I have seen many irresponsible actions
of the public. They are usually carried out by people who lack civic
consciousness. They do not respect public places, public property and
the rights of the public. They will never act the same way in their own
home!
As a motorcycle rider, what I dislike seeing is
motorist parking their cars in the parking lots reserved for
motorcycles. They are enough parking lots for cars but seldom enough
for motocycles. So, by parking their cars in motorcycle parking lots,
these selfish people deprive motorcyclists of a place to park.
Another
irresponsible act of the public which I have seem is motorist stopping
their cars in the middle of the road to wait for someone. They are not
at all bothered even when other motorists and motorcyclist, who are
blocked by them, honk at him. He expects them to move around his car
and confront oncoming traffic at their own risk.
On a visit to
the seaside recently, I saw something which turned my blood cold. I saw
a group of young people throwing bottles and empty cans into the sea.
They did not just throw the bottles directly into the water but onto
some rocks first so that they were broken into sharp pieces. The rising
tide would later cover the broken glass. The cans they threw into the
sea were not soft-drink cans with smooth edges. They had to be open
with a can-opener and still had their sharp, jaggegly-cut covers. How
normal human beings could do such an unfeeling thing is beyond me. I
still remember sometime ago when my friend came out of the sea at
another beach with a deep gash in his instep. He had stepped on a
broken bottle and his wound required six stiches.
I had another
shock after making a call at a public phone booth not so long ago. In
the booth were a group of boys. One of them banged the receiver very
hard on the coin box many times. Then he started tugging the wires
connecting the receiver to the coin box. Eventually, the wires all came
out. All this while, his companions laughed as though the whole thing
was a big joke. Their action not only deprives the public of using that
phone but it would also be impossible to call for help using that phone
during an emergency.
I witnessed another irresponsible act when
I ate hawkers’ square. After enjoying a delicious plate of noodles in
gravy, I went to the washroom. Imagine my disgust when I saw the basin
filled with chicken bones, half eaten fish and curry-stained rice. I
almost threw up what I just eaten. The person who threw the remains of
his meal into the basin did not have the slightest bit of civic
consciousness! In fact, she is hardly fit to be a member of c i v i l i z e d society.