Ferrari team principal fined for littering

People have become inconsiderate slobs. "Vacation" seems to have become justification for all kinds of bad behavior. Just look at what kind of attire passes for acceptable these days. When someone has no respect for himself there's no chance he's going to respect anyone or anything else. Unfortunately I don't see any improvement coming.

 

All true, but it doesn't really answer the question as to the thought process (or lack thereof) behind the action (littering) itself. If you want to smoke, that's your prerogative, despite the health effects. It's your body. You're an adult. Knock yourself out. I could get into the issues of the costs of healthcare and impact on families, but let's avoid that for now.

HOWEVER, littering is not an internalized issue. It's an imposition on everyone else. They have to look at it. Someone has to pick the butt up and discard it. I just don't understand the selfishness of people. I never will. If I hold the door for you, I expect to be recognized with a polite, "Thank you." It doesn't take but a second, and it doesn't cost anything. Many people, however, say nothing and waltz right through. As if I'm holding door for some celebrity. So, when that happens, I loudly say directly to them, "You're welcome" to make the point. But, it probably goes ignored, too.

All this said, is this just about people having bad manners? Which can be corrected. And, apparently Singapore has seemed to deal with it. So, maybe it's time for the rest of the world to follow their lead? I doubt that's even possible, though. Imagine... the cigarette butt police! Hence, the downward march on the way to chaos will continue unabated...

CW

 

FYI...

9 Interesting Facts and Statistics about Littering - litter. it costs you.

3. 50% of littered items are cigarette butts.

It is very common for a smoker to think about cutting back this vice but it’s very uncommon for them to think about proper cigarette butt disposal. Tossing it out of the car window is the easiest and simplest way to dispose so why bother to look for ash receptacles or trash bins? Most people think that a tiny piece of cigarette butt can easily be disposed of and wither in no time on the streets. But this is a misconception. Cigarette butts are actually made of cellulose acetate which could take more than 10 years to disintegrate. This is why cigarette butts are a serious threat to the environment.

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4. In a poll conducted in the State of Tennessee, 50% of smokers claimed they properly disposed of their cigarette butts in ash receptacles or trash cans.

This could also mean that the government and private organizations’ campaign against cigarette butts littering still have a long way to go in its advocacy. The nationwide campaign for this particular litter has already rolled out with many activities concentrating on educating people about proper disposal of litter and making sure that facilities are available to dispose cigarette butts.

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7. Men are likely to litter more than women do, according to a survey conducted in Tennessee.

In fact, 8% of men claimed that they would litter daily while only 2% of women would do the same. This might be one of the reasons why there are more men who tend to be messier at home or in the workplace compared to women.

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8. According to a national study, most people who would deliberately litter are those between 18-34 years old.

A study in Tennessee also revealed that the older people get, the more likely they throw litter properly in a trash bin. This study reflects that most people learn the value of the doing things properly as they age like in this case, the proper disposal of litter. Younger people tend to just neglect the effects of their action and really want to have it their way.

 

That's our problem in UK, I would say.

We have laws that nobody bothers to enforce and the courts refuse to punish the culprits.

That's why we are in a mess .

Singapore is a model state, and that comes with enforcing strictly discipline.

 

Umm, well, this is something for PR, so I´m only going to say that some call Singapore "the Disneyland with death penalty". Littering is forbidden, and that´s good... but kissing between men or smuggling bubble gum is forbidden too, and I´m not so sure that´s a good thing.

 

They pick and chose what to enforce. You can lose your licence for speeding four times, or even once if thirty over, yet drunk drivers rarely get caught. Drugs are tolerated in certain places so they can 'keep an eye on the dealers' where they should really lock every one up for ten years at a time minimum for any amount, yet someone selling a bit of duty free gets nicked and locked up for doing so, despite technically selling a second hand product which DOES NOT attract tax under the letter of the law, the fact he paid no tax at source is irrelevant as it was not due

 

All I know is that Singapore looks absolutely spotless to the visitors.
One of the few countries in Asia where Westerners feel safe, maybe the only one.

