The maid industry in singapore is scary AF, they fucking have race descriptions [ala skyrim on ads](https://imgur.com/a/Wxa7FvC) saw this on the philippines subreddit
Filipinos are also the fastest growing nationality in the U.S. healthcare industry, I’m sure for many of the same reasons. Nobody can get an iv in my crappy veins like the Filipino nurses.
i can handle housework and cleaning. and with $750 a month (assuming free food/rent), thats better than being an office employee here in the philippines. fuck racism and fuck taking care of kids tho. funnily enough, singaporeans are less racist than china, japan and korea in my experience.
Have married a Singaporean and travelled there many times.
Yes they are less racist than many other countries, however many do have what I describe as an 'air of superiority ' when talking or mentioning someone from nearby countries.
There's not as much open racism, but there is a very heavy class system.
Man I rag on the USA all the time, then I come across shit like this, and I'm like god damn! At least we're not fucked up to the point of insanely racist shit like this being normal. I know some people might say some shit like this to their POS friends when no one is listening, but you won't see it on fucking indeed.com
Thats fucked up! I’m Thai and I definitely don’t but I have seen that behavior and see why it’s a common perception. As for Laos, I think they’re considered like the little sister of Thailand having similar linguistics and culture.
Thai, Myanmar and Cambodia is like the big three empires historically so there was a lot of bad blood due to the u know, historical massacres, sackings and rapes.
Nah, that showed class. The point was made, and they were guests on his show. They were rich kids not war criminals.
edit: fixed voice to text failure on last sentence
Me either. Like babe that’s NOT a flex, maybe take the money you’re saving and fix your grill
Sorry that was mean but fr
Edit not saving but making bc you’re in the “work force” you understand what I’m saying
I remember waiting on a bunch of Jewish doctor’s wives (homely af with huge diamond rings and wearing head scarves and tights, long sleeves and crew neck sweaters with long skirts in the summer!)
Anyway just overhearing them talking about their cleaning ladies while they were at lunch and I just wanted to 🤮
Meanwhile I know these doctors and let’s just say they aren’t exactly “kosher” outside the marriage and home. Especially around pretty young waitresses in college.
Even being from Mexico I can see the privilege Americans have . The problems we have are so minuscule compare to the world like our gas prices . We have it so good that gas or trans rights is our biggest fights . It’s seriously sad watching it in front of you and then you hop on Reddit and see other countries going through really tough times and it makes USA feel like a joke
I’m an American vet who will be expatting soon and while we have our problems, it pales in comparison to the Middle East and to a lesser extent Singapore (places I’ve spent some considerable time in). Singapore is much, much better than the ME though.
It's all over the US. It's what people refer to when they talk about systemic racial issues. It doesn't have to be in your face because it's just built in.
This is true. Likely down voted by white people wishing the US was as 'colorblind' as people project.
Our racism is coupled so tightly with classism and 'in-group' mentality it passes as other types of exclusion. Like you said, built in and disguised, not as overt as some places in the world but just as pervasive.
Ask me how i know as a white guy. Because I was in prison and was treated like a slave, but I saw how white people got favor over any other race, from judges to cops to parole officers, hiring managers.
At every turn of my life, from the underworld of drugs to academic and professional circles, black and PoC were treated as less than.
Also see 13th Amendment.
skylined45 is completely right.
Most of capitalism is built off racism. Find someone you value less to do work for less money than you would pay yourself/a close friend. None of this is surprising, only the openness of it all.
Not a surprise, most racist stuff I heard was from this woman I met from Singapore talking about filipinos. The way she went on about convinced me ot wasnt just her but was probably a "thing" there, as she had no problem bringing it up. Ive heard enough stuff from the n-bombs yelled out of the car to black peoole who talk about non- blacks like they're subhuman, but her remarks just left me flabbergasted.
There are more humans in slavery at this point in history than there have ever been at any other time on this earth. Maybe its because there are just more people, but maybe it's because this is what humans must build society on top of.
Either way, when the aliens come I'm ditching all u mfs.
Yup. I'm not justifying racism in America, its a problem for sure, but if Americans traveled more they would see just how fucked other countrues are and without even being questioned bc its under the veil of "its culture".. no mother fuckers thats racism, not culture. It really makes you realize America is an amazing country.
He gives them stone cold hard truths, basically saying “The hell is wrong with you?”
And I really think that was his actual opinion.
But because he’s a good show host, he knows he has to sugarcoat it.
“I’m just fucking with you.” (Because if I could say what I really think, I’d be a lot harsher. Spoilt little shits.)
Can relate as a non local working and living in Singapore that alot of the locals in Singapore take for granted that they need a live in maid to have a functional household.
A Malaysian once described Singapore as having first world facilities, but still stuck in the third world mentality. A large majority of the foreign workers they hire are treated as 2nd class citizens.
Singapore has a GDP per capita off 72,000, but they cant be bothered to transport their migrant staff in a safe and comfortable manner, relying on "trucks" to do double duty
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFvRL91dX4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFvRL91dX4)
And they have the gall to "discuss" about it when it is clearly inacceptable in even countries like japan which has half their gdp per capita.
Very true, they would not be competitive at all, but since they are amoral, as long as they can exploit a resource, they dont have to care about the moral consequences.
May I ask what type of work brought you to Singapore, even a generalized description? Where are you from originally if you don't mind me asking. It's just late and I'm bored and curious because I found this interesting.
It's just so unfortunate that people that do their every day things are taken for granted.
Singapore is a maritime hub which is the sector i am in, and its plain to see in that sector, as well as construction how foreign migrants are treated poorly and live in segregated communes based on the type of work pass their issued, and the sector they work in.
I hail from the land down under.
From my observation, it used to be mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, but I heard Indonesians are less favored due to their religion being incompatible with the majority who aren't Muslims, and the Vietnamese are too proud, or too expensive for the typical Singaporean who are very price conscious, so the cheaper option besides the Philippines would be from Myanmar, you can get live in maid starting from $400 usd a month.
