Related randomness

Yesterday, a scheduled post on "Of garbage trucks and traffic" was up sometime in the afternoon. I wrote that post a few days prior not as a rant, but from a perspective of a concerned parent on the issue of safety in this country.

This morning,  I came across an online article of a traffic accident which killed 2 boys in Singapore within several hours after my post went up. The accident did not happen anywhere near me here in Bangkok (obviously!) and not even in my (parent's) neighbourhood, but it sent a shiver down my spine.

Somewhere in Singapore, a set of parents is mourning the loss of not just one, but two of her kids at a go. A mother's mind is forever haunted by the gruesome scene she saw and her heart is forever broken. It breaks my heart to hear stories like that and I could only imagine the massive loss she must have felt. How could anyone cope with such pain?

It was a gruesome accident, and shortly after it happened, pictures of the accident went viral online - I accidentally came across one and I could not bear to look at it. I am hoping that people stop circulating such pictures around and give some respect to the parents and family of the deceased.

As I read on, curious to find out what had actually happened, I stumbled upon another article which has a "mood meter"on it - where people can express what they felt about the article. I am appalled at what I saw (see the red box I highlighted):

WTF?!

What?! Really?! Unless LOL stands for something else rather than the commonly known abbreviation for "laugh out loud", 79% who read the news actually went "LOL"! Are you seriously fucking kidding me, Singaporean readers?  Isn't there any kind of compassion left in you to deem the article as such? What if it had happened to you or your family? That would not be so funny for you to "LOL" wouldn't it now?

As I read some other comments on an FB page, I thought a few comments that went along the lines of "Malays or Chinese?" were also pretty "off". I mean, come on - 2 brothers were killed in an accident. What is it you if they are Chinese or Malays or Indians or white or black or green or purple? How does their race matter in this case and why the fuck would such information be useful to you? Somebody lost their loved ones - can we not just show some compassion regardless of language, race or religion rather than start asking such a useless question? I truly find such questions about ethnic group borders on being discriminatory. 

Last I checked, if the kids were still alive and needed blood transfusion, race would not be a big problem to qualify for a donation; your blood type, however, would!

Most are also quick to judge and jumped to the conclusion that the cement truck driver was at fault. Regardless if he was at fault or not, I am pretty sure that it was not something he was able to foresee. It could have stemmed from recklessness, or sheer unawareness from blind spot, but assuming he really is some decent chap, the poor guy would have to live through the guilt his entire life. The truth is, for the truck driver, a lifetime of jail sentence would probably not able to reverse how bad he felt about the whole thing. Not to mention, having the world hating him for it at the same time.

It was, indeed, an unfortunate thing to happen to such young souls. Life can be so unpredictable, and I am being reminded once again how vulnerable we are at the mercy of Bangkok insane traffic filled with crazy motorists, inconsiderate drivers and oblivious street-side food vendors.

An update of the incident was reported this afternoon. Articles can be found here and here.

My heart felt condolences to the family of Nigel and Donovan Yap. May your parents find the strength to survive you both and may your young souls rest in peace. God bless.