"Asshole effect"

My husband and I are members of a country club. He swims there regularly after work and there is a handful of middle aged guys and retirees who swim there daily. It happened that the swimming pool's filter system needs a major overhaul and the club takes the opportunity to refurbish the pool which meant a 2 month closure. Meanwhile the club has arranged for members to make use of a public swimming pool in the neighbourhood free of charge ie. no entrance fees need payable.

Yesterday my husband related a conversation overheard at the steam room in the gent's toilet. The regular group was complaining about having to swim at a public pool AND having to pay parking fees at the public car park. When I heard this I couldn't help but laugh aloud at how ludicrous these people are. Quite a few drive Mercedes and BMW and they complain about parking fees at the public car park! The government should just introduce a wealth tax to shake them up.

Paul Piff, a US psychologist calls it the "asshole effect" after researching on the effect of wealth on attitudes. His findings indicate that wealthy people tend to be mean, entitled and narcissistic.

I have already noticed this 'entitlement mentality' among students in our elite schools and scholarship holders, partly because they are made to feel special. I think the elite in our society feel their success stems from their own intelligence and hardwork and thus should be awarded more privileges than those who are lacking. Our economic achievement as a nation and a society which lauds competitive meritocracy has heightened a sense of entitlement especially for those who have so called 'arrived'. Our wages are market driven and does not reflect social value. "The market price argument explains inequality through the argument that pay is equal to productivity." Money and status thus breed an entitlement mentality.

Just yesterday my husband complained about a pay cut in salary and bonus announced by the company amid the covid 19 crisis. To put him in proper perspective, I retorted that many people's job are at stake or are asked to take no pay leave, not to mention taxi and grab drivers whose livelihood is threatened.

Well, Paul Piff in his research also found that when shown images of children in poverty, the wealthy could behave more empathetically.

There is Hope yet, I guess.

Waves of one sea

The Covid 19 virus outbreak has shown the world how immeasurably connected we are. The global system is at risk in so many aspects.

Apart from Wuhan putting 46 million people on lockdown, about 3700 passengers on board a cruise ship had to be quarantined for 2 weeks after one former passenger who alighted in Hong Kong was found to have the virus. More than 600 passengers have tested positive so far.

This outbreak could lead to US$5 billion in airline losses globally . Chinese tourists alone made nearly 150 million trips abroad and their spending overseas amounts to US$130 billion. Imagine an outbreak among a few people at the animal market in Wuhan has now affected the livelihood of millions around the world who depend on tourism, including the peddler who sells souvenirs outside a Thai temple frequented by tourists.

Shopkeepers, restaurant operators, grab and taxi drivers are struggling to stay afloat. One can imagine the domino effect when consumer spending drops drastically. Job losses seem inevitable without government support.

The global supply chain is at risk highlighting the reliance on China for parts and assembly. Companies around the world including Apple and Nissan are affected with some suspending production temporarily. An estimated 80% of all active pharmaceutical ingredients, the raw materials for drugs, are produced in China and India according to a senior advisor at Hasting Centre. "They include compounds used to treat everything from bacterial infection and cancer to heart disease and diabetes". With closed factories in China the inventory is running short and according to the University of Minnesota the issue is acute.

International education and related services was Australia's third largest export after coal and iron ore. Travel restrictions could cut A$6 to $8 billion for the first half of the year in a worst case scenario. Restaurants and beauty salons around RMIT university and Box Hill in Melbourne which are normally buzzing are now empty.

The above highlight the seamless boundaries in today's world and our inter dependence and connectedness.


"We are all the leaves of one tree
  We are all the waves of one sea"
Thich Nhat Hanh

Inundated !

Life's routine is disrupted when Singapore raised the 2019 nCov alert to Orange. Day after day I received messages about classes and activities being suspended be it fitness class or Buddhist class. Volunteer activities also grind to a halt. Normally 4 days in a week I have either a class or engagement. For once I am really experiencing 'free' time. Fear imposes further self restriction on hairdressing, body massage and shopping. Of course now is the time to catch up on reading and meditation but that requires some discipline.

It does not help when all the WhatsApp chat groups keep forwarding all kinds of health advice and new info on the nature of the virus and the status of its outbreak everywhere. For once I thought of watching a movie in the afternoon. So I streamed the Oscar Best Picture "Parasite". What an engaging movie, but instead of lifting my spirits it made me feel more gloomy. I felt kind of sad after the show because it imparts a sense of hopelessness for the underprivileged. My son who had watched the movie was surprised that I walked away feeling sad.

This brought to mind an article in the papers today on how fear distorts our thinking and the impact of emotion on perception and decision making. Was my interpretation of the film affected by the gloom and doom that seems to be around us ie. an 'emotion induced bias'?

Just as I am writing I received another message , an open letter signed by 4 doctors urging Singaporeans to wear a mask at all times when going out and to refrain from social mingling. The Ministry responded that washing hands is the best solution instead.

Wow I am inundated. Should I just stream a comedy to watch now or try to meditate? 

Yearly Reminder

Chinese New Year though troublesome is also really quite meaningful. That's always how I feel only  after the event.

Thinking about it days or weeks before the festive season often makes me moody because of the self imposed list of spring cleaning tasks; as well as the struggle to store all the food ingredients in the fridge. It feels even
more of a headache when by rotation it is our turn to host my husband's group of JC friends and wives.

There is a routine schedule which our families and friends adhere to year after year, eg meeting his side of the family, my side of the family, his friends, my uncles and aunts etc. There is some feeling of dread when you imagine having to answer questions about whether the kids have partners or  when they are tying the knot, as if I am responsible for their lives.

That aside however, there are also many interesting people to catch up with. Without fail, a nephew who is a police entertains with cases he is investigating and my brother in law back for CNY with his family shares about polarisation, real estate, economy, cultural habits in US. I am also never tired of getting my Hong Kong resident uncle and wife recount over and over again their life journey covering their childhood in Singapore, the hardship endured during the Cultural Revolution in China where they foolishly chose to emigrate to as youths; and their early struggles in Hong Kong when they managed to get approval to leave China at middle age.

At CNY gatherings, the young engage with stories on challenges in career building and raising children.  Hearing them I am relieved I have passed that stage in life. On the other hand sharing health problems with peers and talking to frail and sickly elderly relatives tell me to be mentally prepared for the inevitable weakening of body and mind. The woes of my ailing aunts and uncles sit at one end of the spectrum balanced on the other end by the animated pranks of the toddlers in the family, while in between lie varying degree of jadedness and enthusiasm among relatives of different generations.

Such then is the life passage, Chinese New Year serves as a yearly reminder.