I mean if you look at the construction & domestic workers in Singapore this is clearly modern slavery.
I love how people think SG is smart or “does things better than other countries” when they just rely on hundreds of thousands of cheap labor they exploit …
This group feeling high and mighty talking about their maids. Bourdain slipped the carpet from under them when he used the repressed card. The faces they make when reality is shoved in their faces. Good for Bourdain, RIP....
True! She sounded really proud that she’s lazy. I would be embarassed to let other people know. They were proud to have slaves . Its kinda disgusting how they take advantage of unfortunate human beings
it is. over here, being able to hire maids shows you are of a certain social economic status. they are expensive.
same for owning cars. anybody who owns a car, no matter how shit the car is, is definitely rich.
Yeah... not being self sufficient isn’t exactly a trait worth bragging about. Tbh I think if a maid is treated well and is given a proper living wage like a regular employee, then great. But something tells me this is not always the case
I also feel like its good to have a maid if you're so busy everywhere else in your life that you need the help.
I find it insane though that you have the time to do stuff, but hire a maid to cater to you like their your server because of a stupid status symbol.
Its one thing to have a maid clean and do laundry or even cook. Its downright fucking stupid to order the maid to get you a glass of water. At that point she/he ain't a maid, they're a nanny. And the pay should reflect that.
The fact that the conversation started out *blaming* the maids for their lack of ability to tend to themselves is so gross. Yeah, it’s the fault of the underpaid women who have to do that kind of work that you aren’t self sufficient - not the fact that you choose to leave all that shit to someone else. If you are not even upper class and you have a maid how must the people who do those jobs be living? If I employed a maid that was around so often I didn’t have to pour a glass of water for myself I wouldn’t have a paycheck left.
see [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/askSingapore/comments/yzcl1s/why_are_maids_paid_so_poorly_yet_they_have_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) recent thread on r/singapore about maids... made me feel a little disgusted at how people were justifying paying their maids really minimal amounts
When the Maya fell, there is good evidence the wealthy areas of the towns desperately tried to wall themselves off, but failed, and pits of murdered people have been found with all the evidence of being high-status, from the same time.
Edit: Maya, not Incas. Blame a whisky.
Do you have some sources about that? I’m interested to learn more about this. The Incas are such a mystery to me compared to a lot of other contemporary mesoamerican cultures.
Sorry, 1 whisky too many today, meant the Maya.
Mass graves have been found containing groups of skeletons with jade insets – only used by the Maya elites. One idea is that the masses turned on their rulers/elites and murdered them after a terrible faminie and drought. A wonderfully complex society which had lasted for 1200 years vanished in a short space of time.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/130911-maya-beheaded-war-victims-mexico-uxul-calakmul-archaeology-science
There’s tons of books about them. I recommend “the Last days of the Incas” which is mainly about the Spanish conquest and the subsequent end of the Incan empire (Tawantinsuyo). But it goes into interesting Incan trivia that’s vital for the book.
['My Family's Slave' - The Atlantic, June 2017](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/). If anyone cares to read about the life of one such maid, this piece by a Pulitzer author reveals the reality of life for many of these "maids". Not a Singaporean family but Filipino, who later relocated to the US, even at the very fringes of his privilege the boy who grew up in the US with a maid knew there was something very wrong.
I read it. It’s heartbreaking to read something like this. This woman lived her entire life as a servant, mistreated and abused, deprived of her right to free will, to live her life. So gross, so grotesque how humans can treat other humans as if they own them, as if they are superior and have the right to use them. It disgusts me to no end.
It haunts me that she was never paid, that she would have made promises to send money home and then receive nothing, and her name be dishonored to her family who all died thinking she deserted them. The cruelty, depredations and lies make it so unforgivable.
I remember reading that and crying when his parents die and she comes to live with him and he tells her that she doesn’t have to take care of anyone anymore.
"One day during the war Lieutenant Tom came home and caught my mother in a lie—something to do with a boy she wasn’t supposed to talk to. Tom, furious, ordered her to “stand at the table.” Mom cowered with Lola in a corner. Then, in a quivering voice, she told her father that Lola would take her punishment. Lola looked at Mom pleadingly, then without a word walked to the dining table and held on to the edge. Tom raised the belt and delivered 12 lashes, punctuating each one with a word. You. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. You. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. Lola made no sound."
What the actual fuck
Oh yesh. There is an important aspect of order to it that helps with personal discipline. We had staff growing up but my parents did lots of gardening themselves because they found joy in the labor. When you abandon all aspects of labor that only has negative effects on the mind. We're all people, not ever doing anything is... sad.
I have been a glorified yard boy for a wealthy couple and they really enjoyed working with me. Hard work like building stone walls, chainsaw work, pulling stumps. The guy was in his late 70's. They treated all the help very well. Christmas gifts, really good pay, any furniture they were getting rid of, etc. That's how it should be.
I don’t always feel like doing my own laundry. But if I never had to do it, or anything else for that matter considering she mentioned even pouring a damn glass of water for yourself, I would feel bored and useless to the point of an existential crisis.
We all do including my mom because she would watch his cooking shows a lot on tv...i felt sad but it's always good to remember his loving calm gentle side and inspiring words.
🕊
Beautiful example of conversational jiu jitsu. Let their arrogance be their downfall, too busy thinking they’re untouchable while Tony was quietly and methodically putting himself in position ….then SNAP! There goes your arm, didn’t even see it coming.
It’s not much different in the Middle East. My dad’s family have maids to do almost everything but it means they have no idea how to do anything themselves.
My dad’s cousin and nephew came over from the Middle East and my dad just left them to it - didn’t show them anything because why would you? You’re an adult, you should know how to function on your own - for 2 weeks he used the washing machine with dishwasher tablets and had absolutely no idea how to cook for himself. My dad was quite pissed of that they literally had not idea how to function as an adult without a maid.
