[h=1]ROY NGERNG: HOW WE JUDGE AND REACT TO AMOS REFLECTS OUR SOCIETY[/h]
Post date:
17 Apr 2015 - 11:17am
I met with Amos Yee at a gathering last week.
I did not know what to expect prior to meeting him. There have been so many judgments about him, so I was thinking to myself what kind of person I would meet.
But then I realised, why I am even asking these questions? Do I not remember how it was like when I came out into the public eye that many people also made comments about me?
Funnily, there were many people who did not know me but who would pass negative remarks about me, simply because they disagreed with me, but not even that, they disagreed with what the media said about me. They did not know me.
That was when I realised Amos is just like anyone else. First, who am I to judge him when I do not even know him? But more importantly, even if I were to know him, who am I to judge him?
When I met with Amos though, I had positive impressions. He came across as a highly intelligent person. Sure, he is young, maybe rash. But he is 16.
Of course, being 16 is no excuse and should not be an excuse but we have to be careful about viewing him with the lens of an adult. We should be viewing him with lens of ourselves as 16-year-olds.
Do you remember what it was like when you were 16? I don't too.
What I can remember was that I was having tons of crushes and I was making all sorts of silly mistakes which I would laugh at now. For example, I made a bookmark for a crush I had (and one for myself) and tried to find a way to sneak it to the person. That was embarrassing. In the end, the friends found the bookmark instead. At my age now, I don't believe that I actually did that.
At 16, my worldview - if I had one - was so humourous, thinking back now. We would do things we would never imagine ourselves doing now! But those were the days, that's what we say, isn't it?
For Amos? I think he is very different from many Singaporeans and perhaps people in general in that he has think through things some of us would not. For example, did I think about income inequality and the unfairness in Singapore and then make a video of it at 16? I wouldn't have. I didn't.
As it is, I only started writing on my blog 3 years ago. Before that, I was as typical as anymore I knew.
Sure, Amos made a video and used vulgarities. As much as he has the awareness beyond a 16-year-old who would talk about inequality, he is also a 16-year-old who exhibit other traits that 16-year-olds do as well.
But let's not talk about 16-year-olds. How many of us still use vulgarities or "fuck" now? How many of curse and swear at the another person now, even at our age? In fact, a PAP activist said that he wanted to chop off Amos's penis and stuff it into his mouth (he is still at large, by the way - this goes to show the double-standards and hypocrisy of the PAP government).
But something else that Amos dares to? He dares to speak up where most of us would not.
But do I agree with what Amos said? Definitely on the aspects of inequality, but on some others, not so sure. But more importantly, the question that should be asked is, even if we disagree with Amos, should we ask for his penis to be chopped off? Should we ask for him to be jailed? Should we asked for him to have his future destroyed, just because we disagree with something he said?
First, who are we to even decide? Amos said something. He SAID something, so I think we need to have a sense of proportion here.
Second, even if we disagree, for all the education that we have gone through, surely we can formulate an intellectual argument to counter him even if we disagree? But what I have heard and read so far, many times, go along these lines: Fuck him, he should be jailed. He is such a terrible person. He hurt me, he should be jailed. How dare he scolds my founding father etc etc.
Other than personal comments, comments fed by our emotions and as ironic as it is, rants and vulgarities that we curse at Amos, which is exactly what we are cursing him for - which really makes us not very different from him - then how else do we actually want to formulate an intellectual opinion about him, or more exactly, with him?
In truth, what we say about Amos says more about us.
I do not know if many of us actually look at ourselves before we make the comments we make. Many of us get angry, think he is wrong and simply think to ourselves that we should say something. But why are we angry? Why is he wrong? Because he used vulgarities! Because he insulted me! Because what?
If we were to only know how to take personal potshots at him, then something is either very wrong with our education system or what we have taken away from it. If we disagree with what he SAID, then let's have a conversation about what he SAID. If we are just angry with him, then what we should do is tie him to a stake and burn him, like they did in the Middle Ages. But that is what many are now conducting this witch-hunt on anyway. It is a sad situation for our society.
