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Comment by nibbleshifter | Hacker News Reader

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Singapore is not a shithole, and it does many things right, but it seems like it has a lot of problems.

Funny to see this article because I thought of Singapore police as super efficient and ethical, but Tangaraju's case give a backwards impression that invokes racial bias and a flimsy case. It's sad.

But not surprising maybe as it's known as draconian, yet shocking to me how while it modernized its skyscrapers maybe its morals are not modernized.

Its a clean, modern looking, efficient shithole.

Like Dubai, really.

Their entire legal system is a disaster, they have quite serious internet and press censorship regulations, serious issues with racial discrimination, systemic labour rights issues, its a de-facto (but not de-jure) one party state, and so on.

Alright i see what you’re saying. I guess if that’s all true, then indeed it’s a shithole.

I find that characterization interesting as normally shithole is used for, “obviously looks shit”. What other places do you think are like this? And more interestingly i think, what about the reverse? What places look shit but are actually not and are really good?

peak civilization is homeless westerners doing drugs on the streets/in parks

Since you're putting up a false dichotomy, I still think having homeless people on the street doing drugs is superior to executing people for having 1 kg of plant material that is legal in a good part of the world.

And a lot of people will disagree with you.

There are a lot of people in the US who want to hunt the homeless for sport but that doesn't make them right.

Well people that put "lack of homeless doing drugs" over a human life would be wrong.

What of the human lives the drug dealer ruins over his lifetime? Reality doesn't conform to simplifications of the level you're trying to pull here.

At least in the US, you could kill as many people as you wanted and it wouldn't solve the problem, you'd just be guilty of committing a holocaust.

Singapore has a lot of issues beyond just their drug laws. Their entire legal system is one of the most broken of any developed nation. Being able to city plan OK doesn't excuse that.

ok singapore isnt perfect

The problem is it’s far, far from a shithole. Aside from the laws Singapore is basically the dream city that people want.

Just don't be a pregnant maid:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/avoid-deportatio...

Just don't (insert some random example injustice found literally in every country)

What?

Do pregnant workers on visas lose their jobs in the US? How is it in "literally every other country"?

There is a common misconception that Singapore is a paradise. As someone with family in Singapore, why can't I point out injustice faced by folks like me? Privileged westerners have rose-tinted views of countries like Singapore.

As an Indian, I was horrified to see "No Indians allowed" ads for rentals.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26832115

https://www.ricemedia.co/culture-life-racism-indian-national...

> Aside from the laws

Aside from the societal foundation it’s great!

Well some of us aren’t opposed to execution of traffickers.

So why would that be “aside from the laws”? The point is that framing something in that way is _ludicrous_ because laws play a large role in shaping a society.

> Aside from the laws Singapore is basically the dream city that people want.

The weather also isn’t that great.

I think it would be nice if our murder and theft rate was 10x+ lower and drub abuse 20x lower.

I would attribute those to USA specific issues i.e. gun proliferation rather than anything Singapore is uniquely doing to combat them.

If you look at overall crime rate Singapore is hardly a shining example:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/crime-rat...

Singapore is more aggressive about finding crime, catching criminals, and has a lower bar for what is considered a crime. Those would also affect their crime rate.

That’s common rhetoric. If something is good in the US, it is because of democracy. If something is bad in Singapore, it is because of totalitarianism. If something is bad in the US or good in Singapore, it is because of their specific “non-political” policies.

And that end justifies any means, right?

Jumping in front of a train also has the death penalty; drug dealing in Singapore is just another form of suicide.

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