acroamatic said:
As to blogs being merely 'online diaries' (mattlock, not you... someone else mentioned this), I think that is a very narrow view. Blogging can be an excellent outlet for considered opinion, sharing views (through comments), immediate news (faster than mainstream media) and even education. Much like a forum... =)
yup, I agree with you on that point
sometimes I type too much and I say things that I haven't fully thought out
I get a lot of good opinion from various blogs
it is interesting to note what's happening overseas in relation to blogs also. Recently there was an investigation into some personal opinions made by a LaGuardia Community College professor which were politically incorrect (it may be another community college in New York), these personal opinions had been posted up on his blog. So even the land of free speech deals with blogs with quite a hard hand.
I think regardless of what each person thinks of the blog by this Sarong Party Girl, the bigger picture is that this kind of negative publicity and use of law to deter personal opinions on blogs in other cases will lead to the stunting of a very very powerful tool of the man on the street to voice his opinion.
Our media is highly regulated, our politicians tell us to join politics if we have something to say, the Speaker's Corner was a joke, and in the past one of the only real ways to voice our honest opinion was through coffeeshop talk, which can affect one or two people but does not have enough power to rally opinion together from a lot of people.
the Straits Times can turn public opinion against the legitimacy of blogs through the use of featuring blogs which they know can cause public outcry, such as this Sarong Party Girl, or "SCHOLAR WRITES RACIST REMARKS ON BLOG!!!"
I mean, sex, racism, all these are things which are sure to stir up negative public opinion.
You don't see the Straits Times doing writeups about blogs in a positive light, why should they after all since blogs can become direct competition to state-controlled media?
Personally I think that by reacting negatively to the girl involved in this fiasco rather than reacting at the way the Straits Times has sensationalised this issue, we are undermining one of the forms of free expression that you and I actually have.
The internet is a grey grey area, but that's the excellent thing about it. You and I can publish things which we would never be allowed to publish in real life, I would be really pissed off if one day I should have to censor myself before posting anything on my blog or on a forum.
Benign says that "I love artistic nudity, particularly sculptures. But if it is perversed or could be mis-interpreted, then I think it is best kept from public views.....suitable only for those who would appreciate it. "
Everything can be misinterpreted, I find it very disturbing that if one narrow minded person thinks that something is not acceptable then it should be banned. This is one of the reasons Singapore's art scene isn't exactly exciting.
Alot of art thrives on being controversial, simply because when something agitates people it causes them to ask questions. Like this SPG incident. it agitates us and causes us to discuss.
Benign, I think your disregard for Sarong Party Girl stems from the insecurity they create in you. Asian girl who doesn't like Asian man, what is wrong with Asian man, the Asian man asks himself?
It must be the father's, mother's, society's, fault, and never the Asian man's fault.
Singapore is becoming increasingly multiracial, many foreigners are coming in (right now about a quarter of the population is made up of foreigners, if I remember correctly)
Intermarriage between races is no longer a big deal. If I like indian women even though I am chinese, that shouldn't be something that causes great outrage. Each person has his own reasons for his likes or dislikes. Some people like chicken rice, some hate it. It's no big deal.
Have you asked yourself why SPGs get you so agitated?
It's not as if they form a big part of the population. Is there some sort of personal reason why you dislike SPGs so? Or are you really so keen on "Asian values" that you must condemn them?
