PAP and the Art of Name Calling

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Source: The Bullshit Politician smelling for bullshit

PAP and the Art of Name Calling
APRIL 21, 2014



Ever wonder why Singaporeans are called many names? From time to time, we see Singaporeans being labelled ‘Xenophobic’ or ‘Bigot’ or ‘Infantile’ and many more names. It seems very convenient for the media to employ name calling all the time, but are we really what they called us to be?

Just recently we have been called a ‘Bigot‘ and ‘Disgrace’ when there is conflict over the Philippine Independence Day event where Filipinos being targeted online for planning to celebrate their Independence Day in Singapore. Well, I’m not going into a lengthy discourse over that phenomenon. Let’s explore the underlying interest of the PAP controlled mainstream media and the Art of Name Calling (or Labeling).

Name Calling is a form of psychological abuse which can cause devastating effects that affects your inner thoughts and even exerts control over your life indirectly. It destroys healthy relationships even relationships with yourself.

Verbal bully is one of the forms of bullying. The objective is to intimidate others into complying (changing someone’s behavior due to the request, orders, or commands. Victim give in but not necessarily agree to their rules), or to make fun of others whilst drawing attention or encourage criticisms in the process of doing so. Media like Stomp! and the Saturday Straits Times are a few channels which likes to employ name calling to satisfy and increase their readership.

This is a good example:


Singapore PMET – Pampered, Mediocre, Expensive, Timid – when foreigners see such news do you think they will respect local PMETs?

As you can see the mainstream media employ such sweeping generalization with the use of Name Calling to achieve their underlying agendas (increase readership and profit making). They inadvertently created a perpetuating social stigma among different groups of people, the employers and employee group in this context. The media capable of influencing readers, they created the “Us vs Them” mentality and encourages criticism openly and erodes social cohesion. It creates group disharmony among the population through instigating faulty beliefs. The mainstream media acting like an outlaw that abuses media use in a socially irresponsible way, this is inconspicuous during election campaigns.

Name calling again; Xenophobia (see below)


Xenophobia – Published on Straits Times newspaper

Instead of addressing the social behavioral problem, the media resorts to Name Calling – calling Singaporeans Xenophobic. When in fact the hostile social behavior stems from their heedless immigration policies which impacted the social fabric and national resources. This underlying social dynamics is identified as Realistic Conflict Theory (When a new group of immigrants from a specific ethnic background arrive in great numbers, members of the group often met with profound prejudice because they were viewed as competitors for resources like jobs, public infrastructure, public spaces, social services, healthcare, education, etc)

From 2007 onwards, locals began to raise socioeconomic issues such as depressed wages, discrimination in favor of foreigners, soaring housing prices, high cost of living, overcrowding, etc

If Economic Sociology is thoroughly researched, decisions have been made more meticulously, it would have potentially forestalled many social problems. Is it due to Groupthink within their ranks, and the absence of opposing robust views that led to the mediocre decisions?

Now that they have failed (PM Lee has admitted the government did not have 20/20 foresight), trains are breaking down and overcrowding in public spaces is like everyday affairs. Shortage of hospital beds and now tents is the new IN thing. Qualified Singaporeans pushed out of their jobs to make way for foreigner’s old chums from back home. Wages never catching up with the cost of living, and many locals precipitated in myriads of social and economic problems.

The PAP, adroit at using the same insidious ruse now projects blames onto Singaporeans by calling them names, disguising it as criticism so as to gloss over their mistakes. At the same time, it distracts us from the very issues that plagues us, guiding us into our self-criticism.


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