William Wan: Where is our empathy?

I spotted this article early this morning way before the online version was available. I thought to myself who is going to read such a long article? It turned out I was wrong. Disgusted readers must have forwarded this to their friends and they in turn forward to more people.

As with many readers, I wasn't happy with what William Wan had written. Mr. Wan forgets that he is not Nelson Mandela or Pope Francis to be telling us this. He grossly exceeded himself.

Patsy Goh put it well on ST Facebook. William Wan should explain himself.

If William Wan had any sense he should have gone to Anton Casey to offer his help. Even Bertha Henson very publicly had offered some good suggestions to his PR agency, tongue in cheek may be. In my view he needed only to act on half of them.

If he is very publicly forgiven I think he will get to keep his job. I don't see that coming though. This guy is more interested to finagle how he might con us into a public display of forgiveness. Though I belong to the group for the sake of his family has forgiven him, I also recognize that he is incorrigible.

William Wan I agree with you that we should grow in empathy but this cannot be achieved in a hurry. Empathy must be matched with greater shrewdness or we shall not forgive ourselves for being suckers. Individuals can show great empathy but history has shown this is not possible with society. You are asking for the impossible. And since you started this why not finish the job by helping Anton Casey mend the bridge with us. We would all be better off for this.

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  Patsy Goh Well, well, well. What an article. It should be saved for posterity and analysed to the hilt, every sentence. Methinks someone's knickers seem to be in a huge twist, no? But for now, let me just look at a few of his statements.
  
  "..Empathy for your fellow human being, no matter how bad that person, is a large part of what makes us humans..." I really love this sentence. It really takes the cake because I've long had this notion that everytime someone says that 'no matter how bad' a person is, we should empathise, we should 'understand' them, I suspect something else is going on. 
  
  I think that's just an excuse for bad behaviour, and to excuse whatever bad behaviour certain others have done or are going to do. Funny how, the very ones who advocate this, will then, depending on the people/circumstances, then will not be excusing any other bad behaviour?
  
  For example, hey William Wan of the Kindness Movement- where the hell was your voice when all the so-called "social media justice" people were asking S'poreans to take a step back in the wake of the LIttle India riots last month and to understand the plight of foreign workers? Where was your voice, as head of the Kindness Movement. In fact we have never heard anything out of the 'Kindness' Movement unless it is the 'kindness month.'
  
  Where was your voice for the Vietnamese-Australian guy who was hanged for drugs a few years ago? Why, even with the chinese bus drivers strike in 2012- at first alot of S'poreans and the social media were condemning the bus drivers and then later on, there was sympathy. Where was your voice, even when many of the most vocal 'social media justice' people toned down and began to realise that these people were as hard done by, as the average struggling S'porean worker. Got your voice, meh? I didn't hear any.
  
  And this whole statement is really telling: "..It is also somewhat ironic that many of those who are angry against authoritative figures or the elites for perceived abuse of power, often behave just as badly when they perceive that power has shifted to them - a power that is simply derived from the sheer number of people egging them on. Similarly, those who chastise the Government for groupthink also themselves fall prey to a groupthink mob mentality..."
  
  Wahahaha! So the plot thickens, eh? Is this what it is really all about? 
  
  In fact it's an irony that you, William Wan are taking this stance becasue not once in your article did you mention the fact that this Chav of a man, Anton Casey also made fun of a taxi driver for wearing what would protect his arms from the probably 12 hours in front of a freezing aircon in his taxi. He may have had arthritis. Anton Chav Casey didn't give a damn about it. He surely wasn't kind. But you, as a Kindness Movement head, sure didn't see that, because you were too wrapped up in defending all the WRONG VALUES. Wow.

  Like · Reply · 41 · 2 hours ago · Edited

Update: 3:05 pm

William Wan should read what the Business editor of the Independent newspaper, Jim Armitage had to say about Anton Casey and he will learn how ill advised his piece in the ST is.  This town has many anonymous Anton Caseys. We need to teach one a good lesson. Any of them who behaves like Anton Casey is a net negative to our economy and society. If they could only stupidly but less stupid than Anton identify themselves we should urge the Manpower Minister to rescind their permits to be here. How naive William Wan. I was right that virtues must come as a balanced set. Compassion must be matched with shrewdness. There is no love which is not tough love even if toughness and love are not present together, or at least perceived to be. The love I know was brutal and murderous - a man hanging on a cross dying for me. We are stupid hypocrites otherwise to exaggerate one virtue without its other supports. Sadly this is often what I discover in far too many do-gooders. Too many do good to look good. I love Mother Teresa: Do small things with great love.

Update: Jan 25 10:10am

For those who still want to hang Anton Casey out to dry, he is now as good as a corpse. He is no longer the high flying, highly paid expat. If William Wan wanted to lend him a hand now is the time for empathy. Prior to this, I thought Mr. Wan was confused about what empathy is. The time is now for him to show us the way to empathy for Anton Casey but I doubt he will do it. He is roiling from his mistake himself. Actually I would like in our government fashion to ask him, "Mr Wan, what was your agenda all along?" You are so mixed up, which school would still want to invite you to talk to its pupils about kindness. If parents got wind of it, the principal would get a earful.

Just saw this. I agree with Cookie Tan.

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  Cookie Tan If he's been fired, it's enough, forgive and let him go. It's nothing differ from him if we unable to show the grace.

  Like · Reply · 12 · 11 minutes ago