I attended WP's rally for Punggol East By-Election last night and once again felt very Singaporean. Attending rallies has always been an enjoyable thing in my opinion, and it comes from being physical present at the site to soak in the atmosphere. You may stream the live speeches online or read the transcripts from the party's website, but you're just getting half the deal. The other half is really how the crowd responds and reacts, and also, how strangers interact in such a way that you think that there's still hope in our people. Let me elaborate.
After 17 hours of continuous rain, the field was grossly muddy and water-logged. Upon reaching the venue, what I saw was hundreds of people making their way to the centre of the field from all around, with mud splashing upon their bodies. It isn't exaggerated--a number of the audience have mud up their backs and even close to shoulder level. Some of them were older folks, determined to be there to give support even in inclement weather and having their feet soaked in mud. We also overheard an uncle convincing his wife to step into the mud, since they're "already here".
Another aspect that you'd probably miss if you're not physically present, is the different flavours of sights and sounds from the audience. One unforgettable example was when LTK greeted the crowd “大家晚上好”, to which the entire crowd gave a unanimous, forceful and resounding “好！” that I swear could be heard miles away. Another unforgettable flavour comes from the trumpets and confetti that supporters prepared by themselves. Whenever an elected WP MP was introduced to give a speech, some supporters would release confetti. Someone would also use his trumpet to belt out classic victorious tunes that were similarly heard when knights on horses return from battles in the olden days. Oh yes, not to forget the typical WP supporters' creativity, in the likes of tall homemade structures and banners, and fanciful balloons like Angry Bird etc.
Here comes the proudest moment I felt last night. After the rally ended, we proceeded out of the field area and there was a small slope. It's one that would be cleared in just 2-3 steps, but because it was totally slippery and muddy, it was dangerous. Here, the scene was too heartwarming that I couldn't forget: one row of people were there at the base of the slope, extending their hand out to catch everyone who's coming down. I grabbed one hand and came down successfully, and I could already feel myself losing my balance. So many "Thank you" were heard and exchanged, and I did pay it forward and helped a few others to come down too. Some people also snapped and shared photos of the line of helpers. At that instant, I genuinely felt that there's hope in Singapore.
人生是黑白的.
7:02 PM <3
>>>
