Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Schizophrenia is better than Alzheimer’s
Not too long ago, Cherian George, an academic at NTU (and former ST journalist as well) drew a parallel between the Singapore media scene and schizophrenia. The traditional mass media is mainly pro-government in their reporting, while the new media, notably blogs and online forums tended to be mainly anti-establishment. He opined that such a development is unhealthy for Singapore because such a split in the style and focus of media is akin to schizophrenia, which is a form of mental disorder.
Recently, a commenter on my blog passed me a link to this blog called Singapore Dissident set up by a Singaporean who has left the country. The owner of the blog, Gopalan Nair writes about his time in Singapore politics as a candidate of the Workers Party and how he felt he was persecuted by the government via various means. The commenter asked me what I thought of this blog, and after a little reflection, the schizophrenia description by Cherian George came to mind.
Unlike Cherian George, I don’t think that the current state of schizophrenia is actually a bad thing. If we look at the schizophrenia of Singapore media in isolation, perhaps it’s a cause of concern. If we look include the history of Singapore media, I think the current schizophrenic situation is in fact pretty good. Why do I say this? Because the current status of schizophrenia is far better than the Alzheimer’s of the past.
In the past, people like Gopalan Nair would never have been able to write about his experience. Without the Internet, Gopalan Nair would have been forgotten. Singapore was suffering from Alzheimer’s for a long time. Some politicians who have constantly opposed the government would have things happen to them, and the mass media report on the matter for a while (usually in a fashion biased against the opposing politicians), and then these people were dropped from the public’s eye. And the stories of these people will eventually be forgotten, especially among the younger generations.
Now, with the Internet, Singaporeans will have a chance to hear first hand accounts from people which the MSM will never publish. Blogs are a wonderful way to put word out to the masses these days, especially the younger generation. The younger generation will be able to get a perspective that’s vastly different from what is portrayed in the MSM. I am not about to make a judgment on which source to believe. My interest is that with both sides of the coin being publicly available, Singaporeans are in a better position to decide what they believe to be the truth.
Therefore, that Singapore has progressed from Alzheimer’s to Schizophrenia is a good thing. At least people like Chia Tye Poh, Francis Seow, Tang Liang Hong and Gopalan Nair (just to name a few) will not be forgotten, and they have a more equal opportunity to put their word out for the public to decide what exactly is the truth. I believe that the current state of “schizophrenia” in Singapore society is a step towards a more vibrant civil society in Singapore, and Singapore needs a very active civil society to survive in the years to come.
** If you don’t mind, take a vote on right-hand side column what you think is better for Singapore after reading this entry.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Aaron Ng on 26/02/2007 at 1:57 am, and is filed under Perspective. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |


about 5 years ago
great post
but only because it is not moon crescent days.
there are still people alive – very well alive – who lost their jobs because they wrote for the wrong newspapers – and they still have sons, daughter, nephews, nieces around – there are members of parliament whose LKY book have criticized, whose sons, daughters, nephew, nieces around who might not have forgotten – but of course, but of course – the truth is important..
there are still people in thailand because they supported the wrong side of the divide.
but you sure our moon crescent days are over?
about 5 years ago
what moon crescent? haha…sorry but i’m quite confused…
anyway, schizophrenia is better i suppose. But your post makes it sound like Hobson’s choice…schizophrenia IS bad in the long run lei…
about 5 years ago
moon crescent??? Period? I oso blur…
Faced with having schizo and alzheimer in singapore…schizo is still better for people like us who have chosen not to abdicate our thinking faculties and behave mindlessly …
about 5 years ago
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sg0165)
Search Moon Crescent
about 5 years ago
Ben,
I’m not conclusively sure whether the moon crescent days are over (if I knew, you better be VERY afraid of me). However, the signs are that the use of ISA is very much lesser now, unless the operation these days are very covert.
about 5 years ago
Guojun,
I hope that in the end, we get to progress further than schizophrenia. Ultimately, a sane Singapore is the best, no?
about 5 years ago
Actually we cant say its schizophrenia…cuz schizophrenia has rather negative connotations…i prefer to think of it as two sides of the same coin…they complement each other and give the complete picture on what is happening …
ISA…wah scary thing the ISA is…nvm…guojun is in Deustchland so he can always become the second Gopalan
about 5 years ago
shut your mouth la stark…Gopalan is a little mad, in my humble opinion…and he is using a load of high ideals and cheem words to make people ‘stand up’. In fact, if we gave him power, i think he’d be no better than, or maybe even worse, than the PAP is/ever was.
