bombshelters or kitchens. in the former there probably isnt a lot of air, in the latter there probably isnt a lot of privacy. i know of many people who stock up their houses with instant noodles of different grades, with the lowergrade noodles fit only for the maids consumption. there must be very many persons guilty of such. sure, there is nothing wrong with doing it. no Law forbids it and no fatwa or papal bull explicitly goes against it, and there is nothing wrong. this is the society that breeds these young men who kiwi their friend.

and then as mentioned, ragging is everywhere an inseparable component of the uniformed services. the writer points out that colonials tend to only pick up all the bad habits of their colonial masters, and ragging is one of them. just like judicial corporal and capital punishment which we so embrace. before i waft back into pinkerton mode, consider the social contract and the social construct. we as humans did not come fully programmed to know etiquette or the ways of society. we certainly did not come virtuous. in fact virtue is in many ways a social construct to prevent the social fabric from being torn apart. anyways, we learn by example. when we were young, we learned not to shit in public and not to piss into the wind. we learned to bow our heads low when we see our teachers and offer to carry their books and lick their boots if necessary.

in the context of the camp, the social construct is different from the social construct in the outside world. no one barks orders at you in the outside world. no one knocks you down for being slow. no one tells you his grandmother can walk faster than you can run, and then knock you down. no one can make you wash a toiletbowl with a toothbrush. no one can make you march up and down in the hot sun. no one will curse you, your mother, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather and your dick and expect you to apologize to him. but that is life in camp. you go in hating it, but you end up practising it. people accept it. this is army/scdf life. life is tough, and this is life.

at 18, this young men were conditioned to accept what they see, and it would not be surprising as such that ragging and abuse is passed down from one batch to another batch, and each time they try to one-up on each other. ragging, just like abusing the lesser persons, is machismo, or warped machismo, it is the machismo of the simple 18 year old man. the unthinking man, but a son of singapore nonetheless, one who has been consigned to living out 2 prime years of life in the service of this nation that so many so dearly love.

yes, what they did was wrong, but there are very many mitigating factors. young, innocent, impressionable individuals who slurp up every bit of shit coming their way. with this total change of environment, they probably lost their marbles and their bearings. in tekong/ jalan bahar, i dont think you can see the north star. in this new and vastly different environment where they are starting to see how they fit in and try to fit in, it is inevitable that their moral compasses go haywire and all point south.

so when they are disciplined, let it be in the light of rehabilitation, not retribution. these persons involved are no longer juveniles, but let us not forget that they have a long future ahead of them (unless they get knocked down by a car or get scarred so bad by the punishment they kill themselves) and we should also consider the impact it would have on their young lives. let us not forget that while these people have been charged with fighting fires and saving lives, these people are still not of majority and cannot vote. they are too young, and the Laws of the Land find them so.

let us all be enlightened, and stop asking for their blood. even after world war ii, the victors knew better than to punish every single japanese footsoldier for the atrocities he might have committed, because under such immense stress and deprivation of normalcy, the footsoldier is also a victim. similarly, these young men are also victims of a system and the whole new world. let these young men not be sacrificed like frederick white a century before.