The effects of rabid online shopping and porn-watching.
We all engage in myth-making. My grandparents started my fascination with it by telling me "Boy, if you don't finish your rice you will get a wife with lots of pok-marks on her face!" If i had been wiser (or had a death wish) then i would have said "Use SK II lah!". Or in Church where those darnest catechism teachers said "Don't bite Jesus (the holy communion) otherwise painful and blood will come out" cos they didn't want the kiddies to be chewing on the sacred object like so much popcorn or Calbee potato chips. Like I'm sure Jesus would prefer to be slowly pre-dissolved in a vat of acids than quick, painless chomps. And if you've never seen a 60 year old woman chase someone around the house screaming pantang! pantang! then just you wait till i touch my aunt's shoulder when she's playing mahjong.
My dad had a more rational approach to myth-making. "If you sing or hum at the table, you will get ulcers on your lip." And when I instinctively hummed (it was Katrina and the Waves' Walking on Sunshine, how could I resist??), he punched me on the cheek just near my mouth. Cut my lip on my tooth, and lo and behold! 3 days later i had an ulcer.
So you can imagine my eyes rolling over the weekend when i was reading responses about the anti-smoking ad shown above. Someone actually argued "they used a model, this person isn't real, so they're fabricating the consequences of smoking". Goodness, that logic is so flawed, please lean over here so I can slap you. Yes, it is a fact that it's a gross ad and they used a model. Like i'm sure if you were suffering from the abovementioned illness, you'd altruistically love to put your face on hundreds of adboards for everyone to learn from your bad habits.
Do these people actually think before they write stuff to the forum for Singaporeans to see that you're a complete moron?? Some people may think about smoking after seeing the ad; some may not. That's just the way it is. If you expect 100% response from all the actions you initiate, then you shouldn't be acting at all cos it's an impossibility. If you respond negatively, I would say that validates the poster campaign. A mark of a poor anti-smoking campaign is that noone notices it at all, not that people react badly to it for some personal reason. The whole point IS personal discomfort, you moron.
Wake up your bloody ideas. KNN!
Labels: ads, learning, lies, myths, parents, society
