President Donald Trump didn't cry at all, not during his inauguration, his alpha male feathers strutting so enduringly as he vowed to put “America First”.
Trivial as it may seem, the issue of whether he should shed a tear became a point in question in an international news report a day before Friday’s inauguration.
“Trump has one big lesson from outgoing United States president Barack Obama — he needs to learn to be cool about crying,” noted the AFP story from Paris.
Quoting behavioural expert Judi James, the story added: “If he could squeeze one tear out during his inauguration tomorrow, people will turn around quite quickly their feelings towards him. I think there is quite an emotional guy in there somewhere.”
Saying that Obama wept openly at least 10 times since he took office, she said tears are one of the most powerful weapons politicians have in their arsenal. And, for Trump crying would be ideal to allay worries of a world fretting about what his presidency will hold.
The debate has brought forth the issue of whether men should cry in public. The old stereotype is about women shedding tears at sad news and over the old family photos which trigger memories.
And, they weep at distressing and melancholic movies, whereas men remain dry-eyed in the most harrowing and heartbreaking situations.
The stereotype, however, may actually have some basis, in fact. Women cry dozens of times a year, on average — up to five times more often than men do, according to research reported by psychologists Ivan Nyklicek, Lydia Temoshok and Ad Vingerhoets, all of Tilburg University in the Netherlands, in their book Emotional Expression and Health.
Men’s crying flings are also briefer, lasting just two to three minutes on average, compared with six minutes or much longer for women, the book says. The weepier nature of women shows up in cultures around the world.
However, in some poorer countries, such as Ghana, Nepal and Nigeria, people cry less overall, and men cry only slightly less than women, according to a 2011 study in the journal Cross-Cultural Research.
That could be because poorer cultures dissuade emotional expression, while people in richer countries such as the United States sob more because their culture encourages it, the researchers say.
Other theories suggest that crying may help people get in touch with their own emotions, meaning a lack of tears can hint that a person has trouble accessing their feelings.
About 22 per cent of people who have trouble producing tears also have difficulty identifying the emotions they’re feeling, according to a 2012 study in the journal Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology.
But, the fact that Trump did not cry at all after an agonising battle with Democrat Hillary Clinton maybe shows his emotion. After all, how many times did he smile throughout the inauguration?
On another note, I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry after reading the news about the Subang Jaya Municipal council (MPSJ) “cracking the whip” on errant food operators.
According to news reports on Saturday, a late-night raid on seven food premises in USJ9 and USJ10 resulted in two outlets being issued a notice to cease operations for at least a week and slapped with a compound of RM1,000 each.
Officers who performed the checks found cockroaches scurrying around the food and beverage counters. Droppings from rats and cockroaches were spotted at the drinks preparation counter, store cabinet and cooking area.
Most of the workers were reported to have long nails, and they wore rings and watches while handling food. The majority of them did not receive typhoid jabs.
Whoa, for all the deplorable condition, the shops were only given a slap on the wrist. And, for all these, the food operators were not named. The most effective penalty for the errant ones is to name the premises.
Calling them shops selling nasi lemak or nasi kandar is certainly not enough. Name and shame. Do it for the public.
Syed Nadzri is a former NST group editor