ANTON CASEY CASE: A RASHOMON ANALYSIS
Prologue
The Rashomon effect refers to contradictory interpretations of a common event by different people.
Part One:
Anton Casey:
Picture 1 - "Daddy, where is your car & who are all these poor people?" (apparently asked by his son while traveling on an MRT train)
Picture 2 - "Ahhhhhhhh reunited with my baby. Normal service can resume, once I have washed the stench of public transport off me FFS!" (his son pictured waving from his silver Porsche)
Worst possible interpretation: A deliberate contemptuous insult calculated to belittle poor people in Singapore by an arrogant white foreigner whose bad behavior followed the precedents set by Oliver Desbarres, Juerg Buergin and Robert Stephen Dahlberg.
Best possible interpretation: An unfortunate and unfunny joke gone horribly wrong because his bad judgement had prevented him from realizing that Singaporeans will not be able to 'get' the joke due to cultural differences.
Part Two:
What followed were widespread online condemnations, counter-insults, threats to him and his family, loss of his job, a quick retreat into hiding in Perth and being mocked in a budget airline advertisement.
Worst possible interpretation: Singapore society has become xenophobic, has a hair-trigger climate of political correctness, is highly intolerant of criticism and tends to react disproportionately to the slightest hint of disrespect by exacting a very malevolent brand of vindictiveness. We lack a sense of humor and by gloating and celebrating the punishment of the fallen, we have collectively shown our deficit in kindness, graciousness and empathy.
Best possible interpretation: As a society, we have matured and become united in our national spirit such that when we sense that our more disadvantaged members are being attacked, our collective empathy for them drives us to respond in a stout manner. It is to send a message that guests in our country who misbehave are never welcome. Perhaps, in retrospect, we should try to cultivate a more forgiving spirit and be more generous and magnanimous in our victory over our naysayers.
Epilogue
It would be most helpful if we can assume the Best Possible Interpretations of the actions of both parties in this affair.
Hopefully, this will lead to healing and closure to this unpleasant episode.
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteMy take is for Part X: Best possible interpretation and Part Y: Worst possible Interpretation. But I won't tell you what is X or Y...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Shoou, I really can't guess what parts X and Y are.
ReplyDeleteBut, whatever X and Y are, I must disagree that any combination of a Best Possible Interpretation (BPI) and a Worst Possible Interpretation (WBI) can ever be desirable. A healthy relationship between any 2 parties must rest on implicit trust; and that would mean that both parties should always start with an assumption of a Best Possible Interpretation (BPI) of the action of the other.
Because of the Rashomon Effect, it is difficult to be certain which interpretations are the factually correct ones. In the Anton Casey case, both parties assumed the WBI of the action of the other. That's how things turned from toxic to malignant in such a short period of time.
Best regards!
Daniel I applaud you. Yours is the first sensible commentary on this whole sorry episode that I have seen.
ReplyDeleteMr Casey is a culturally insensitive idiot who now realises his huge mistake. British humor does not always travel well and their attempts to be witty often fall flat but this is no more than just another failed attempt at humor.
I would recommend my Singaporean friends not to overreact but to rather see this for what it is. I speak as one who spent two years in your wonderful country.
Dear Mr Norris, I'm confident that our interpretation of the event is not far from the mark, but there are many underlying reasons why things happened the way they did. Also, the reality of the situation may not be what it appears to be. Nonetheless, I'm happy that you are another helpful voice. Thank you and best regards!
ReplyDelete