This letter today nearly moved me beyond words and to tears.


But you know, *manly* tears, all angry-like.



TAP AND GO? NOT THAT EASY
-------------------------
Reader is appealing for an ez-link card which requires tapping only when
boarding

Letter from Tan Peng Hui

I AM a physically disabled 35-year-old Singapore citizen. I lost the use
of both upper limbs after a road accident in 2006.

Since then, to take MRT trains, I have been wearing my ez-link card around
my neck, so that I can tap on gate readers by simply leaning forward.
However, taking buses poses a big challenge. When alighting, I'm unable to
stand up to move towards the card readers until the bus has almost come to
a complete halt. This is because of the bumpy roads.

The card readers are placed in such a way that passengers can tap their
cards on them while walking down the steps at the same time. I cannot use
my limbs, so to tap my card, I have to balance myself on the steps, turn
my upper body 90 degrees to the left or right, and lean forward. This is
very dangerous for me.

Many times, while trying to alight from the bus, I nearly fell. I've also
had to endure rude remarks from other passengers and bus captains who are
unable to tell I am disabled (I look normal except that I have skinny
arms). They think I am being mischievous and want to hold them up. This
has caused tremendous distress for me and I have been cooping myself up at
home.

I am appealing for a type of ez-link card which I need to tap only while
boarding. I understand students and army personnel have concession passes
which don't require tapping during alighting. But I don't travel every
day, so the concession rates are too high for me.

I know this is not a usual request and I have heard a lot of "sorry, the
system cannot handle this provision"comments. With our society aiming to
be more gracious, I sincerely hope the relevant department can help me
improve my mobility and in turn, my employment opportunities.

I am not asking for charity even as I am typing painfully slow with my
toes, but I spare no words in reminding that all of us can do with a
little support from our community, somehow, somewhere.



I feel for him, I truly do.

What really moved me is all those giftedly cruel people who made rude remarks about this guy and never knew he was handicapped. These people must all kick baby puppy dogs every morning on their way to work and then step on baby kittens on the ride home, right?

For fuck's sake, you're taking public transport. What's 2 minutes? If you're so great, drive a Lear Jet to work.

Also, what's the phrase again? "Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers. Lest They be Angels in Disguise."

I now add the corollary: "Be Not Rude to Strangers. Lest They Be Ex-Convicts and Have Poor Impulse Control and Break Your Face."

I'd really like to get the words "POOR IMPULSE CONTROL" tattooed somewhere on my body. It'd be so cool to flash it in one of these rude fella's faces, when they stand too close. I simply cannot stand rudeness, hence my tendency to avoid public transport.


In other news I just got to know someone who reads this blog and likes it. For the most part I've not given a rat's ass what I type here (and I haven't so far except when it comes to erasing tard-tastic posts). That's how it is supposed to work. Nobody is supposed to read this or even want to read it. And if they do, they're not supposed to want to get to know me.

So I'm upset with you, Chrissy.

But I'm also secretly loving this. It makes me feel more human, now, to be known by someone who doesn't just skim the surface of what I say, and can see through the selectively bad stuff about me I put up here.

I think Tan Peng Hui would agree.