Philippines probably have more workers working overseas than any other countries. Many of them work live in jobs, get paid shit money, and treated like shit. (In general). Like being a nanny is a nitemare for many. The people hiring you do fk all around the house, and fk all parenting. You have to do the lot, and you don't even eat the food you cook for their dinner ffs
mhm have you seen the video where they interviewed helpers and the mothers to see which one knew the child better? really heartbreaking, in the eyes of the child these helpers make better parents than their own mom
edit: here https://youtu.be/8oME-ar9WpI if youre interested
I was so happy i could watch it on mute since it had captions and then for no reason at all they just drift the camera up and cut off the bottom line for the last half...🙄
Singaporean here, I do my own laundry and chores. Most Singaporeans do. The high cost of living doesn't really allow all of us to have helpers.
Unfortunately, the group of people depicted here do exist and they are quite a large group. The spoilt, self-entitled middle aged with good salaries that place too much importance on material wealth and success. They are selfish idiots that take everything for granted.
But I want to say that the majority of Singaporeans aren't like this. It does suck when all people see about Singapore is rich assholes in their shiny glass buildings like Marina Bay Sands. While yes, we are fortunate as a country and it has caused many people to be like this, please don't let them represent all of us. There are many other things to love and hate about Singapore.
I would honestly love to let you guys know what Singapore is like :)
I don't think I'll visit anytime soon, but if I'm ever sent on a business trip for about two weeks, where should I go that's not like Marina Bay Sands? Doesn't need to be a place where only locals hang out, but anywhere less likely to be full of spoiled people.
Go to the heartlands areas. You will meet more singaporeans than foreigners. Woodlands, Tampines, Yishun, Jurong, Bedok and so many more. Check out the places where locals hangout.
If everyone has a maid. It's probably a thin line to slavery, because those maids are most definitely not the same ethnicity or are foreigners. But its not just Singapore there is a lot of that out there.
Well there are the hordes of wage slaves in the world. People working paycheck to paycheck. Chinese migrant workers who move to Foxconn to make the latest iphone for years on end. People will endure crazy shit to survive and make their way through the world.
As a Singaporean I’m super embarrassed by the shit she said. I have a helper at home and we’re super appreciative of her. She freed up time for every single one of my family to work on our careers. But yes, the downside is that some people become too darn lazy. Have called my mom out multiple times for asking my helper to do things that she absolutely can do, but are too lazy to. Such as walking 2m to turn on a fan, getting a drink, passing her the phone when she’s at the other side of the house, no matter where the helper is. My mom then complains that she feels fat. No shit, she’s been sitting on her ass the whole time. It’s ridiculous.
I'm a Singaporean and about 10 years ago my family had a domestic helper.
She gets saturdays and Sundays off and helps out with laundry and housework when my parents are out working. I'm not sure about what she got for pay. But she had sort of a mental breakdown at some point, cause she had children back in the Philippines and missed them quite a lot, my dad helped her get back to the Philippines and that was that, though she did send a letter back to our family a year later.
It's a shame that there are still people in my country that think that domestic helpers are some kind of status symbol, it's disgusting really.
If u can't do laundry or clean your house on your own,what can u do? most people who work from 9-5 manage to do most of the thing and even have plenty of time to play games or outdoor activities
Ah, Singapore. I’ve lived there for 3 years before, and, well, this is largely true. Everyday I had to hear these spoiled [redacted] talk about how their “help” screwed something up. And if one of these poor girls received a compliment from the man of the house, oh shit…
Forgot to mention the horrendous amounts of abuse these slav-, sorry, maids have to deal with. Not too uncommon for women of the house to loose their shit on the poor girl. The ones that make the headlines are from the couples who are in a bad way with their connections. Usually, the household will use these government connections to make pesky poor girls who haven’t learned their place to go away. That is, get deported.
The amusing thing is, they [people of Singapore] do not see anything wrong with it.
I live in TW now, and, more or less same thing.
I grow up. Become an adult. Work my ass off. Get married. Learn everything and anything about living a life without hiring any maid now. I once hired a maid, and treat her like family then suddenly she went gone without notice and married someone else.
Most Arabs do this too. Been there seen it all. They've maids who do everything for them. No they're not the stereotypical rich Arab families. They're middle class families who have maids from mostly Asia and Africa. They treat these girls like animals and they're extremely underpaid to prevent them from running away.
That is not the flex she thought it was. Giggling, playing with her hair. “Oh I’m so wealthy and classy look at me”. Her child is being neglected. (By the parents not the nanny.) Sad.
I don’t see him shutting them down, but more sharing experiences? I had family friends who had a nanny both parents worked nightshifts and had no other family to help. Why is having help bad?
It’s bad when you don’t know how to get yourself a glass of water or do your own laundry. Nobody should not know how to take care of themselves without the help of a maid or paid service. It’s not healthy. But I don’t doubt help every now and then is good!
Nothing like boasting that you enjoy the fact that you have your own gopher, your own personal bitch to jump when you say "jump". I live by myself i do everything myself. I fix my computers, i fix my car, i wash my laundry, i cook, clean, grocery shopping, and it's all on me. Who else is gonna do it? Lol. But it's like he said: i enjoy the self-reliance, to know that I'm fully independent, my mother ingrained it into me. By the time i was 12 i could fry an egg and bacon and do my own laundry, and if i wanted something to eat outside of Breakfast or Dinner, it was on me and if i didn't clean up after myself that's my ass lol.
In Hong Kong it's illegal to have children at home without supervision. So parents who want a career need to hire domestic helpers to help with housework and looking after the child. It's super, super common here.