The ban on chewing gums is understandable; most of the time they end up being spat on the floor, and ruining shoes, carpets, rugs, etc... Who ever invented chewing gum should have been locked up !!!

 

Actually, you can chew bubblegum but not sell it nor smuggle it into the country. Just one more of the many contradictions in Singapore: speeding is worse than DUI, racial discrimination is not tolerated but homosexuality is a crime, and so on.

As usual, lots of things are going on behind the landscape that foreigners can see.

 

- Could you please post up where you live in the UK so I can avoid it like the plague?

(If it's London that makes things a lot easier as I always avoid the place! Never liked it - Never will!)

I've been to loads of places in the UK and I can honestly say that I've never encountered used tampons in the street! (Even when I was at college in Lewis Hamilton's old stomping ground of Stevenage!)

 

Aghh, the ghetto that is Stevenage!

I've never seen these used tampons either, hope I never do too!

 

when stopped at a busy intersection with a long light...take time to see the amount of cigarette butts accumulated... they are there by the shovel full to be scooped up... it is really amazing at the amount of cigarette butts discarded... cigarette smokers really do litter... there is an upside, each butt represents tax revenue collected

 

Arrivabene, from what I've seen from his interviews on on Sky, strikes me as an arrogant jerk and it wouldn't surprise me that he figured he's too important to have to bother with other people's laws. Same way he reacts with indignation when they call him and his team out for moronic pit-wall calls - and then follows this up with even dumber justification the next time around.

I hope he was humbled by the experience.

 

The true catalyst / back story to the ban on chewing gum, was that people were plastering gum all over the gate and door sensors on the MRT (mass rapid transit) which caused several huge disruptions to train service and a near fatal accident.

The then PM, I believe it was Goh Chok Tong, issued a ban within the week. I remember because I was going to school there at the time.

I hated living in Singapore, there is a reason (at least when I was schooling there) that the highest crime statistic year after year was suicide. There are many contributing factors, but for me at least, the schooling system is just really intense, many can't cope...during my time there I bore witness to 2 schoolmates killing themselves. I must add, I was in a pretty prestigious school which has consistently ranked #1 in the whole nation: Raffles Institution, yes, I'm a Raffle's boy.

Every year students are ranked within their classes...better students get huddled into better classes ranked by Alphabet, typically the "A" class is the cream of the crop and get the best teachers. Then eventually during the O and A level examinations, every student in the public schooling system is ranked within the whole nation, and the National University could only accept the top 1% at the time. Yep, and you bet suicides happened a plenty, when it was time the results came out. Yep, it's a f***ing rat race, survival of the fittest.

I'm happy to have gotten out of there with my mind in one piece, and also experienced a life revolution here stateside. My eyes and mind truly opened up here and for that I am grateful.

The street food is amazing though. I crave it all the time...from chilli crab to rojak.

 

I understand that Japan has also a very elitist education system accompanied by a very high rate of student suicides too.

Hard for me to understand ...

 

Neither do I. It's all part of that entitlement mentality that's sweeping the underachieving nation.

 

Where did I say Live ? I am fortunate enough to have London homes in Mayfair and Canary Wharf (privately maintained streets) which are both very good. Many of my friends live in boroughs slightly further out including Hackney, Blackheath, Wandsworth and we have stumbled across used condoms, tampons, syringes, beer cans et al carelessly discarded across all of them. Despite them living in nice streets with seven-figure homes, just around the corner there are large council estates, with the resulting problems of social decay and crime being dumped onto the laps of the working tax-paying society.

Apparently some 70,000 longterm unemployed problem families (with 5 kids or more) were relocated from Central London council dwellings last year and out to the countryside. Given the price per square foot in Zone 1 and 2 it's not surprising this initiative is taking place.

 

Brutal way to live for many. Glad you are having a lot of fun now.

