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Splashed across the Stomp.com webpage are tabloid-like news and articles on the latest Singapore happenings—some shocking, such as “Girl slices off boyfriend’s penis after he breaks up with her”; others more focused on highlighting moral issues among Singaporean youths today, such as the frequently sighted “Octopus Couples”—couples, young and old, who often engage in PDA. The more entertaining articles are funny and also show us the insanities of the world we live in today. We are all part of this world. Articles like that of the latter, where reporters interview the older Singaporeans of various races, asking them how they felt about seeing young Singaporeans engage in PDA, are greeted mostly with disapproving reviews. Many older Singaporeans feel that such displays of affection in public are inappropriate, perhaps even immoral.

I do feel that one should know the appropriate way to behave in the right place, at the right time. Singapore is a conservative country, and the more liberal Singaporeans should not expect fellow Singaporeans to adopt the same attitudes as that which they see or experience in the West. Just as conservative Singaporeans should open up a little, the more liberal ones should loosen up on their hopeful demands of Singaporeans to be more liberal—which, ironically, makes them not any less narrow-minded than their so-called “more conservative” compatriots.

That said, the recent article on Stomp, “NTU grad uses F-word in speech: Relax lah, why S’poreans so uptight?” describing the outrage over a single-utterance of the F-word in an NTU grad’s speech stunned me. Does this graduate student deserve nation-wide humiliation for her expression of a profanity during her celebratory speech? Yes, she did use a profanity; and yes, it was used in an institution-based setting. But according to the video and article posted on Stomp, she did not seem to have intended to offend or insult anyone; neither does she seem to have been directing it at anyone in particular. A major part of effective communication is the consideration of setting and one’s target audience. The valedictorian was not making a graduation speech at a secondary school. Seriously, how old are the graduates at NTU? Some may argue it is not about age, but about formality. Perhaps I am missing something here. But this is a celebratory speech directed to the valedictorian’s friends and school mates of the graduating class. Does she deserve to be publicly slammed and shamed for the utterance of what she had thought was a harmless profanity during, possibly, one of the happiest moments of her life? Given the circumstances, I don’t think the valedictorian was using potentially offensive words indiscriminately. Yet she is denigrated for using a certain word at an inappropriate time. Perhaps the circumstances need to be reconsidered—after all, it was used in a formal institution—but also during a celebratory/congratulatory speech to fellow members of the speaker’s graduating class—she had not intended to offended anyone. What are the implications of her use of the “F-word” in a speech? Compare that to the implications such public shaming may have on her future. Consider whether she deserves to have a Scarlet Letter pinned to her chest for who-knows-how-long, because she had used the so-called “wrong” word—once—to express her happiness during her valedictorian speech.

Am I too narrow-minded for thinking that the situation is not that big a deal and that it has been blown out of proportion? What constitutes appropriate behavior or speech anyway?

Put yourself in her shoes; reconsider the situation.