No, I am not defending Amos because I put full faith in him. First, I do not know him. I still do not know why he did what he did. But I am speaking up because how we think about Amos and how we engage him says more about our society than about him.
Here, we have an opportunity where this individual pops up and says something that can be so out-of-place from what we are used to. How could we have engaged him? Discuss with him? Debate with one another on the topics brought out? Guide him? Speak to him?
But some of us choose to lash out at him.
I speak up because I believe that as a society, we need to learn to mature and grow. It is not about him, really. I speak up because I believe in an integrity where if we believe people should have the room to grow, then we should cater for them that space, we should guide them, and we should give them the chance. That has been what I have always believed and if I would shy away from him because it is not popular to do so, then it says more about me and my integrity than it says about him.
At the end of the day, Amos might be right, he might be wrong. But how many of us actually know him or have spoken to him? And even if we do not like him, we can choose to stay away from him as many have chosen to stay away from us, because if we have to arrest and jail every person who has used vulgarities, cursed and swear, hurt our feelings or disagree with the PAP, at least half the population will all be in prison now.
It is not just about Amos. It is about us, how we want to grow and how we want to become as people, as a society and as a nation.
If after all the perceived level of material wealth, we have not socially caught up, then there is only all to it that money can buy. And if we are not able to have deeper discussions with one another, then it is more reflective of how our society has not had the ability to do so, and instead of saying that some conversations should not be taken, we should start taking them so that we can move on in our understanding as a people.
But this is perhaps what inequality has robbed us of in Singapore - our social capacity.
What I can take pride in knowing is that there are many people who have remained silent but who have taken a more balanced stance, but do know that if you do not speak up and give up on your voice, then you give up on your rights.
And if we do not speak up for the people who stand up for us and protect them, then when no one else speaks up for us anymore, it was because we never did.
Roy Ngerng
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/sexiespider/posts/10152885051524141:0
Post date:
17 Apr 2015 - 11:17am
I met with Amos Yee at a gathering last week.
I did not know what to expect prior to meeting him. There have been so many judgments about him, so I was thinking to myself what kind of person I would meet.
But then I realised, why I am even asking these questions? Do I not remember how it was like when I came out into the public eye that many people also made comments about me?
Funnily, there were many people who did not know me but who would pass negative remarks about me, simply because they disagreed with me, but not even that, they disagreed with what the media said about me. They did not know me.
That was when I realised Amos is just like anyone else. First, who am I to judge him when I do not even know him? But more importantly, even if I were to know him, who am I to judge him?
When I met with Amos though, I had positive impressions. He came across as a highly intelligent person. Sure, he is young, maybe rash. But he is 16.
Of course, being 16 is no excuse and should not be an excuse but we have to be careful about viewing him with the lens of an adult. We should be viewing him with lens of ourselves as 16-year-olds.
Do you remember what it was like when you were 16? I don't too.
What I can remember was that I was having tons of crushes and I was making all sorts of silly mistakes which I would laugh at now. For example, I made a bookmark for a crush I had (and one for myself) and tried to find a way to sneak it to the person. That was embarrassing. In the end, the friends found the bookmark instead. At my age now, I don't believe that I actually did that.
At 16, my worldview - if I had one - was so humourous, thinking back now. We would do things we would never imagine ourselves doing now! But those were the days, that's what we say, isn't it?
For Amos? I think he is very different from many Singaporeans and perhaps people in general in that he has think through things some of us would not. For example, did I think about income inequality and the unfairness in Singapore and then make a video of it at 16? I wouldn't have. I didn't.
As it is, I only started writing on my blog 3 years ago. Before that, I was as typical as anymore I knew.
Sure, Amos made a video and used vulgarities. As much as he has the awareness beyond a 16-year-old who would talk about inequality, he is also a 16-year-old who exhibit other traits that 16-year-olds do as well.
