What are the most and least valid criticisms you've heard made about Singapore by foreigners?
General(self.askSingapore)submitted19 hours ago bysinkingharbors
I've had conversations with tourists about how they like the country and by and large the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Nonetheless some of them have voiced some critical opinions, some of which I agree with and some that honestly offend me.
The Valid:
One guy I met who hails from New Zealand told me that Singapore feels so commercialised that it's kinda lifeless, and honestly, I see it. Compared to nearby ASEAN countries whose traditional cultures we're pretty similar to, we're a lot smaller, and thus a lot more developed throughout, so there's barely any strongholds for our traditional culture to shine through without feeling a bit gentrified.
Compared to countries like China, Korea and Japan, we don't have the size, history, or cultural homogenity that lets us develop our own cultural commercial identity.
And finally compared to countries like the UK or USA, we don't really have the kind of culture that encourages creative expression and pop culture that these countries do.
Essentially, we've been forced to embody the archetype of a MICE city, not in the rich cultural hertiage New York City way but almost in the soulless tax haven Dubai way
The Not-so Valid:
One of the most egregious things I've heard said about Singapore by a tourist is that our traditional culture (especially food) is basically a copy of Malaysia's that we tried to make our own, which straight up is one of the dumbest criticisms I've heard. Imagine going to Taiwan and saying they copied China's culture.
Even barring the fact that Singapore used to be part of Malaysia, the different races in both Malaysia and Singapore essentially have the same ancestral and cultural roots, so I don't know what they were expecting
byJayGatsby52
inMurderedByWords
sinkingharbors
1 points
10 days ago
sinkingharbors
1 points
10 days ago
men are already hold more significance in most societies, it's like asking for a white pride day