Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Abstracts of essays; news; announcements; short takes.
About Me
- Yawning Bread Sampler
- This blog carries summary abstracts of Yawning Bread essays, with space for comments.
Here too are other tidbits that are too short for the main Yawning Bread site.
To email me, go to the main site.
Posts
11 comments:
i read the article by the jacob reporter. The more senior they come the more ridiculous they sound. Jacob isn't dumb and must know he is not making any sense or helping the status quo. But the urge to appear pro-estab and protect his rice bowl is so apparent it is embarrassing. Otto fong's honesty is what society needs, not the kind of dishonesty perpetuated by jacob.
"But does it matter, when telling the young person about being honest to himself and to others, whether the adult is himself honest?"
I just wonder whether the society at large (especially those so-called conservative ones) are actually aware that there are a lot of people out there in this world pretending to be moral upright whereas on the other hand they are actually hiding behind some kind of mask with many scandals/skeletons waiting to be exposed such as :-
1) Politicians, Ministers, Public Servants who are corrupted, sex maniacs, murderers, liars, etc.
2) Conmen who swindle the naive, old & public under the pretext of being a very religious person.
3) Businessmen who will not hesitate to adopt unethical means in order to achieve their objectives.
4) Cassonavas who cheats love and money from those who are more gullible.
5) The list goes on.
If we are able to understand the fact that these groups of people are more fearful than a normal person who happens to be gay, then this world would definitely be a much better place to live in,
that is, if only we could look at this world more objectively and place more emphasis on our priorities correctly.
Otto is indeed very brave and we need more honest people like him. Alex, would appreciate very much if you can continue to update us on Otto. I wonder how the school/MOE would react now?
The other point I would like to make is how forward-thinking and gutsy the Zaobao report was. I have always assumed the Chinese papers cater mainly to the heartlanders and hence, a more conservative audience. Perhaps our assumptions are wrong. The English papers were just the opposite. Like you, I was waiting for a news report on the ST but what we got was a news commentary. Seriously, how could a newspaper publish a commentary without first reporting the news?
wing -
There have been many occasions in the last few years when the Chinese newspapers and TV channels reported more readily and more fairly on gay-related issues than the English-language ones. The Chinese editors and producers obviously judge that their readership is more open.
In which case, one has to ask how much truth there is to the govt's claim that the heartlanders are opposed to accepting gay people.
Put it this way: I have a feeling that the Chinese media reflect the ground better. The English-language media reflect the govt's demands better.
wing,
The zaobao journalist who wrote this report is only 25 years old. :)
That said, I am monitoring the zaobao forum for any protest against her queer-friendly report. There's nothing so far.
I am curious why ST did not do a proper report on this incident though.
I dont think the Zaobao reporters "represent" the heartlanders; they are merely less close to the "establishment" than the ST reporters; e.g., I dont think any Zaobao reporters were former security analysts.
sgsociety.com
I will announce it too. I am coming out of the cupboard. People, I announce that I am straight!
Now come and get me. Come on! My liver is right here!
YB said:
"There have been many occasions in the last few years when the Chinese newspapers and TV channels reported more readily and more fairly on gay-related issues than the English-language ones."
That's very interesting and made me think.
Chinese newspaper = Chinese readers.
Now what is the proportion between Chinese Christians and Chinese Buddhist/other religions?
I dare say nobody would dispute that Buddhists are more tolerant of homosexuality than Christians. So that means that the Chinese press readership would be more ready to read truthful reports on gay issues.
Remember, Buddhists believe in reincarnation and so they are always mindful of the possibility that they might be born gay in the next life!
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/212040.asp
Prof's talk axed after police got extra info
...
"It became subsequently clear to Police that the event was part of the efforts of gay activists to promote their
political agenda
which involved a foreigner,"
said Assoc Prof Ho.
...
so you see the main issue is political, not religious beliefs or traditional social values per se
in other words, if gays wish to generate social changes within the current system, they need to use methods not involving suspicions of political agenda with foreign participation.
sgsociety.com
l think otto is a very brave and sincere man. makes no difference to him or his students as a teacher whether he is gay or straight. if he does his job well, ie, teach his students whatever subject he is asked to teach and does it well, and does not promote his sexual preferences [and this applies to straight teachers also] the school should be happy. As it is, it has stirred up more controversy and publicity than if it had remained silent.
Long
From anecdotes, it does seem that the Chinese press is a better indicator of sentiment on the ground (insofar as it makes sense to talk about a concept like that).
Moreover, the Chinese press is less close to the political establishment.
Part of it is historical -- recall the leftist student movements here in the 50s' and 60s'.
Probably part of it is economic too -- more foreign-born journos on their staff from China and Taiwan 'cos Singaporean command of Mandarin is generally poor.
Post a Comment