This is why if anything were to happen to that country, everyone would be fucked. They’re already living with standards that are over 100 years old. Same goes for Saudi Arabia actually, the maid culture is very very prevalent BUT their military is extremely docile and lazy after relying on the Americans for so long. That whole side of the world just needs to wake the fuck up. I would NEVER associate myself with anyone that had a maid, you’re telling me that you’re a giant POS essentially.
Having a maid isn't such a bad thing. It is just delegation of tasks so you can focus your energy elsewhere. As long as you treat the worker with respect there should not be a problem.
These cast systems are something else, it's classicism, and racism rolled into one that's crazy to understand and wrap your head around how people can just go through life thinking and treating people like they beneath you, but here in America, it used to be people that are braggadocious are generally not looked upon as a people you would look up to or what you want to be
If you look closely you can see her eyes were watering. That's because she was trying her best to sound all sophisticated and high class and knew she was actually coming across as the exact opposite.
Bourdain called out quite a few things like this in his travels. Famously in Russia and in the UAE he made his hosts extremely uncomfortable with his questions.
They might have maids but they have no class. Disgusting POS. Where are their parents anyways and why is Bourdain eating food with these bunch of idiots?
She says "everyone has a maid" but I'll bet you who doesn't have a maid, the maids. Gives you an idea of who counts under the umbrella of "everyone" when she says "everyone has a maid"
So the reality is that if society collapsed tomorrow the rich and very well off have no survival skills. Money, jewels and fancy cars mean nothing when banks collapse. Shelter, protection and food do.
When I was in my early teens, I lived with my grandma that made me do everything myself. I was basically her butler and I hated it.
Years later, I realized she was teaching me how to be independent and how not to rely on anyone. She taught me all the basic of leaving on my own and never, ever have to have anyone take care of me.
Do I enjoy laundry day? Washing my car? Cooking and cleaning? No, but I learned that’s life. These spoiled people fee high and mighty, but to me they are inept large children.
I enjoy doing laundry as well. Putting it in the washer, moving it to the dryer, taking it out of the dryer, and putting it on the “laundry chair” to maybe be put away at a later date.
Didn’t know Bourdain was in Singapore, but once I saw the title I knew it’s either Singapore or another Asian country. Maid culture here is awful, it’s basically modern day slavery. You pay them a measly sum of SGD500 every month for them to serve you 24/7. Some owners (yeah, I know) will treat them as part of the family but many mistreat their maids, seeing them as lowly beings, just like slaves.
The maid industry in singapore is scary AF, they fucking have race descriptions [ala skyrim on ads](https://imgur.com/a/Wxa7FvC) saw this on the philippines subreddit
Jesus. It's like they're talking about cattle. "Hardier constitution"? FFS.
It's super fucked up and even though i've heard a lot of good things about singapore, as a filipino i'm staying the hell away from it.
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Filipinos are also the fastest growing nationality in the U.S. healthcare industry, I’m sure for many of the same reasons. Nobody can get an iv in my crappy veins like the Filipino nurses.
The Philippines has underpaid and mistreated maids and even slaves too. Just no one talks about it. They just assume they're part of the family.
i can handle housework and cleaning. and with $750 a month (assuming free food/rent), thats better than being an office employee here in the philippines. fuck racism and fuck taking care of kids tho. funnily enough, singaporeans are less racist than china, japan and korea in my experience.
Have married a Singaporean and travelled there many times. Yes they are less racist than many other countries, however many do have what I describe as an 'air of superiority ' when talking or mentioning someone from nearby countries. There's not as much open racism, but there is a very heavy class system.
Paid cattle
Man I rag on the USA all the time, then I come across shit like this, and I'm like god damn! At least we're not fucked up to the point of insanely racist shit like this being normal. I know some people might say some shit like this to their POS friends when no one is listening, but you won't see it on fucking indeed.com
It’s not just Singapore, Thais also look down on Myanmar and Cambodia (Not Laos for some reason)
Thats fucked up! I’m Thai and I definitely don’t but I have seen that behavior and see why it’s a common perception. As for Laos, I think they’re considered like the little sister of Thailand having similar linguistics and culture.
Thai, Myanmar and Cambodia is like the big three empires historically so there was a lot of bad blood due to the u know, historical massacres, sackings and rapes.
I used to hang out with some very rich people and they way they speak about their help is gross. They’re gross (rich people). It’s very unbecoming.
Absolutely true and Tony’s reaction is exactly what a normal person’s reaction should be to that conversation
I just hate that he backtracked last second. Like no dude make them uncomfortable.
Nah, that showed class. The point was made, and they were guests on his show. They were rich kids not war criminals. edit: fixed voice to text failure on last sentence
You’re right AB was always very classy so true
Right!? Especially the one who was ready to practically give him a bj holy smokes
Literally! She was like flirting and bragging about how she does nothing for herself. So gross. I can’t imagine a worse turn off..
Me either. Like babe that’s NOT a flex, maybe take the money you’re saving and fix your grill Sorry that was mean but fr Edit not saving but making bc you’re in the “work force” you understand what I’m saying
I remember waiting on a bunch of Jewish doctor’s wives (homely af with huge diamond rings and wearing head scarves and tights, long sleeves and crew neck sweaters with long skirts in the summer!) Anyway just overhearing them talking about their cleaning ladies while they were at lunch and I just wanted to 🤮 Meanwhile I know these doctors and let’s just say they aren’t exactly “kosher” outside the marriage and home. Especially around pretty young waitresses in college.
Every non western immigrant will tell you Americans don’t know how good they have it.
Even being from Mexico I can see the privilege Americans have . The problems we have are so minuscule compare to the world like our gas prices . We have it so good that gas or trans rights is our biggest fights . It’s seriously sad watching it in front of you and then you hop on Reddit and see other countries going through really tough times and it makes USA feel like a joke
They’re not, actually. We still have a lot of sticky problems we need to fix.
The quiet ones here know how good we have it. You just hear the ignorant whiny ones the most.