But let's not talk about 16-year-olds. How many of us still use vulgarities or "fuck" now? How many of curse and swear at the another person now, even at our age? In fact, a PAP activist said that he wanted to chop off Amos's penis and stuff it into his mouth (he is still at large, by the way - this goes to show the double-standards and hypocrisy of the PAP government).
But something else that Amos dares to? He dares to speak up where most of us would not.
But do I agree with what Amos said? Definitely on the aspects of inequality, but on some others, not so sure. But more importantly, the question that should be asked is, even if we disagree with Amos, should we ask for his penis to be chopped off? Should we ask for him to be jailed? Should we asked for him to have his future destroyed, just because we disagree with something he said?
First, who are we to even decide? Amos said something. He SAID something, so I think we need to have a sense of proportion here.
Second, even if we disagree, for all the education that we have gone through, surely we can formulate an intellectual argument to counter him even if we disagree? But what I have heard and read so far, many times, go along these lines: Fuck him, he should be jailed. He is such a terrible person. He hurt me, he should be jailed. How dare he scolds my founding father etc etc.
Other than personal comments, comments fed by our emotions and as ironic as it is, rants and vulgarities that we curse at Amos, which is exactly what we are cursing him for - which really makes us not very different from him - then how else do we actually want to formulate an intellectual opinion about him, or more exactly, with him?
In truth, what we say about Amos says more about us.
I do not know if many of us actually look at ourselves before we make the comments we make. Many of us get angry, think he is wrong and simply think to ourselves that we should say something. But why are we angry? Why is he wrong? Because he used vulgarities! Because he insulted me! Because what?
If we were to only know how to take personal potshots at him, then something is either very wrong with our education system or what we have taken away from it. If we disagree with what he SAID, then let's have a conversation about what he SAID. If we are just angry with him, then what we should do is tie him to a stake and burn him, like they did in the Middle Ages. But that is what many are now conducting this witch-hunt on anyway. It is a sad situation for our society.
No, I am not defending Amos because I put full faith in him. First, I do not know him. I still do not know why he did what he did. But I am speaking up because how we think about Amos and how we engage him says more about our society than about him.
Here, we have an opportunity where this individual pops up and says something that can be so out-of-place from what we are used to. How could we have engaged him? Discuss with him? Debate with one another on the topics brought out? Guide him? Speak to him?
But some of us choose to lash out at him.
I speak up because I believe that as a society, we need to learn to mature and grow. It is not about him, really. I speak up because I believe in an integrity where if we believe people should have the room to grow, then we should cater for them that space, we should guide them, and we should give them the chance. That has been what I have always believed and if I would shy away from him because it is not popular to do so, then it says more about me and my integrity than it says about him.
At the end of the day, Amos might be right, he might be wrong. But how many of us actually know him or have spoken to him? And even if we do not like him, we can choose to stay away from him as many have chosen to stay away from us, because if we have to arrest and jail every person who has used vulgarities, cursed and swear, hurt our feelings or disagree with the PAP, at least half the population will all be in prison now.
It is not just about Amos. It is about us, how we want to grow and how we want to become as people, as a society and as a nation.
If after all the perceived level of material wealth, we have not socially caught up, then there is only all to it that money can buy. And if we are not able to have deeper discussions with one another, then it is more reflective of how our society has not had the ability to do so, and instead of saying that some conversations should not be taken, we should start taking them so that we can move on in our understanding as a people.
But this is perhaps what inequality has robbed us of in Singapore - our social capacity.
What I can take pride in knowing is that there are many people who have remained silent but who have taken a more balanced stance, but do know that if you do not speak up and give up on your voice, then you give up on your rights.
And if we do not speak up for the people who stand up for us and protect them, then when no one else speaks up for us anymore, it was because we never did.
Roy Ngerng
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/sexiespider/posts/10152885051524141:0
