As someone from Bangladesh, I read this and think "who cares?" In 1960 Singapore was a poor third world country. Today it's as rich as the US. You cannot understand how significant such a change is to the people of the country unless you've lived in a third world country and really seen what it's like. Whatever draconian measures it took to get there, they were worth it. Fareed Zakaria's interview with Lee Kuan Yew,…
Disneyland with Death Penalty
61–70 of 245 posts
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#62> An aerial shot from 1989 of the squat enclave Kowloon Walled City, which Gibson contrasts favourably with Singapore Huhu Try living in both.
Not sure Kowloon Walled City was notable for vibrant nightlife, producing great art or being merciful to people caught competing with local drug cartels either.
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#63I don't have word count tool on my phone, but does it strike others as strange that there's a 1000+ word wikipedia page about a 4,500-word article?
what ratio isn't strange?
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#64The real Disneyland also has the death penalty, since it is located in the state of California. Disneyworld likewise, since it is in Florida.
In the last 30 years, Singapore has executed more than 400 people (Wikipedia has stats for 470, but is also missing the counts for many years.) Most for drug offenses. In the same time-frame, California has executed 13 people. And none in the last 16 years, and none for drug offenses.
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quoted post unavailable.
On the flip side, the child didn't consent to being born, and indirectly any suffering a child endures can be traced back to a parent's decision to bring them into the world.
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#66As someone from Bangladesh, I read this and think "who cares?" In 1960 Singapore was a poor third world country. Today it's as rich as the US. You cannot understand how significant such a change is to the people of the country unless you've lived in a third world country and really seen what it's like. Whatever draconian measures it took to get there, they were worth it. Fareed Zakaria's interview with Lee Kuan Yew,…
The key features that made it fantastically rich were sitting on one of the world's most strategically located ports, building a lot of soviet style housing and a leader with nowhere to run. Being a city state means it's hard to hide when things get ugly. Having capitals far away from citizenry, on the other hand - like in myanmar or brazil, makes it easy to be corrupt. This is a well studied phenomenon. Lee Kuan Yew…
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#67I don't have word count tool on my phone, but does it strike others as strange that there's a 1000+ word wikipedia page about a 4,500-word article?
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#68These kinds of places are way too creepy/cringey for me. Grew up in such a culture, putting authority on a pedestal and doing as you're told is childish behavior and frankly boring. It also leads to people having tons of pent up/stored ego that makes it impossible to rationally deal with them when they just expect you to do as you're told or accept their bad ideas. I much prefer being somewhere that has everything- g…
The psychological trait of Orderliness definitely plays into both the aesthetic qualities and the deference to authority within a society.
I prefer the clean and flashy aesthetic to a grimey one, but I probably prefer a more natural, organic aesthetic to either.
While I think many politically right-leaning people (like myself) see a lot to admire in Singapore, my own response is more measured. Like you noted, the authoritarian nature of such a state can come across as paternalistic, whereas I would rather be treated as an autonomous adult.
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quoted post unavailable.
On the flip side, the child didn't consent to being born, and indirectly any suffering a child endures can be traced back to a parent's decision to bring them into the world.
Re: Disneyland with Death Penalty
#70As someone from Bangladesh, I read this and think "who cares?" In 1960 Singapore was a poor third world country. Today it's as rich as the US. You cannot understand how significant such a change is to the people of the country unless you've lived in a third world country and really seen what it's like. Whatever draconian measures it took to get there, they were worth it. Fareed Zakaria's interview with Lee Kuan Yew,…
The key features that made it fantastically rich were sitting on one of the world's most strategically located ports, building a lot of soviet style housing and a leader with nowhere to run. Being a city state means it's hard to hide when things get ugly. Having capitals far away from citizenry, on the other hand - like in myanmar or brazil, makes it easy to be corrupt. This is a well studied phenomenon. Lee Kuan Yew…