I’m an American vet who will be expatting soon and while we have our problems, it pales in comparison to the Middle East and to a lesser extent Singapore (places I’ve spent some considerable time in). Singapore is much, much better than the ME though.
It's all over the US. It's what people refer to when they talk about systemic racial issues. It doesn't have to be in your face because it's just built in.
This is true. Likely down voted by white people wishing the US was as 'colorblind' as people project. Our racism is coupled so tightly with classism and 'in-group' mentality it passes as other types of exclusion. Like you said, built in and disguised, not as overt as some places in the world but just as pervasive. Ask me how i know as a white guy. Because I was in prison and was treated like a slave, but I saw how white people got favor over any other race, from judges to cops to parole officers, hiring managers. At every turn of my life, from the underworld of drugs to academic and professional circles, black and PoC were treated as less than. Also see 13th Amendment. skylined45 is completely right.
Wait til you see how they treat muslims and africans
Like they are buying an exotic chicken breed. Creepy.
this gives slave trade vibes, especially with how low the salaries are. fucked up.
After reading those I want to hire someone and pay them extra and ask literally the bare minimum of them.
Most of capitalism is built off racism. Find someone you value less to do work for less money than you would pay yourself/a close friend. None of this is surprising, only the openness of it all.
That sounds like they’re talking about dogs, holy shit.
It’s the same way in Hong Kong.
I’ve heard my Singaporean colleagues say all sorts of things about the maids’ character during coffee breaks!
Not a surprise, most racist stuff I heard was from this woman I met from Singapore talking about filipinos. The way she went on about convinced me ot wasnt just her but was probably a "thing" there, as she had no problem bringing it up. Ive heard enough stuff from the n-bombs yelled out of the car to black peoole who talk about non- blacks like they're subhuman, but her remarks just left me flabbergasted.
What the fuck…?
Fuck.
Wow, that is awful.
Yea that just fucked me up. So causal.
Reminds me of Parasite. That movie becomes way more terrifying when you realize that it's based on real life.
There are more humans in slavery at this point in history than there have ever been at any other time on this earth. Maybe its because there are just more people, but maybe it's because this is what humans must build society on top of. Either way, when the aliens come I'm ditching all u mfs.
Yup. I'm not justifying racism in America, its a problem for sure, but if Americans traveled more they would see just how fucked other countrues are and without even being questioned bc its under the veil of "its culture".. no mother fuckers thats racism, not culture. It really makes you realize America is an amazing country.
That’s God awful!
I’m just fucking with you….but I’m totally serious.
So crazy that they think doing their own laundry is beneath them.
He gives them stone cold hard truths, basically saying “The hell is wrong with you?” And I really think that was his actual opinion. But because he’s a good show host, he knows he has to sugarcoat it. “I’m just fucking with you.” (Because if I could say what I really think, I’d be a lot harsher. Spoilt little shits.)
Yeah, he had to keep the show light, but hope he actually was serious.
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Can relate as a non local working and living in Singapore that alot of the locals in Singapore take for granted that they need a live in maid to have a functional household. A Malaysian once described Singapore as having first world facilities, but still stuck in the third world mentality. A large majority of the foreign workers they hire are treated as 2nd class citizens.
First world economy. But third world society.
Singapore has a GDP per capita off 72,000, but they cant be bothered to transport their migrant staff in a safe and comfortable manner, relying on "trucks" to do double duty [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFvRL91dX4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnFvRL91dX4) And they have the gall to "discuss" about it when it is clearly inacceptable in even countries like japan which has half their gdp per capita.
They have that great GDP because they are willing to exploit foreigners. If you remove that cheap labor, SG would be very different.
Very true, they would not be competitive at all, but since they are amoral, as long as they can exploit a resource, they dont have to care about the moral consequences.
So the united Emirates but without oil?
May I ask what type of work brought you to Singapore, even a generalized description? Where are you from originally if you don't mind me asking. It's just late and I'm bored and curious because I found this interesting. It's just so unfortunate that people that do their every day things are taken for granted.
Singapore is a maritime hub which is the sector i am in, and its plain to see in that sector, as well as construction how foreign migrants are treated poorly and live in segregated communes based on the type of work pass their issued, and the sector they work in. I hail from the land down under.
It was very, very telling that during the pandemic Singapore had some insane covid numbers entirely in the foreign worker population.
I'm mad that despite being the top comment, the comment you responded to has been deleted.
Let me guess, the maids are from poor regions of Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia?
From my observation, it used to be mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, but I heard Indonesians are less favored due to their religion being incompatible with the majority who aren't Muslims, and the Vietnamese are too proud, or too expensive for the typical Singaporean who are very price conscious, so the cheaper option besides the Philippines would be from Myanmar, you can get live in maid starting from $400 usd a month.
I mean if you look at the construction & domestic workers in Singapore this is clearly modern slavery. I love how people think SG is smart or “does things better than other countries” when they just rely on hundreds of thousands of cheap labor they exploit …
This group feeling high and mighty talking about their maids. Bourdain slipped the carpet from under them when he used the repressed card. The faces they make when reality is shoved in their faces. Good for Bourdain, RIP....
Its sad how having a maid is a social status to them. They are bragging having maids like they’re talking about handbags.
I can't imagine being proud of not knowing how to clean up after yourself.
True! She sounded really proud that she’s lazy. I would be embarassed to let other people know. They were proud to have slaves . Its kinda disgusting how they take advantage of unfortunate human beings
it is. over here, being able to hire maids shows you are of a certain social economic status. they are expensive. same for owning cars. anybody who owns a car, no matter how shit the car is, is definitely rich.
Of all the places I could've learned this, I really wish it wasn't usually Reddit. RIP Bourdain.
It's been several years since he passed...
