Before the internet, if you were angry about something, you’d call your best friend, go on a rant for 20 minutes, and get on with your day.
Now, it feels obligatory to let the whole world know every time you’re having a problem.
Admittedly, it can feel quite cathartic.
‘Entitled’ FDW
That’s why Jessica Loh, a Singaporean influencer, took to Instagram to vent her frustrations about her foreign domestic worker (FDW).
Loh was upset that her FDW had eaten some of the seafood bee hoon that Loh had cooked for her friend’s birthday without asking for her permission.
The helper said she had helped herself to some of the bee hoon Loh had cooked because there was a large amount. It was also late in the night, and she would have had to cook again for herself otherwise.
Loh said she was initially annoyed that her helper hadn’t asked her before eating some of the bee hoon but thought that was the end of it.
But after receiving the above WhatsApp message the next morning, Loh lost it.
The influencer claims that her helper had lied about having nothing to eat for dinner until 9pm, because the FDW had cooked fried rice for Loh’s nephew at 7pm, and could have cooked some for herself as well.
She admits that she had cooked a lot of bee hoon, and that there was enough for the helper.
She says she would have gladly offered her helper some if she had asked nicely, claiming she had offered a portion the last time she made the same dish.
After the incident, Loh’s helper packed her bags and threatened to leave the household.
She complained about Loh checking her belongings, but Loh said she only did this because the helper had stolen things from her in the past.
That should have been that, but as you know, almost all Instagram dramas require a response from an outraged individual or group.
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Open Letter From Advocacy Group
In response to the incident, Maid for More, an FDW advocacy group, posted an “open letter” to Loh on their Instagram account.
They said that their intention was not to call the influencer out but to “share perspectives” that would improve Loh’s relationship with her helper.
In their letter, the group says that they understand Loh’s frustrations, but appealed to her to “approach such conflicts with grace and openness.”
Loh disagreed with Maid for More’s stance and questioned their claim of not wanting to call her out.
One could argue that if Maid for More had no intention of calling her out and simply wanted to share their perspective, they could have sent her the letter in a private message.
The influencer also says that her helper leads a “comfortable life”, and stressed that she is not mistreated in any way.
In addition to a light workload and unlimited access to the Internet, Loh says she has given her helper makeup and skincare products in the past.
“Social Justice Warriors”
Maid for More later reached out to Loh through personal messages, but this didn’t exactly help the situation.
Loh’s gripe with the advocacy group is that they urged her to approach her issues with her maid in a different way, but couldn’t offer any advice on how to do so when she asked.
The influencer called the group “social justice warriors”, saying that the “woke people of our generation” scares her because they preach kindness and cooperation but can’t offer any practical solutions to real-world issues.
Who do you think is right?
We still have a couple of days to go until Phase 2, so you can bet your cousin’s toaster that this is not the last we’ll hear of this melodrama.
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