Adoration Overkill.

When my friends tell me that they're really sad about Lee Kuan Yew's passing, the first thought crossing my mind has been "really meh?"
Of course this skepticism has its roots in the fact that I don't particularly feel a sense of loss. I don't, and I am not ashamed because I feel that this is not arising from any misgivings:
1. I think and affirm the fact that Singapore is a successful state, one unlike any other.
2. I affirm that LKY is a remarkable gentleman who conceived of visions many didn't even dare to picture.
3. Despite his flaws, in aggregate he is still a pretty amazing individual who has existed.
4. I do not doubt his passion and true concern and love for my country.

However, on the other hand, I barely know the man. Try as I may to provoke any emotion in myself, I cannot. And perhaps this is proper, since I can only genuinely react to his passing as far as my knowledge of him permits me. I know the facts about him but I can scarcely be said to know him as a person at all. My emotional response to him, therefore, is on par with what can be expected of me.

On the other hand, what can be said of the rest of the people? I'm certain that many of them don't actually love the man. They just think that it is proper to make a spectacle of it. They think that it is proper to mourn and wail about him. Have they wondered if they are in the position to do so? This is where it is an eyesore for me.
These people... they talk as if they've known the man intimately. They talk as though they have been consistently and coherently admiring the man. But who really has?

Is there anyone else getting tired of how the articles published are beginning to make a myth of the man? They're talking about how he is perfect in every way. It began with being an outstanding politician... and then he's a good husband, a good father, a generally good man who inspires all around him, he's the carefree guy who chats with uncles in the GRC and hand-holds them on how to start grassroots committees... He's just outstanding in every way, we've never seen a man like him.

To me, these are insults. I believe that my indignation arises from noticing that these mythical processes are actually a disservice to his legacy. It is as though who he really is isn't sufficient or worthy of respect and admiration, one must find many other tangential claims to indulge themselves further...

Cognisant of how the entirety of Facebook has gone all the way to wallowing in his passing, I cannot even post this there. I just hope that people will slow down and think about it... to consider if they have valid reasons to be upset so they don't just stagger after the crowd, intoxicated by this synthetic sadness, and instead, actually give LKY some real respect he deserves.