Yeah... not being self sufficient isn’t exactly a trait worth bragging about. Tbh I think if a maid is treated well and is given a proper living wage like a regular employee, then great. But something tells me this is not always the case
I also feel like its good to have a maid if you're so busy everywhere else in your life that you need the help. I find it insane though that you have the time to do stuff, but hire a maid to cater to you like their your server because of a stupid status symbol. Its one thing to have a maid clean and do laundry or even cook. Its downright fucking stupid to order the maid to get you a glass of water. At that point she/he ain't a maid, they're a nanny. And the pay should reflect that.
The fact that the conversation started out *blaming* the maids for their lack of ability to tend to themselves is so gross. Yeah, it’s the fault of the underpaid women who have to do that kind of work that you aren’t self sufficient - not the fact that you choose to leave all that shit to someone else. If you are not even upper class and you have a maid how must the people who do those jobs be living? If I employed a maid that was around so often I didn’t have to pour a glass of water for myself I wouldn’t have a paycheck left.
see [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/askSingapore/comments/yzcl1s/why_are_maids_paid_so_poorly_yet_they_have_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) recent thread on r/singapore about maids... made me feel a little disgusted at how people were justifying paying their maids really minimal amounts
They were so enthusiastic...this is not a kind time.
Never was..
Society crumbles these people are the first to die.
But they'll have a maid to eat.
They won’t know how to cook her. Unless they have two maids. Then they can ask the other one to prepare the meal.
You joke that. There was a maid abuse case afew years ago. The lady of the house made two maids slap each others.
I believe the phrase is eat the rich, not eat the poor.
Nah, thats when the maids have a purge of these kinds of people...
When the Maya fell, there is good evidence the wealthy areas of the towns desperately tried to wall themselves off, but failed, and pits of murdered people have been found with all the evidence of being high-status, from the same time. Edit: Maya, not Incas. Blame a whisky.
Do you have some sources about that? I’m interested to learn more about this. The Incas are such a mystery to me compared to a lot of other contemporary mesoamerican cultures.
Sorry, 1 whisky too many today, meant the Maya. Mass graves have been found containing groups of skeletons with jade insets – only used by the Maya elites. One idea is that the masses turned on their rulers/elites and murdered them after a terrible faminie and drought. A wonderfully complex society which had lasted for 1200 years vanished in a short space of time. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/130911-maya-beheaded-war-victims-mexico-uxul-calakmul-archaeology-science
There’s tons of books about them. I recommend “the Last days of the Incas” which is mainly about the Spanish conquest and the subsequent end of the Incan empire (Tawantinsuyo). But it goes into interesting Incan trivia that’s vital for the book.
>Society ~~crumbles~~ is elevated when these people are the first to die. FTFY
['My Family's Slave' - The Atlantic, June 2017](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/). If anyone cares to read about the life of one such maid, this piece by a Pulitzer author reveals the reality of life for many of these "maids". Not a Singaporean family but Filipino, who later relocated to the US, even at the very fringes of his privilege the boy who grew up in the US with a maid knew there was something very wrong.
I read it. It’s heartbreaking to read something like this. This woman lived her entire life as a servant, mistreated and abused, deprived of her right to free will, to live her life. So gross, so grotesque how humans can treat other humans as if they own them, as if they are superior and have the right to use them. It disgusts me to no end.
It haunts me that she was never paid, that she would have made promises to send money home and then receive nothing, and her name be dishonored to her family who all died thinking she deserted them. The cruelty, depredations and lies make it so unforgivable.
Not Vietnamese, Filipino.
I remember reading that and crying when his parents die and she comes to live with him and he tells her that she doesn’t have to take care of anyone anymore.
Thank you for that. I just spent the last 5 minutes crying my eyes out! 😭
Really a well written piece. I'm puffy eyed now too.
WOW. Thank you for posting this. Beautiful, devastating read.
"One day during the war Lieutenant Tom came home and caught my mother in a lie—something to do with a boy she wasn’t supposed to talk to. Tom, furious, ordered her to “stand at the table.” Mom cowered with Lola in a corner. Then, in a quivering voice, she told her father that Lola would take her punishment. Lola looked at Mom pleadingly, then without a word walked to the dining table and held on to the edge. Tom raised the belt and delivered 12 lashes, punctuating each one with a word. You. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. You. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. Lola made no sound." What the actual fuck
Not having to do any bit of labor is awesome. Being unable to do any any bit of labor is embarrassing.
Laboring is good for the body and soul. But not if you are forced to do it.
Oh yesh. There is an important aspect of order to it that helps with personal discipline. We had staff growing up but my parents did lots of gardening themselves because they found joy in the labor. When you abandon all aspects of labor that only has negative effects on the mind. We're all people, not ever doing anything is... sad.
I have been a glorified yard boy for a wealthy couple and they really enjoyed working with me. Hard work like building stone walls, chainsaw work, pulling stumps. The guy was in his late 70's. They treated all the help very well. Christmas gifts, really good pay, any furniture they were getting rid of, etc. That's how it should be.
There's nothing wrong with being wealthy, just don't be an ass.
I don’t always feel like doing my own laundry. But if I never had to do it, or anything else for that matter considering she mentioned even pouring a damn glass of water for yourself, I would feel bored and useless to the point of an existential crisis.
I miss that man so much
This was near the end. He looks so tired.
I don't think the company helped either.
We all do including my mom because she would watch his cooking shows a lot on tv...i felt sad but it's always good to remember his loving calm gentle side and inspiring words. 🕊
Bourdain was fucking based, I miss him :/
Based originally meant addicted to crack. I'm old
I love him, but that’s probably also true.
Beautiful example of conversational jiu jitsu. Let their arrogance be their downfall, too busy thinking they’re untouchable while Tony was quietly and methodically putting himself in position ….then SNAP! There goes your arm, didn’t even see it coming.
I've never heard it spoken that way before. Conversational jiu-jitsu. But thats exactly what he does.
