I think the idea of priority seats are stupid

I think this week's entry is going to be a very opinionated one, and it is also one that will have me sounding very unreasonable, and pissed.

Oh well. My blog, too bad.

So before I start my entry, I have a disclaimer/confession to make: When there are no other seats available in the morning, I always sit on the reserved seat. There. I said it. Judge me. Reasons will be given later, but I feel the need to say this out loud first so everyone will know what type of a heartless person I am before they decide to click the read more button!

So first things first, the root of all evil. The main reason why I hate the idea of priority seats, from which stems the plethora of other reasons I think it's a stupid idea, is because the accusatory finger always points at those sitting in the "priority seats", and in doing so, automatically vindicates anyone sitting anywhere else.

Why on earth should someone sitting on a non priority seat be excused from having to give up their seat to those in need? What gives them the right to see a person in need of a seat and instead of graciously offering it, go "Oh it's okay I don't have to give up my seat, the people seating in the priority seats should do it" and then continue on their commute as if they haven't done anything wrong?!

Think about this situation: An middle aged woman, not exactly of "priority seat age" has just ended work. Exhausted, facing a long commute of 1 hour from Boon Lay to Tampines, she manages to get a priority seat. On the other hand, a teenager who has just finished watching a movie and is on the way home isn't in need of time, so he sits the train to Joo Koon (end of the line) and back just to get a prime seat - which isn't a priority seat. So in this situation, why on earth should the hardworking breadwinner of a family give up her seat instead of the teenager in the prime of his youth?!

It's PROMOTING APATHY, that's what the whole idea of the priority seats is doing. The concept of a priority seat is nothing more than a means to an end, a way of coping with an aging population not by tackling the root of the problem, but by trying to alleviate the symptoms. There is a Chinese saying which means to treat the symptoms and not the root cause - something we shouldn't do - 治表不治本. And that's exactly what the priority seats are doing. Sure, it gives the elderly and needy a seat on the train, but does it really make Singapore a more gracious society?

Which leads me to my next point, because Singaporeans are innately bitter, we like to point out the mistakes of and in the process, embarrass people around us. Thus, STOMP is formed. Stomp stands for Straits Times Online Mobile Print, a portal for citizen journalism. Although by the looks of it, it looks more like a tabloid newspaper more than anything else. I guess that's what you get when you give us the freedom of press via STOMP?

Anyway, STOMPers as they shall now be called, like to sneakily take photos of people occupying these priority seats, then post it up on STOMP, claiming that all Singaporeans are heartless and incapable of a simple act of kindness. HELLO? Why do you only take pictures of people sitting on the priority seats? Are the people sitting on the other seats guilt free? Do they not see the person in need? WHY AREN'T THEY GIVING UP THEIR SEATS TOO? Is it because if YOU, who are standing up, had a seat on the non-priority seat, you wouldn't even bother giving up your seat for a needy person?

Again, it all boils down to the apathy aspect of introducing this evil idea of "priority seats".

In fact, let's dig deeper shall we? Why are you even taking photos at all? Chances are, no one knows this person sitting on the priority seat. I mean, how many people actually bother to troll STOMP.com.sg? Straits Times will only report it on a slow news day, and your contemptuous act will only last for all of... 1 day, probably. Because by the next day, someone else would have sat on a priority seat, oblivious to people in need, and another derisive person would have snapped a picture of that heinous act.

You would be doing the entire world, as well as your karmic life, a huge favour should you decide to politely ask the person, or any person for that matter, to give up the seat to the person in need.

GOD. This is exactly like stupid trending topics on Twitter like #prayforjapan or #prayfor*insertlatestcountryaffectedbydisasterhere*, where people are retweeting non stop but doing nothing other than that. Can retweeting do anything? Can trending a stupid hashtag do anything? It can't! If you really want to contribute to the problem please donate. Or you know, fly there to do some charity work.

Anyway, I'm not saying that the people who are indeed on the priority seats are not at fault. My issue lies with 1) The people occupying other seats without a care in the world, and 2) The people who like to point out the faults of others without doing anything about it.

Finally, I also have an issue, albeit a lesser one, with people who need the seat, but do not ask for it, instead, just standing there and suffering. All the while making the people who do have a seat look like they are evil. Why can't they just ask for a seat if they need it so badly? I don't think anyone is going to deny them a seat. I certainly will not; and it has happened to me before. I was sitting down in a priority seat (I think), and dozed off. After being awoken by someone tapping on my knee and gesturing that she wanted the seat, I gave it up.

I get that in an Asian society, we are supposed to respect our elders and give them everything we have in life without even questioning why. But I also get that Singapore is increasingly becoming westernized. Maybe there is a bit of a generation gap where this is involved, where the younger generation feel that they do not owe their elders anything whereas the elder people feel that piety towards them is a given, not a privilege.

Usually, for me, if I see someone in need, I will definitely give it up - regardless of whether I'm sitting in the priority seat or not. But you and I both have to admit sitting down on the MRT isn't exactly a consciousness boosting activity, which means that, we tend to doze off sooner or later. Even if we do not sleep, we usually have our iPods with games and shows to keep us occupied. All this means that people - especially for the technologically attuned younger generation - DO NOT pay attention to their surroundings.

Never mind where I'm sitting, the fact is that if someone who is in need of a seat walks in, I would not have noticed if I'm playing games or sleeping. Which I tend to do a lot. However, I would like to maintain that when I do snap out of my reverie/stupor and see someone in need of a seat, I would definitely give it up without hesitation.

But in between the time when the needy person walks in, and when I finally notice the person - no one makes any move. Does that make me a bad person? If it does, does it mean that people who managed to snag a revered seat on the MRT have to be on their toes butts throughout their entire journey, watching out for people who might need a seat?

Food for thought people, food for thought.

Yeah. I've come to the end of my rant. I'm going to say why I do occupy the priority seats early in the morning when I don't have a choice. Congratulations if you managed to survive my self indulgent rant until the very end.

Actually, the main reason is that... I don't think there is any harm in occupying priority seats during rush hour. You mean we're all supposed to stand up and leave those seats unoccupied? There already is a shortage of space on our MRTs and people boarding at the stations towards the end of the line have problems getting on board. Not occupying those seats seem like a big injustice to people who are cramming on board.

Also, the likelihood of needy people taking the same train as I do (7:10am to 8am) that early in the morning is somewhat unlikely. It backfires sometimes though, because when I really do want to give my seat up to someone in need, they might be standing too far away to navigate over. I feel bad, but hey, it's not like if someone else were sitting on my seat, the needy person would be able to navigate through the squashed can of sardines we call a peak hour train anyway. The question is why aren't people who are sitting near the doors giving up their seats?

Yeah. So before I go, I would like to say, I don't think I'm unreasonable at all?! I think I'm very justified in feeling the way I do, but I'm really sorry if you feel offended. Such is life. Too bad! I'm also having a flu and am very tired now so off I go. Watch some Castle before I sleep because I can. Muahaha.