Maybe he will enforce his values with FORCE…Ã la the French Revolution…and first start by rooting out all PAP. Thought cleansing first.
Do we want that?
about 5 years ago
well look on the bright side…Robespierre was also one of the architects of the French revolution and in the end after getting people’s head potonged he himself got his head potonged
For my part i feel that Gopalan is abit like the MIW…he tries to force his ideals on the populace without any attempt to see where the populace is coming from…his constant attacks on the typical singaporean as evinced from his posts bear testament…the battle for the hearts and minds of people will not be won just by constantly ridiculing the people…
anyway u took my statement out of context…as i said…should the lightning bolt come after us one day…u being in deustchland will be in a better position then we being in singapore.
about 5 years ago
that’s my point. He’s another of those, spitting hate just for hating. A bit disappointing la. Haha…but i suppose everyone’s exp is a little different.
about 5 years ago
Hmmm…in that case we should follow what Atticus Finch told his daughter to do…”You will never understand a person until you see things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”… but that i must say is the most difficult thign to do…one of…
about 5 years ago
Hi guys
I think I can identify with Gopalan better than you guys cos my generation went through the whole authoritarian “shit” for too many years.
You guys should read about the “Marxist conspiracy” and it is so laughable!
Anyway, due to all that ( and JBJ/TLH/FS and now CSJ), most have been put of politics and just concentrate on making $ or just migrate.
But I think the present PM is smarter ( than he looks) and is using “soft power” which is more palatable ( even to me).
Sg of the 60-80′s is different from now. I would be hauled up by ISD if I wrote what I am writing now. Really.
Whatever, treasure the freedom and push the boundaries.
Dr.Huang
about 5 years ago
Hi guys
I think I can identify with Gopalan better than you guys cos my generation went through the whole authoritarian “shit” for too many years.
You guys should read about the “Marxist conspiracy” and it is so laughable! Read also Tan Wah Piaw.
Anyway, due to all that ( and JBJ/TLH/FS and now CSJ), most have been put off politics and just concentrate on making $ or just migrate.
But I think the present PM is smarter ( than he looks) and is using “soft power” which is more palatable ( even to me).
Sg of the 60-80′s is different from now. I would be hauled up by ISD if I wrote what I am writing now. Really.
Whatever, treasure the freedom and push the boundaries.
Dr.Huang
about 5 years ago
I read abit about the marxist thing on wiki…rather sad…especially the part where the law society was not allowed to comment on the laws…ah well…times change…methodology also changes…but the substance remains the same…
about 5 years ago
25 GOOD REASONS WHY PSYCHIATRY MUST BE ABOLISHED
1. Because psychiatrists frequently cause harm, permanent disabilities, death – death of the body-mind-spirit.
2. Because psychiatrists frequently violate the Hippocratic Oath which orders all physicians “First Do No Harm.”
3. Because psychiatrists patronize and disempower people, especially their patients.
4. Because psychiatry is not a medical science.
5. Because psychiatry is quackery, a pseudo-science which lacks independent diagnostic tests, testable hypotheses, and cures for “schizophrenia” and all other types of alleged “mental illness” or “mental disorder”.
6. Because psychiatrists can not accurately and reliably predict dangerousness, violence, or any other type of human behaviour, yet make such claims as “expert witnesses”, and with the media promote the “dangerous mental patient” myth/stereotype.
7. Because psychiatrists have caused a worldwide epidemic of brain damage by promoting and prescribing brain-disabling treatments such as the neuroleptics, antidepressants, electroconvulsive brainwashing (electroshock), and psychosurgery (lobotomy).
8. Because psychiatrists manufacture hundreds of “mental disorders” classified in its bible called “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (a modern witch-hunting manual); such “mental disorders” and “symptoms” are in fact negative, class-and-culturally-biased moral judgments for dissident ways of coping with personal problems and alternative ways of perceiving, interpreting or being in the world.
