Name: Ma Tianyang(Hill)
Group: Girls & Hill
URL of article:http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_490591.html
Name of article:Old man treated rudely by bus driver
SBS transit is the face of Singapore. A good impression of a client, also will give Singapore more cheers. However, the old man treated rudely on 147A (SBS 7388 L) can let us know Singapore SBS drivers become more and more lofty.
In my personal perspective, these kind of behavior was really stupid and inhuman. The old man is around 70s, that means he can not be as strong as young adults. He took a number of sacks on the bus, so there is enough space for him to load these sacks. If you do not want the old man to load his belongings, why don't you speak when the old man load his first sack?
I agree with the writer that in one day how many handicapped passengers will there be? It is just a pretext for the driver to shame the old man. It seems that client is not god in SBS drivers thought. We should know the driver do not have the right to decide who can take the bus. His behavior is out of his right. We can know how he rampant to an old man. Is it a social problem?
We all know Singapore is famous for its civilized and developed. From the only incident on the SBS, we can not say old men always treated rudely by the society. But if we always think things like this , the only result is the old will feel sad living in Singapore.
In this reflection, Hill criticized the inhumane thing happened in bus. An old man was treated rudely by bus driver.
回复删除I agree with Hill’s opinion. Firstly, the bus driver’s behavior was extremely inhumane, lack of sympathy, and rude. The driver forced the old man to get off and shamed the old man with a farfetched reason. Above all, the bus was empty enough and the old man wouldn’t bring too much inconvenience to other passengers. Besides, the place for handicapped passengers is always allocated by normal people and the bus driver never point out to clear out the place. Moreover, there was no need to oblige the old man to get off. He could arrange a seat for the old man or help him unload his belongings, or ask other passengers to help the old man. However, he didn’t do any of this. He just shamed the old man. Even if the SBS Transit rule is very strict, he should at least be polite and tactful to an old man.
Secondly, the other passengers’ behavior also needs our reflection. In this case, all the passengers were absolutely cold throughout the event. None of them stood out to help the old man to unload his belongings. None of them offered his or her seat. None of them even had little inclination to stop the bus driver when he shamed the old man. Throughout the event, everyone kept quiet and stood by, nobody stand out and say something for the old man, including the reporter of this news. Thus, I would like to point out the common characteristic of most people nowadays. That is apathy. People are getting more and more indifferent. Even the neighbors turn out to be strangers.
Thirdly, I want to quest why the 70-year-old man had to carry so many belongings to catch the bus. For one thing, he must be too poor to take a taxi. For another thing, his children didn’t fulfill their obligation to support the old. Thus, this 70-year-old man was so helpless. Admittedly, Singapore has some policies to protect the old. However, that is far more not enough. Traditional family value changed. Many people don’t take it a obligation to support the old. In Singapore, even the very old people also have to work because no one to support them and most of the pension are too meager. They have to do something to make a living. Thus, taking a walk around in Singapore, you can see the cleaners are so old. There are also many old people sell some stuff. The government should promote citizens to fulfill their filial duty to their parents and enact certain laws to protect the old.
By Erika (Yang Yu)
I strongly agree with your opinion.
回复删除Firstly, the senior citizens had great contribution to the society,which is far more than us. Therefore,we should give them the highest respect instead of Rude attitude.Since they become disability as the increse of the age, we should try our best to take care of them and help them even if it is a small thing.
Secondly, SBS Transport is a company that serve public, so the bus drivers have responsibility to help passengers especially the old and the weak.However, the behavior of the driver in this issue is quite inhuman.
Thirdly,the bus driver represents this city indirectly.As the writer said, Singapore is famous for its civilized and developed.Therefore, they should and have to do better.
I think the company should think more about it and take some measures to improve their service. Besides, everyone should take actions and contribute ourself to make the society more harmonious.
Amy
I agree with you that Singapore is famous for its civilized and developed, so such thing should never happen. The senior, especially diabled people have been through many things the normal people never expect, so they need our repect.
回复删除I still remember that one day, in Boon Lay bus station, the bus driver did help the diabled people get up the bus, he was polit, kind, his used his smile to show his respect and care to the old man. I think everyone on the bus was moved by that scene.
So i think this event reported by the newspaper is only one specific case. It doesn't represent the whole society. All in all, i think it's the problem of the driver.
BY kevin
I'm shocked by this incident. I thought the drivers in Singapore were all nice and warm-hearted. They always help me patiently when I don't know when to get off the bus or I've lost my things on the bus. I still believe that this is just a rare case. The driver might have some trouble and was a little moody that day. However, the quality of service he delivered should not be affected by his mood. If he had right reasons to refuse the old man to load his belongings according to the rules, he should say it at first. However, I think that people will not refuse to take SBS buses because of this. The image of the company may be affected, but not seriously.
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