...my only real exposure to Singapore was drugs....in the form of hearing about the penalties when I was in high school. I think that shocked me in the US because a ton of people are doing drugs in a typical high school. Thinking of them getting put in jail for decades or executed is difficult to comprehend. So my takeaway was - walk on eggshells if I ever find myself in Singapore because jail sucks.

 

Ever see "Waiting for Superman"? That will show you the opposite extreme - the lack of hope among the poor because of how bad the public education system is in the US.

 

The Asian culture, in general, is very tough on their children when it comes to education. Silicon Valley has had a problem for some time now. Here's just one of many articles about it.

The CDC is investigating a cluster of teen suicides in Palo Alto | Public Radio International

 

Well Singapore takes that up a few notches.

There's a reason the term "kiasu" (afraid to lose) is so proliferated and stigmatized within general Singaporean culture/upbringing. It is also why a vast majority of folks from there are extremely materialistic and judge people's "self-worth" by very shallow terms.

You ever walk into a store and get frowned upon or looked at like a neglected dog? That's what it'll be like if you dress down and walk into any of the name shops on Orchard Rd lol.

Because they are so "kiasu". You may probably get a pass if you're caucasian but anyone else probably not. The country may appear to be this omni-culture comprised of predominantly Chinese, Indians and Malays but I kid you not, specific races are ranked and stereotyped true to their "kiasu" mentality.

 

I understand your question and your rational reaction to the problem. I tend to think the same way. However, my personal experience and my medical research background tell me this is not a rational issue and is again, a case of psychological dysfunction, a mental perversion if you may.

I think (public) smoking and littering behaviours are linked. They are self-destructive, demonstrative behaviour designed to display to other people the level of self-loathing and depression the person is experiencing. The behaviour is designed to provoke other people. It's like the criminal who wants to be caught and brought in. Smokers and litterbugs know what they are doing is wrong and bad for them, at least because they become social outcasts of the general public. They continue to provoke the public because they suffer from mental anguish that they need to visibly express... public smoking and littering brings them attention and reactions. Very often I think these behaviours are subconsciously initiated and controlled, even if the persons aware of their antisocial behaviour. They just feel the natural urge to do it.

Another interesting observation I have is that if you group people, for argument's sake, into (creators) givers/contributors and (consumers) takers/users. I have observed some people simply will not or cannot fix things(contribute). They simply use things until they break and then they try to pawn them off or just move on.

IMO, smokers and litterbugs are intrinsically consumer/takers, except that in the smoker's case, they are actually using up their own lives. However, the intrinsic psyche is the same, they expect to use up (their lives) and cannot fix things (themselves) along the way, and use public space as they use their own lives, expecting others (doctors, public healthcare) to pick up the pieces later.

It's sad but the human race is far from being homogeneous and it's not realistic to always view the motivation or reaction of others from one's personal perspective. One has to be prepared for the irrational and the unexpected, (if not the bizarre and the potentially dangerous). It's politically incorrect to say this but the foolish assumption of a homogeneous human race creates more and worse problems as society loses its institutional safety valves, while foolishly accepting "free" behaviour by everyone and anyone at the same time.

I think the "Confucian" legal system in Singapore goes a long way to correct this perverse human behaviour.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

As we have loosened up the laws and gone lax on enforcement, there are a number of problems that have emerged. And, I acknowledge that not everyone thinks or acts the same. Not everyone is the "rational actor."

CW

 

I think this form of elitist/racist mentality may also be linked to societies that inhabit very crowded spaces/perceived opportunities, which is quite common in Asia (aside from historical animosities).

Take for instance the cast system in India, the way Japanese culture look down on other Asians. FYI, the Malays also look down on the Chinese, quite often in a very dangerous manner. Look at Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, China, Vietnam...etc.

Unfortunately, what goes around, comes around.

 

Has it been realized and or acknowledged, among all the nonsense here of London's streets swamped in disgusting waste, that this Arrivabene story is a complete hoax? Denied by the Singaporean totalitarians?

 

Yes, I just saw this. Apparently the reports were completely wrong.