Man filmed shoving elderly woman off public bus

[Tigris]

Man filmed shoving elderly woman off public bus - Channel NewsAsia

"The man, identified as Alex Ong, said on his Facebook page that he suffers from clinical depression.

Associate Professor Munidasa Winslow, senior consultant at Winslow Clinic, said: "Having a condition, having obsessive compulsive disorder or Asperger's or whatever else, is not a carte blanche credit for you to be able to misbehave or do whatever you want to. "

What do members of Aspiecentral think of this??

I managed to get hold of the friends of this young man, apparently he has Autism Spectrum Disorder along with OCD and clinical depression. Plus since he is unemployed which makes him even more volatile.

 

[King_Oni]

Associate Professor Munidasa Winslow, senior consultant at Winslow Clinic, said: "Having a condition, having obsessive compulsive disorder or Asperger's or whatever else, is not a carte blanche credit for you to be able to misbehave or do whatever you want to. "

While this professor is correct, I do believe there's more to it than just "I have a bad day". Now, apparently it says he suffers from clinical depression... questions that arise. Is he in therapy? If not, why not? Apparently he cannot keep calm if people don't act out like he wants them to. For the record; If I feel a bit more volatile, I will try to avoid social situations. That's how I make sure stuff like this doesn't happen on my behalf.

Also; and that's where I find the fault in the professors reasoning; "having condition X is not a free pass to misbehave..." well, who says Alex was actually thinking he was misbehaving? For all it's worth Alex found this the sanest thing to do. It's the common sense argument, but if you look at it, common sense isn't that common actually. And also; "do whatever you want to"... well, apparently the woman, according to Alex, did "whatever she wanted to" by pressing the button for no reason. If you're going that route you should appoint weight by severity of whatever behaviour you show.

From what I understand from the video; The woman pressed the stop button and didn't get out. And as such he got mad because the bus stopped, she didn't get out. He is right that it's incorrect use. But I don't think you should push someone out of the bus. Besides; and maybe that's just me. In a 2 minute video I cannot make out what happened during the busride. Maybe that lady pressed the button a few times already. Then, I'd be more understanding in Alex' frustration. Still, I don't condone his action though, but I can see how that, especially if you're mentally a bit more unstable, contributes to getting angry.

Also; if he's like this a lot, then yes, I can see why he's not employed, but again... why is he not getting support for that (assuming he isn't having therapy and support).

I'm quite aware that Singapore isn't to keen on impairments like autism and all, but let's face it. Not being "happy" with it that condition, or just blatantly ignoring it, doesn't make it non-existant.

Also; stuff like this, if it happens in Singapore, it hits youtube. I've read much worse in my country. People got killed over less severe "incidents" than pushing a button on busses.

 

[Geordie]

I think Singapore needs a more supportive society, where we can be adequately supported, through a combination of financial aid or assisted employment, if we have a lack of formal qualifications or skills needed for jobs.

I am sure Alex Ong's problem just reveals a deeper Singaporean (and maybe American and other less supportive) society with regards to people with psychiatric or physical conditions, that prevent them from work.

 

[King_Oni]

I think Singapore needs a more supportive society, where we can be adequately supported, through a combination of financial aid or assisted employment, if we have a lack of formal qualifications or skills needed for jobs.

I am sure Alex Ong's problem just reveals a deeper Singaporean (and maybe American and other less supportive) society with regards to people with psychiatric or physical conditions, that prevent them from work.

Not neccesarily from work (at least, if you mean employment), but in general support I think.

I'm quite sure that if I knew I didn't get support and society didn't care to much about me (or mental disorders/problems; and people like me) it would've gotten out of hand (or will get) at some point. Shoving a woman out of a bus like this is rather mild in that I guess. More and more, I'm already seeing, in my own country, that people are shooting up others in malls due to job stress and people killing their families due to relationship issues. It's a marginally small part of people who don't want to (or just can't get) decent support for whatever reason.

So I can't speak for Singapore specifically, but in general I think society either needs to be supportive or just don't even care about it (and deal with the consequences thereof)... but not the halfway approach which costs money and doesn't amount to anything (or doesn't amount to a lot at least)

 

[Geordie]

In the context of my country, Singapore, given the many priorities ahead of us, I think it's better for people with autism to live not telling about their conditions. Because I think many of us want to be seen as 'rebels' than 'people with a condition', at least, it's perceived to be 'cooler'.

Not so sure about what's your country way out of the increasingly common of people with autism issue, King_Oni.