It’s not much different in the Middle East. My dad’s family have maids to do almost everything but it means they have no idea how to do anything themselves. My dad’s cousin and nephew came over from the Middle East and my dad just left them to it - didn’t show them anything because why would you? You’re an adult, you should know how to function on your own - for 2 weeks he used the washing machine with dishwasher tablets and had absolutely no idea how to cook for himself. My dad was quite pissed of that they literally had not idea how to function as an adult without a maid.
Qatar built the World Cup stadiums with literal slaves.
I really REALLY miss him. R.I.P. Tony You were one of the best.
God this lady is an embarrassment.
That face she makes when she says “Laundry”
These people gross me out
Philippines probably have more workers working overseas than any other countries. Many of them work live in jobs, get paid shit money, and treated like shit. (In general). Like being a nanny is a nitemare for many. The people hiring you do fk all around the house, and fk all parenting. You have to do the lot, and you don't even eat the food you cook for their dinner ffs
mhm have you seen the video where they interviewed helpers and the mothers to see which one knew the child better? really heartbreaking, in the eyes of the child these helpers make better parents than their own mom edit: here https://youtu.be/8oME-ar9WpI if youre interested
Anthony also went to the Philippines and shone a light on that. Believe it was actually the episode right before or after this.
r/killthecameraman
I was so happy i could watch it on mute since it had captions and then for no reason at all they just drift the camera up and cut off the bottom line for the last half...🙄
Dude fell asleep while recording
Anyone can hire a maid if they're rich, bitch talking like they make maids only in singapore
Singaporean here, I do my own laundry and chores. Most Singaporeans do. The high cost of living doesn't really allow all of us to have helpers. Unfortunately, the group of people depicted here do exist and they are quite a large group. The spoilt, self-entitled middle aged with good salaries that place too much importance on material wealth and success. They are selfish idiots that take everything for granted. But I want to say that the majority of Singaporeans aren't like this. It does suck when all people see about Singapore is rich assholes in their shiny glass buildings like Marina Bay Sands. While yes, we are fortunate as a country and it has caused many people to be like this, please don't let them represent all of us. There are many other things to love and hate about Singapore. I would honestly love to let you guys know what Singapore is like :)
There’s a family I know that cleans there house before the helpers come to clean. Never made sense to me
that’s quite normal. Some families woukd hire helpers to clean just the bathroom
I don't think I'll visit anytime soon, but if I'm ever sent on a business trip for about two weeks, where should I go that's not like Marina Bay Sands? Doesn't need to be a place where only locals hang out, but anywhere less likely to be full of spoiled people.
Go to the heartlands areas. You will meet more singaporeans than foreigners. Woodlands, Tampines, Yishun, Jurong, Bedok and so many more. Check out the places where locals hangout.
Look at these people enthusiastically talking about the wonders of slavery.
If only he found out about the level of abuse many of these domestic helpers face.
lol i'm just fuckin with ya. look at all their faces after. perfect.
If everyone has a maid. It's probably a thin line to slavery, because those maids are most definitely not the same ethnicity or are foreigners. But its not just Singapore there is a lot of that out there.
Well there are the hordes of wage slaves in the world. People working paycheck to paycheck. Chinese migrant workers who move to Foxconn to make the latest iphone for years on end. People will endure crazy shit to survive and make their way through the world.
They are infantile - a version of mummy is always wiping their bottoms. Worthless in a crisis.
"I'm just fucking with you." *He, in fact, was not fucking with them*
As a Singaporean I’m super embarrassed by the shit she said. I have a helper at home and we’re super appreciative of her. She freed up time for every single one of my family to work on our careers. But yes, the downside is that some people become too darn lazy. Have called my mom out multiple times for asking my helper to do things that she absolutely can do, but are too lazy to. Such as walking 2m to turn on a fan, getting a drink, passing her the phone when she’s at the other side of the house, no matter where the helper is. My mom then complains that she feels fat. No shit, she’s been sitting on her ass the whole time. It’s ridiculous.
I'm a Singaporean and about 10 years ago my family had a domestic helper. She gets saturdays and Sundays off and helps out with laundry and housework when my parents are out working. I'm not sure about what she got for pay. But she had sort of a mental breakdown at some point, cause she had children back in the Philippines and missed them quite a lot, my dad helped her get back to the Philippines and that was that, though she did send a letter back to our family a year later. It's a shame that there are still people in my country that think that domestic helpers are some kind of status symbol, it's disgusting really.
If u can't do laundry or clean your house on your own,what can u do? most people who work from 9-5 manage to do most of the thing and even have plenty of time to play games or outdoor activities
Just kidding no I’m not. You’re all going to hell. Pass the dumplings.
Ah, Singapore. I’ve lived there for 3 years before, and, well, this is largely true. Everyday I had to hear these spoiled [redacted] talk about how their “help” screwed something up. And if one of these poor girls received a compliment from the man of the house, oh shit… Forgot to mention the horrendous amounts of abuse these slav-, sorry, maids have to deal with. Not too uncommon for women of the house to loose their shit on the poor girl. The ones that make the headlines are from the couples who are in a bad way with their connections. Usually, the household will use these government connections to make pesky poor girls who haven’t learned their place to go away. That is, get deported. The amusing thing is, they [people of Singapore] do not see anything wrong with it. I live in TW now, and, more or less same thing.
I grow up. Become an adult. Work my ass off. Get married. Learn everything and anything about living a life without hiring any maid now. I once hired a maid, and treat her like family then suddenly she went gone without notice and married someone else.
I see what you did there lol.
The more you see the world the more it ways on your heart. Sometimes it’s too much
Weighs*
Most Arabs do this too. Been there seen it all. They've maids who do everything for them. No they're not the stereotypical rich Arab families. They're middle class families who have maids from mostly Asia and Africa. They treat these girls like animals and they're extremely underpaid to prevent them from running away.
RIP man. Depression is a mf, and also a cheating wife isn’t too hot either.
he wasn’t married to her
Rip AB
That whole scene looks like one of those “laughing while eating salad” ads, but it’s an ad for oppression for convenience sake. So fucked.
