One hot topic in STOMP I came across as disturbing and yet quite unreasonable:

JC students kiss 'n' hug on "love train"

(I'm not putting the picture here in order to protect my blog from contradicting my point of view about exposing other's privacy. Those who want to see the photos being taken secretly, you can jolly well go to STOMP's website and see for yourself!)

Here's the typical Singaporean complaint: -

Christine Ng, a student, was on her way home Oct 26 when she witnessed a couple from a “reputable junior college” behaving intimately.

She observed: “They had their hands around each other and they were kissing each other like nobody else's business. They were totally oblivious to the attention they were attracting from the public, who were obviously uncomfortable with what was presented before them.”

According to Christine, the couple continued their public display of affection for a “good 20 minutes or longer”. She alighted from the train before the couple did.

Christine added: “What was disturbing was, there was a little toddler who kept looking in the direction of the couple. What he saw corrupted his young, pure and innocent mind. What values would this toddler grow up with?”

“As a student myself, I am wondering what is happening to the people of my generation nowadays. If our moral values, the very traditions that we were brought up with, are eroding at such a fast pace, I cannot imagine the set of values the next generation would be brought up with.”

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First and foremost.

There is nothing wrong with kissing and hugging on the train as long as the couple are not behaving sexually towards each other on board.

Seriously, I think many Singaporeans are lacking physical touch since growing up. Many of their parents do not shower them with physical love by hugging or kissing them. Instead, they showered their kids with material love. That is, buying things to reward them for their academic performances. That, however, is not wrong, but physical contact and physical expression of affection must never be excluded.

I think those who feel uncomfortable towards such act in showing physical affection are either insecure or ignorant. They are the ones who should start questioning their souls instead.

What about the toddler? It's lucky for him he learned the meaning of being physically in love. And oh, don't worry, a person will only be badly influenced if during the teenage years, he/she make a bad decision. There's always a lesson to learn in life for that toddler so there's no point worrying about him at such an early stage, where his brain and senses are not even fully developed, psychologically speaking.

By the way, I really dispise people who secretly take pictures of others and exposing their privacy. Okay. You (whoever you are) may argue that they should not do such a thing in the first place. But what about you? You (you know who you are) are also playing a part in ruining someone's privacy plus the fact that you are pushing the blame at them and complaining in STOMP at the same time! You (you know who you are) are just one attention-seeking idiot. Not just that Christine, you are plain ignorant of human behavior and affection.

I think you must have grown up from some unaffectionate and insecure household that got you where you are today!

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Isn't the feeling of being in love so wonderful? Why can't people be more liberal in a physical sense. I'm not conveying this message that public sexual behavior should be tolerated, but rather it is acceptable to welcome physical expression of affection and love. Just like telling people around the world how much you love that person.

I can publicly announce that I love my girlfriend with all my heart and soul. NOT EVEN A SINGLE BIT OF FEELING 'PAI SEH'. I'm not ashame! I'm not ashame to tell her I love her in front of everyone. I'm not ashame of kissing her in front of everyone. I'm not ashame of hugging her in public. If anyone feels uncomfortable, go ahead, ignorant and insecure bunch of singles and obstinate minds!

However, I have one statement to make about being in love with someone.

Number one: No kids allowed. You have to be a mature person to be in a relationship.

Number two: Kissing and hugging are only a tiny part of the relationship. A relationship based on merely kisses, hugs or maybe including sex is one that is vague, superficial and totally vulnerable to break down.

Number three: Make the effort to commit. A relationship without commitment is bound to fail. While dating for the first half of the year, it's usually the "honeymoon" period. Both parties are blinded in love and think that their significant other is the right one. After the sweet period is over, learning to tolerate each other's bad habits and constant flaws is a great challenge. Give up or not, it's your choice. To give up means you are not ready. But I would suggest that you carry on that relationship and bring it to the next level. Who knows what good things might come out of it?

Number four: Love is never constant. There are times you may feel out of love. That's the time you need to find solutions to be in love again. Do something different. Be creative. Try to be a little sentimental if possible.

That's all I've got to say.

Ah well.. about the uniform? Who cares about the uniform you're wearing? You wear the uniform out of duty, not out of representation. You present yourself for yourself, not for the entire assembly. You speak your own opinion for the purpose of getting the message across, not just by solely compromising with what others have to say and being influenced by what they say.

Being in uniform or not, showing affection to someone is obviously not a crime.