9. Because psychiatrists, blinded by their medical model bias, fraudulently pathologize and label people’s serious life or existential crises as “symptoms” of “mental illness” or “mental disorder” such as “schizophrenia”,”bipolar affective disorder”, and “personality disorder”.
10. Because psychiatrists compound this fraud by falsely claiming, without scientific proof, that these “mental disorders” are caused by a “biochemical imbalance” in the brain, genetic factors or “genetic predispositions”, despite the fact that there are no genetic factors in “mental illness”.
11. Because psychiatrists frequently misinform their patients, families and the public by claiming that brain-disabling procedures such as the neurotoxins (e.g.,”antipsychotic medication” and “antidepressasnts”), electroconvulsive brainwashing (electroconvulsive therapy/”ECT”), psychosurgery (lobotomy) and other behaviour modification-mind control procedures are “safe, effective and lifesaving”. The exact opposite is tragically true.
12. Because psychiatrists routinely deceive or lie to patients, prisoners, their families, and the public.
13. Because psychiatrists routinely and willfully violate the medical-ethical principle of “informed consent” by misinforming or not informing their patients about the numerous toxic, disabling and frequently permanent effects of the neuroleptics such as memory loss, tardive dyskinesia, tardive psychosis, parkinsonism, dementia (all signs of brain damage), and death.
14. Because psychiatrists routinely threaten, intimidate or coerce many patients – particularly women, children, the elderly, and prisoners – into consenting to health-threatening/brain-damaging “treatment” such as the antidepressants, neuroleptics, electroconvulsive brainwashing, and hi-risk experiments.
15. Because psychiatrists frequently fail to fully inform psychiatric inmates and prisoners about existing safe and humane, non-medical alternatives in the community such as survivor-controlled crisis centres, drop-ins, self-help or advocacy groups, diet, massage, wholistic medicine, affordable supportive housing, and jobs.
16. Because psychiatrists are sexist in frequently stereotyping women in crisis as “hysterical” or “over-emotional”, blaming women whenever they voice real complaints and assertively express their feelings and emotions, prescribing massive doses of tranquilizers and antidrepressants to disproportionately large numbers of women, and in sexually assaulting women in their offices and institutions.
17. Because psychiatrists, particularly white male psychiatrists, are homophobic – the American Psychiatric Association (APA) once labelled homosexuality as a “mental illness” or “mental disorder” – and have used forced electroshock on lesbians, trying to coerce them into adopting a heterosexual life style.
18. Because psychiatrists are ageist in prescribing tranquilizers, antidepressants (“medication”) and electroconvulsive brainwashing for disproportionately large numbers of elderly people – a form of elder abuse.
19. Because psychiatrists are racist in disproportionately incarcerating and drugging people of African descent, aboringal people, other people of colour and labelling them “psychotic” or “schizophrenic”.
20. Because psychiatrists routinely violate people’s civil rights, human rights and constitutional rights such as imprisoning innocent people without court trial or public hearing (“involuntary commitment”), and subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishments or tortures such as forced drugging, electroconvulsive brainwashing, psychosurgery, solitary confinement, “chemical restraints”, and 4-point or 5-point restraints.
21. Because psychiatrists masterminded the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people including disabled children, the elderly and psychiatric patients during The Holocaust in Nazi Germany, and “selected” hundreds of thousands of concentration camp prisoners for death (“T-4 euthanasia” program) – historical facts still missing in psychiatric textbooks and histories.
22. Because psychiatrists have willingly participated in and administered mind-control experiments in the United States and Canada since the early 1950s – its chief targets have been poor patients, women, dissidents and prisoners.
23. Because psychiatry, particularly institutional-biological psychiatry, is based on the 3 Fs: Fear, Fraud,and Force.
24. Because psychiatry is a form of social control or punishment – not treatment.
25. Because psychiatry, particularly institutional-biological psychiatry, is fascist – a direct threat to democracy, human rights and life.
about 5 years ago
Dear Samantha,
Wow, that might open everybody’s eyes for a while. But I’m just curious who invented psychiatry? Anyone?