PC

So, I spent the walk back from my son's school, he is 2 and goes to play group fro 2 hours a day but we call it school. Thinking about what I was going to write about today, actually it was yesterday, Tuesday.

I came up with a great topic and then promptly forgot it. I spent the rest of the day taxing my brain trying to remember what it was and in the end gave up and went to bed. Slack, I know.

It was PC'ness. You know political correctness. New Zealand is so politically correct that it is stifling. You are unable to make jokes about race, culture, stereotypes, generalisations which are all begging for comment if you have a vaguely warped sense of humor which I do.

I am not talking about running around town being racist. Actually did you know that NZ has an anti smacking law. This is to discourage people from beating their children, but can technically be applied to those who tap their child's hand, as a way of discouraging them from hitting other children or putting their hands in electrical sockets. They gonna get more than a tap if continue to do that.

Actually, I wonder if a parent of a child who was hit by another child decided to press charges, would that be within theirs rights under this law? I don't really want answer because if someone is petty enough to do that, well I just can't go there.

So back to commenting on things that aren't to be commented on. You know, you even feel guilty having a joke or watching a black comedy in the safety of your own home.

But what made me think of this is the overly polite culture we live in in NZ. Well, unless the rugby is on and everyone is tanked, then people still watch what they say, but they will deck you for looking at them the wrong way.

You see in NZ people que in an orderly fashion, don't push, acknowledge when a door is held open or someone ushers you through the door first. And while we might be self centered in our bigger goals and dreams we are generally polite in our day to day interaction with the people we come across.

It is a huge wake up call when you arrive in a place like Singapore. The population is denser and everyone fights for survival. Well they are used to having to compete and be forthright for the things that they want. This is down to getting on the MRT (public train system). It doesn't matter if you have a buggy or are carrying things, you will be cut off as you try to get through the doors onto the train. And if it is only once you are lucky. The only people who have offered to help me with the buggy up steps.....

Hold on, slight tangent.

Singapore is getting better at having alternative routes for those of us that can't use the stairs. Having said that they will still use the foot path as an extension of their shops and work on the footpath or even store rubbish bins, blocks of concrete and other obstructions which forces one to walk on the road, even with the buggy.

.........are westerners.

I don't believe that Singaporeans mean to be rude, sometimes they are ridiculously polite. But they are used to living with a denser population. I consider getting cutoff as rude or not being acknowledged in a queue, but it's just a way of life here and it is about getting what you want.

There is no welfare system and things don't come to you. You have to come to them.

Maybe NZ is doing a dis-service to it's people by being so pc? It certainly makes it interesting when moving countries.

This is just a broad generalisation, I know. But still, it was my thought.