damian + turion

[240608] R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Sometimes, i think after having been in uniform organisations for so long that people at times forget the simple yet profound meaning behind the word, RESPECT. "Respect is one of the most (if not the most) important attributes for society to maintain, yet it is hard to define. On its broadest level respect is the acknowledgment that someone has value." as quoted on wikipedia.

The acknowledgment of value. Value to whom? And in what sense?

So in every day routine in NS, when we greet and pay compliments to senior officers and our superiors, do we acknowledge their importance? Their so called 'value' or are we blindly just paying them the respect that has been drilled into our subconscious mind that any superior officers deserve?

Respect is a hard word to swallow in my camp when i see practically daily instances of stupidity and idiotic behaviour stemming from the very people i am supposedly bound to respect. They do things not for the good of the camp or the mission and vision of the camp. They do things their way for fear of being critiqued and reprimanded by their own superior officers who in turn through their brilliant mis-management only serves to make matters worse.

Shit that comes from the top falls hard and fast and is ALWAYS amplified and multiplied so that when it reaches the bottom (read: bottom = NSFs), more often than not, we get the blame for the mess that they so brilliantly directly or indirectly created in the first place. It is NEVER the fault of the regulars, it's always US, US, US, US, US. Why didnt we read the TSR? Why didnt we know about the training and safety procedure? why didnt we do this? Why didnt we do that? ultimately, they know about just as much as we do, meaning to say, not much. We are just convenient scapegoats for them to push the blame onto. Pin the tail on the NSF, would seem to be perfect party game for regulars during their daily fixed break times at 1000 hrs and 1500 hrs.

Politics in the workplace exist in almost every imaginable working environment for we are but human, falling prey to our inner demons and ambitions. Some have truly an enviable character, hard working, honest and being modest to boot but life is never fair. The scheming, the sloths and the back-stabbers are often the ones being targeted for praise for work in the gah men sector is easy. Easy in the sense that you are assessed based on the work you do but these assessments are often not accurate. Wayang is a common word i hear around the workplace and it is all true. Everything from the top to the bottom and how the system works is a huge facade, a collection of lies, cover ups and acts. All in the name of appearing to be something other than what you truly are.

This picture alone stands for the most important attribute needed for one to succeed in the gah men sector - Flattery. The other 2 most important attributes being acting skills and ability to talk more than you work.

Hierarchy plays an important role in any workplace and in an uniformed organisation, heirarchy is merely based upon the rank in which you don. For one to climb sufficiently high, he would have trampled over many who were of a lower rank and once having attained the pedestal upon which to survey the world, he may forget one basic rule of thumb. Respect is EARNED, not GIVEN. SIR.

Repeating pointing to your shoulder and emphasizing the gulf between our ranks would hardly ever make me respect you more. On the contrary, it would only further erode the already bad impression i have of you and the incident only makes me loathe and despise you more. Using your status and threatening to demote people for failing to do work that doesn't fall under the given job scope only makes you unworthy to be holding such a post. For someone who's in a position to make decisions that can positively change the camp, you chose however to pick and critique on the most meaningless details that serve no purpose other than to infuriate your own subordinates. Life is already miserable enough without you adding more bitterness in our daily routines.

You expect discipline but yet condone harsh disciplinary actions when we seek to address the disciplinary issues. You expect things to be done by the book when sometimes flexibility and practicality are needed. You tie our hands behind our backs and expect us to give you 110%. Welfare and discipline are placed on opposite sides of a weighing scale. Too much welfare and discipline naturally decreases. Tis a simple logic but too bad, not many understand it.

We are a camp run by people cowering whenever a complaint is written in. We are a camp in which everything we do is a facade, an act, a wayang show. We are a camp where r e g u l a r s are more concerned over their bonuses and rice bowls than the work that they are supposed to do. We are a camp in which we are exploited and made to stay against our will. They complain endlessly of NSF's attitudes and how we are forever screwing things up but perhaps they should take heed and remember this:

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP, SIR.

Yesterday's memories