The very same credibility they spent years building. Sim tia ...
Yes, very
sim tia. If it was any other group that took over AWARE, they could probably let it rest.
The fact that this new exco is almost the antithesis of everything they stood for in gender equality, means that the scorched earth policy is now a real possiblity.
Gender equality is about giving the same amount of attention to the rights of women, and sexuality is not a restricting factor on coverage. The COSS group wanted to demolish this coverage for those that are of contra-Christian policies.
Now some of you might ask, what's wrong with them shifting AWARE's focus away from GLBTQ issues? Nothing's wrong, except for these 3 points:
- GLBTQ people are ever more and more vocal and visible in society - and AWARE needs to address the needs of lesbians because they are still women.
- The reason why AWARE is seen 'focusing' on lesbian issues is because of a) the urgency of the issues - there are an ever increasing number of women who need a platform to proclaim their own sexuality, and b) it is a low-hanging fruit that AWARE can actually achieve some measure of progress in a short period of time.
- One of the 'panic' points the new ExCo tried to instill in the public was that lesbianism was encouraged and approved when AWARE gave talks to schoolgirls. That particular policy of the old AWARE is the educated response to a growing trend - instead of rebuking them (which will probably garner more rebellious response), I believe the old AWARE understood this is a phase alot of young ladies go through in an all-girls school environment. They were trying to instill maturity in these young ladies, that sexuality IS a choice, and not dictated by parents or other figures of authority.
The last point is going to be a strongly contested point during 2 May - when it comes to young people, all society gets concerned, and it gives leverage to the new ExCo, who understands that majority of Singaporeans are conservative.
It boils down to scolding or educating. Old AWARE is on the side of education, new AWARE is on the side of scolding. Rebuking or restricting young people nowadays is like trying to stuff fog into a bag. The more you catch and stuff, the more the fog spreads, thinner, but bigger. You raise a generation of rebellious and guarded ladies who forever carry guilt and dissent in their hearts.
Education is the rational way of approaching these issues - you open up the minds of these young ladies towards maturity, that in turn opens up the higher possibility that they will stop and consider their own sexuality seriously, and make informed decisions as to whether are they straight or gay. This will guarantee the widest happiness for all women - those who are gay CAN be gay, and those who are straight, will be straight. Otherwise, you leave out the portion of truly gay people who will forever suffer in silence.
What the new AWARE wants to do, is what the Singapore govt has been doing all along - dictating paths for people, social engineering, discouraging active thoughts on non-economic ventures. No subcultures, no 'deviant' behavior' - play along or be punished. As a result, a bunch of soulless, mindless drones, with a small minority flocking towards online communities to vent, and the rest to squeeze out whatever pitiful meaning they can get from life.
On a closing note, watch out for Dr Thio - she is already absorbing the blame for instigating unintentionally - not orchestrating - the takeover of AWARE. She's dangerous as they come, being a trained lawyer, and having some form of immunity being linked to the ruling cadre. She can, and will, deflect blame off the new ExCo to her, only to see it bounce off her tongue and skin, mark my words.