It really has been quite a long absence for me. The stamina, discipline and having a keen nose for subjects of interest by local bloggers fascinates me and left me wondering how come they are so good.
Anyway I found manage to find something that I could also make a little claim on Singapore's blogosphere.....Amos Yee.
I did made a few comments, not from the onset but when he was being charged in the courts. I said he is an extremely intelligent person and had been fed with information through certain workshops or meetup sessions conducted by anti-establishment groups that later was confirmed by Yee's own statements that he is influenced by meetups conducted by the Singapore Democratic Party. What really surprised me was the revelation that Yee's mother was also among those attending the meetups. This may not be accurate but I kind of remember that at the first instant that Yee was being charged, the mother was said to be defending Yee's prank video was only a joke.
I have also said that Yee's personality would eventually find those presently around him boring and cannot live up to his expectation of equal intelligence. That too was proven true subsequently. Yee is extremely logical and being that, anything that is illogical and does not make sense deeply disturbs him. That also means to say that when someday someone comes up to him and demolish the foundations of his beliefs, he would have gladly give them all up and embrace whatever that wins him over through logic. That is how extreme his reliance on logic can be.
Anyway, the story is now stuck at facing off Vincent Law. The table is turned against Yee now for being ungrateful to one who stakes a $20,000 bail and perhaps personal reputation to get Yee out of jail for the time being. Now Yee seems to be left with only enemies and no friends where once the enemies were on the pro-establishment and the antis were friends.
To establish that Vincent Law the bailor is an anti-establishment person is not my point here. It is his maiden comment on their virgin meeting that raises my special interest. "I am a Christian", Law said. "Oh Fuck" was Yee's instant response according to his own account in his blog.
What was that supposed to be that Yee should know as the very first thing of Law other than being his bailor is that he is a Christian?
Is Law trying to say that I am sent by God to save you Amos? That being the case, he has made a mockery of God and himself for failing terribly in the face of the public.
What else could that mean? I know many had use this before and I was being taken in once when someone claimed that he is a pastor, that Christians are good and trust worthy people. Many church going Christians would jump in to defend that these are "fake" Christians. But how do you tell between a real and a fake Christian? By the time you know, you'll probably have been conned.
Careful now. I am not in anyway saying that Vincent Law is a fake Christian. What Law could have been thinking is that if I say I am a Christian, I would have established that much needed credibility at first instant.
To help Yee, Law was grossly wrong from the very beginning. Instead of bridge building by establishing credibility and trust between bailor and bailee, counselor and counselee, Law cut the only rope that he might connect with Yee by saying he is a Christian. It was known that Yee is now an atheist after walking out of the Catholic Church. Yee simply distrust Christians and Christianity, hence also the video he produced that put him in trouble.
It is not wrong for Law to declare publicly that he as a Christian was not offended by the video that Yee made, but using his status as a Christian and his belief in a manner that would eventually form the basis of relationship between the two and how that relationship should be guided was an absolute disaster.
The details of how that relationship went as in the account given by Yee in his blog. Law had been rather regimental in his approach. If Law believes his role as bailor can help and guide Yee to grow up to be a better person and that the Christian faith can make the difference, then Law must take the approach that the Christian faith is one that is rational, logical and reasonable to all and at all times. Law needs not just what takes to be a SG certified counselor but one who can explain his faith in the most relevant way that makes sense even to an atheist like Yee.
There is another approach which is yet to be established, and that is the state initiated help where probation officers be appointed to assist Yee in dealing with his unique adolescent experience.
For whatever sympathy that people have on Yee for his young age, Yee has committed a serious wrong in the eyes of the law. For Singapore, the law cannot waver, and people upholding the law cannot waver for if we do the foundation of which this nation stands will begin to erode and degenerate.
But this is a case where the wrong was committed due to a natural personality development, therefore I think the execution of penalty should be tampered with mercy. Whether we take it from the religious or secular perspective, we condemn the act but not the person. If there is any way that this person can be awaken to the realities of personal expectations and social well being, let's put our hearts behind this case with hope or prayer and leave the lad alone. Hyping up the case for whatever purpose is not helpful and destroys the chance of Yee finding his normal self.
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