Spare me the romanticism
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 7:11PM I was going to give Ris Low a pass on this blog. Everyone is talking about her butchering the English language, he credit card fraud convictions, giving her a chance etc, I felt it would be more prudent on my part to just let it die, and extinguish her fifteen minutes of fame by ignoring her. But after reading this, I could not longer resist, because I can virtually see the stupidity spreading, and I won't condone it by keeping my silence. I have done my share of mocking Miss Low, but I thought giving her space on this blog would be a waste. This post is not really about her though.
To foreigners who do not know Singapore very well, they may think of us as a petty, vindictive and shallow people from the way we harangue our Singapore ladies who come out tops in beauty pagaents.
We are not the only country to harangue "ladies who come out tops in beauty pagaents". Ever heard of Carrie Prejean and the bollocking she got? No doubt, Prejean deserved more ridicule, but like it or not, public figures get ridiculed. It's a fact. They can either deal with it or get out. We did not harangue the likes of Eunice Olsen when they won, and not questioning that is negligence on the part of the author.
Following the latest sensational revelation that she was once convicted for credit card fraud, she was lampooned once again for her dishonesty and pressurized to give up her Miss Singapore World crown.
It is very easy for all of us to sit back in the comforts of our armchairs and type nasty comments about her in front of the PC under the cloak of anonymity, but how many of us even dare to show our faces to the public and take part in a beauty contest?
It takes a lot of courage and self-confidence to reveal oneself in all its entirety in front of a thousand pairs of critical eyes out there ready to pounce on any slightest flaws one may display.
I think "courage" and "self-confidence" in this case is used as a shield, as an excuse to stop the criticism she is rightfully copping from the public. She may have had the courage to parade in a bikini, but did she have the courage to openly disclose her conviction, prior to the contest? Clearly not. And this in no way answer the real question: is she truly qualified to represent Singapore in the Miss World pageant?
Ris Low may not exactly be the most ideal and qualified winner for Miss Singapore World, but surely she deserved an applause for her bravery to step forward into the limelight.
There's the answer to my question. If she's not qualified, then we have to question it. Sure, full marks for "bravery". A big fat zero for her dishonesty. Bravery alone should not determine the winner of beauty pageants; after all, we are not playing a game of chicken.
As for her past conviction, it is only human to err. Ris had already expressed her remorse for her mistakes. What is done cannot be undone. What else do we expect her to do?
I think it is reasonable to expect a measure of accountability from any public figure. She should be the one apologising (along with the judges and the organisers, but that's for later), not any one else. If she had been open and honest about her past conviction, I would support her, and even call her a brave woman. But she did not. That removes what remains of her credibility in my book.
Before we point our fingers at others, have we really taken a closer look at ourselves? Are we that infallible and immune from blame too?
No one is infallible or immune from blame, or not making mistakes. But when mistakes are made, there should be remorse, there will be music to be faced, and there will be consequences. Moving on only works when we have learnt from our mistakes, and only when one has the courage to face the consequences. Let's not turn this into a romantic sob story that has the makings of Oprah or Tyra, because it really isn't.
The only mistake made by Ris Low is that she kept her conviction from the public and the organizers before she won the contest. Had she been perfectly honest and upfront about it, she might have won more support and approval from Singaporeans.
This is correct. Instead of being open and honest, she chose to lie. Make no mistake, it was her decision to make, and the organisers enabled that behaviour. And the organisers and judges of this contest should bear the brunt of the blame in this whole affair, not Ris Low.
As organisers, it is their duty to screen applicants, ensuring that there will be no unforeseen surprises with any participants, including the winner. Their failure to disqualify Ris Low for coming clean after she won is pathetic; here is a woman who lied to get through, but they failed their test of testicular fortitude by not doing the necessary, instead saying if she was not found out by the public, she can keep her crown.
The judges have also been derelict in their duties by naming Ris Low the winner. This error is not unlike McCain naming Palin to be his running mate in last year's Presidential elections, only on a much smaller magnitude. From her interviews, it is clear to many that she is unprepared for the crown. She is not ready for the national stage, let alone the international stages. But they went ahead anyway.
Together, the organisers of Miss Singapore World, and the judges, have done more to discredit the competition than anything Ris Low could have managed. Let us place the blame where it belongs, and let Ris Low fade out of her remaining fame.
Reader Comments (4)
http://thebibik.blogspot.com/2009/09/finally-she-did-something-right.html
While I haven't really responded to your post per se, this was my own posting only recently. I agree with you that the organisers and judges should bear the brunt of the blame. However I also feel that she had a large part to play in bringing this unto herself.
I share your sentiment too, that she should just have come clean from the very beginning. You'll see it on my post.
All in all, like I mentioned to a few others, I'm giving up on this matter. Officially, it's closed in my books.
Good read tho.
Edited by Callan: Made the link to her blog post clickable.
yeah... i agree that she has received more negetivity that she deserves for her participation... and that the organizers should take a fair share of responsibility...
Would just like to add that i was put off by the comment about the "remorse" she has shown.... If the newspaper quoted her correctly, then i think all she showed was minimization of her offence... she had stated something along the lines of her offences not being a very big deal and she was given a 2nd chance anyway... and that totally cheesed me off... coz with such an attitude, it was (for me, at least) evidence that she has yet to earn a 2nd chance... Someone who is truly remorseful would acknowledge the seriousness of her offence, and express how she intends to make full use of the 2nd chance... not simply brushing it aside as not a big deal and imply that her offences mean nothing now that she has that 2nd chance...
well... just my 2 cents worth...
Ad, you are exactly right. She has not shown signs of remorse, and I am surprised that her "no big deal" remarks are branded as remorseful. It's almost as if everyone was looking for an excuse to "forgive and forget".
But all she has done is discredit herself, and that began with "BOOMZ". The organisers and judges are the ones who have thoroughly discredited the Miss World title, and up until now have not made any steps to correct that. For shame.
I just have one thing to say about Ris Low. The organisers should have stripped her of her crown when the video first surfaced. She puts every beauty queen to shame. Lol.