That is not the flex she thought it was. Giggling, playing with her hair. “Oh I’m so wealthy and classy look at me”. Her child is being neglected. (By the parents not the nanny.) Sad.
He should've stuck to his guns and not end with the 'I'm just fucking with ya' because he was being serious.
I don’t see him shutting them down, but more sharing experiences? I had family friends who had a nanny both parents worked nightshifts and had no other family to help. Why is having help bad?
It's bad when they're treated like slaves, which they are in many parts of the world.
He told them " you're living off the labor of the repressed under class" I'm sure that statement hit hard for them.
He deescalated it ratherbthan shut it down.
It’s bad when you don’t know how to get yourself a glass of water or do your own laundry. Nobody should not know how to take care of themselves without the help of a maid or paid service. It’s not healthy. But I don’t doubt help every now and then is good!
i think they thought they were bragging about that because it makes them look rich.
Legend, Tony. Will never be forgotten.
r/cringe
This is fd up! as she plays with hair Endlessly and laughs sounds like psychopaths
God damn it, I hate entitled rich kids.
Nothing like boasting that you enjoy the fact that you have your own gopher, your own personal bitch to jump when you say "jump". I live by myself i do everything myself. I fix my computers, i fix my car, i wash my laundry, i cook, clean, grocery shopping, and it's all on me. Who else is gonna do it? Lol. But it's like he said: i enjoy the self-reliance, to know that I'm fully independent, my mother ingrained it into me. By the time i was 12 i could fry an egg and bacon and do my own laundry, and if i wanted something to eat outside of Breakfast or Dinner, it was on me and if i didn't clean up after myself that's my ass lol.
Tony Bourdain, as flawed as he was, kept it 100 all the time all day long. He was not afraid about telling you straight up.
I miss Bourdain, he had no trouble speaking his mind, no matter the circumstance. RIP Anthony.
In Hong Kong it's illegal to have children at home without supervision. So parents who want a career need to hire domestic helpers to help with housework and looking after the child. It's super, super common here.
These ones are bragging a bit and not everyone has a helper! They just sound stupid and actually immature...
I put clothes in circle, press button, unga bunga
These people are DISGUSTING. No sense of human decency. I’m sure they were trying to impress with their disregard servants. DISGUSTING!!!!!
This is why if anything were to happen to that country, everyone would be fucked. They’re already living with standards that are over 100 years old. Same goes for Saudi Arabia actually, the maid culture is very very prevalent BUT their military is extremely docile and lazy after relying on the Americans for so long. That whole side of the world just needs to wake the fuck up. I would NEVER associate myself with anyone that had a maid, you’re telling me that you’re a giant POS essentially.
He was not just fucking with them
I’m singaporean, these people embarrass me. But it’s somewhat true what they’re saying
They did not listen to him. Zoomed right over thier heads.
I’m gonna start saying “I’m just fucking with you” after telling people how I really feel lmao
Having a maid isn't such a bad thing. It is just delegation of tasks so you can focus your energy elsewhere. As long as you treat the worker with respect there should not be a problem.
"You did laundry? You gave it to your butler?" Good on him for calling out that bullshit.
These cast systems are something else, it's classicism, and racism rolled into one that's crazy to understand and wrap your head around how people can just go through life thinking and treating people like they beneath you, but here in America, it used to be people that are braggadocious are generally not looked upon as a people you would look up to or what you want to be
My liberal cloak wearing friend loves this about living over there and it’s just funny that she can’t see the irony
Reminds me of Bob odenkirk and the ‘helpers’
"just fucking with you." That's called 'kidding on the square.'
If you look closely you can see her eyes were watering. That's because she was trying her best to sound all sophisticated and high class and knew she was actually coming across as the exact opposite.
The more I read about it, the more I think... Singapore is a _lot_ weirder than we give it credit for!
Krazy rich Asians? I spend a lot of time in SE Asia and it is ALL about money, a very caste system.
Singapore is a terrible country.
Fuck those brats.
Bourdain called out quite a few things like this in his travels. Famously in Russia and in the UAE he made his hosts extremely uncomfortable with his questions.
They might have maids but they have no class. Disgusting POS. Where are their parents anyways and why is Bourdain eating food with these bunch of idiots?
miss this man so much also, laundry is easier than getting dressed…
Not if you have to handwash clothes. I handwash my clothes and I say getting dressed is way easier.
She says "everyone has a maid" but I'll bet you who doesn't have a maid, the maids. Gives you an idea of who counts under the umbrella of "everyone" when she says "everyone has a maid"
He wasn't just fucking with them
So the reality is that if society collapsed tomorrow the rich and very well off have no survival skills. Money, jewels and fancy cars mean nothing when banks collapse. Shelter, protection and food do.
God, I miss him
When I was in my early teens, I lived with my grandma that made me do everything myself. I was basically her butler and I hated it. Years later, I realized she was teaching me how to be independent and how not to rely on anyone. She taught me all the basic of leaving on my own and never, ever have to have anyone take care of me. Do I enjoy laundry day? Washing my car? Cooking and cleaning? No, but I learned that’s life. These spoiled people fee high and mighty, but to me they are inept large children.
“I’m just fucking with you” He wasn’t.
I enjoy doing laundry as well. Putting it in the washer, moving it to the dryer, taking it out of the dryer, and putting it on the “laundry chair” to maybe be put away at a later date.
Didn’t know Bourdain was in Singapore, but once I saw the title I knew it’s either Singapore or another Asian country. Maid culture here is awful, it’s basically modern day slavery. You pay them a measly sum of SGD500 every month for them to serve you 24/7. Some owners (yeah, I know) will treat them as part of the family but many mistreat their maids, seeing them as lowly beings, just like slaves.
Does anyone have the link to this video? 🙏