Do people actually realise how dumb they are?
I don't look through STOMP unless I am given a link to a specific article, or if something really bizarre is listed on the STOMP panel on the ST website, but whenever I do, I am always engrossed by some of the articles-because they reaffirm my faith in the unlimited horizon of human stupidity.
One example is this article I saw the other day. Let me reproduce it in its full glory here:Posted on 05 Oct 2009
Police car waits at double yellow lines unattended
Are police cars allowed to park or wait on double yellow lines? That is what STOMPer Just wonders after spotting this unattended police car with its hazard lights switched on in an HDB estate.
In an email, STOMPer Just says:
"Does the police have the right to park at double yellow lines? Even if the hazard light is on?
"Who are they picking up or who is alighting? A criminal?
"For your info, this picture was taken in a CAR PARK of an HDB estate.
"I know that the police work in pairs when attending cases. Even if so, there should be at least one person waiting in the car as it should not be left unattended."
Stupidity this extreme should really be illegal.
That really made me wonder if these people actually realise how dumb they are, and how they are actually advertising their stupidity to the world. That was when I realised that it's actually very easy to submit something to STOMP, and all this talk about hiding behind a veil of anonymity actually applies more to these morons than established bloggers. Every single post to STOMP is written under the guise of a pseudonym, allowing these so-called STOMPers to say whatever they want.
Many years ago, pseudonyms were allowed for submissions to the ST Forum. Then one day, ST decided that to ensure respectability and accountability, they would require the use of real names and IC numbers when submitting Forum page letters. If ST is really serious about this 'citizen journalism' thing, maybe they should require STOMP submissions to be made with full names and IC numbers. It's no big deal for 'STOMPer Just' to be slammed for his imbecilic post, but I'm sure he would think differently if it was posted by 'STOMPer David Tan Chia Teck'. Otherwise don't call it 'citizen journalism', ST. Just call it what it is: bo liao gossip.
On that note, I wonder if anyone has ever done some social experiment with STOMP. You know, like that guy who made up this quote by Maurice Jarre, put it on Wikipedia as an experiment, and in the end had many respectable newspapers using his fake quote in their articles. I wonder what would happen if someone did the same thing with STOMP: create some fake scenario and submit it, complete with pictures. The STOMP moderators would naturally approve it [if they can approve this, they'll approve anything] and later the originators submit another article to STOMP with the real story behind their first article. I wonder what would happen....
STOMP is really a blot on our nation's collective intelligence, but unfortunately I don't think we will ever be rid of it. And so countless Singaporeans will continue to prove to the rest of the country how stupid they really are. Optima terra, pessima gens.
§ Technorati tags:
darwin award
One example is this article I saw the other day. Let me reproduce it in its full glory here:Posted on 05 Oct 2009
Police car waits at double yellow lines unattended
Are police cars allowed to park or wait on double yellow lines? That is what STOMPer Just wonders after spotting this unattended police car with its hazard lights switched on in an HDB estate.
In an email, STOMPer Just says:
"Does the police have the right to park at double yellow lines? Even if the hazard light is on?
"Who are they picking up or who is alighting? A criminal?
"For your info, this picture was taken in a CAR PARK of an HDB estate.
"I know that the police work in pairs when attending cases. Even if so, there should be at least one person waiting in the car as it should not be left unattended."
Stupidity this extreme should really be illegal.
That really made me wonder if these people actually realise how dumb they are, and how they are actually advertising their stupidity to the world. That was when I realised that it's actually very easy to submit something to STOMP, and all this talk about hiding behind a veil of anonymity actually applies more to these morons than established bloggers. Every single post to STOMP is written under the guise of a pseudonym, allowing these so-called STOMPers to say whatever they want.
Many years ago, pseudonyms were allowed for submissions to the ST Forum. Then one day, ST decided that to ensure respectability and accountability, they would require the use of real names and IC numbers when submitting Forum page letters. If ST is really serious about this 'citizen journalism' thing, maybe they should require STOMP submissions to be made with full names and IC numbers. It's no big deal for 'STOMPer Just' to be slammed for his imbecilic post, but I'm sure he would think differently if it was posted by 'STOMPer David Tan Chia Teck'. Otherwise don't call it 'citizen journalism', ST. Just call it what it is: bo liao gossip.
On that note, I wonder if anyone has ever done some social experiment with STOMP. You know, like that guy who made up this quote by Maurice Jarre, put it on Wikipedia as an experiment, and in the end had many respectable newspapers using his fake quote in their articles. I wonder what would happen if someone did the same thing with STOMP: create some fake scenario and submit it, complete with pictures. The STOMP moderators would naturally approve it [if they can approve this, they'll approve anything] and later the originators submit another article to STOMP with the real story behind their first article. I wonder what would happen....
STOMP is really a blot on our nation's collective intelligence, but unfortunately I don't think we will ever be rid of it. And so countless Singaporeans will continue to prove to the rest of the country how stupid they really are. Optima terra, pessima gens.
§ Technorati tags:
darwin award