Thinking Aloud

Beware casual snobbery that shows contempt for ordinary folk

Casual remarks sometimes reveal what people actually think. And when we detect casual snobbery, we should call it out.

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The day the mainstream media picked up the story about Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong speaking about people who can't earn $1 million a year, I was in a plush shopping centre in Orchard Road.

I was late for a medical appointment, but I also needed the loo. I saw a toilet and walked towards it, reaching it at about the same time as an elderly couple, the man solicitous of the woman who was the one who clearly needed relief.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 12, 2018, with the headline Beware casual snobbery that shows contempt for ordinary folk. Subscribe