All our MSN taglines these 2 days read "Would you care if your teacher is gay?"
Of course it is in reference to this and the brave act. It is a topic close to our hearts because alot of the friends are gay and many of the intimates are from that particular institution or a sort of sister school. Please note. Not all gay friends are the institution's alumnus, but comprise of some. The institution's alumnus and alumna may comprise of, but not all gay friends. See. I'm being deliberately, patronizingly confusing.
We can debate till the cows come home about whether a gay teacher is acceptable. You know, in some circles, apparently gay teachers will molest their students at every opportunity. Like you know, all gays are promiscuous.
Whatever happened to meritocracy? It's selective. You know from their answers. We put teachers on this high moral pedestal. We force them to be so highly grounded that the slightest wobble will not be tolerated. There are very heavy social expectations of how a teacher should behave. All these unspoken, tangible pressure.
Teachers should not smoke :: Teachers should marry and have 2.3 children :: Teachers should be filial to their parents :: Teachers should be calm and nurturing :: Teachers should wear white and show purity :: Teachers should not party :: Teachers should not drink alcohol :: Teachers should wear a halo :: blah blah blah.
Our social norms have always, and will always stem from the majority's definition. There will never be an antithesis to what are held up as shining examples. From what I gleaned, we don't give a damn if our teacher is gay. We just need him to be a brilliant teacher. Being gay is not contagious. Like other teachers, he's not allowed to espouse his personal or religious beliefs to us.
I give alot of credit to 18-year-olds. What I did at 18 weren't influenced by friends or by supposed glamorous examples. While these factors did contribute to my 'knowledge' of the world at large, I didn't give a flying f*%^ if what I did was considered 'right' to the society. I had enough common sense not to be 'monkey see, monkey do'. I considered rather thoroughly before I wanted to do something. I always question why. And I am optimistic that today's 18-year-olds hold a similar sort of common sense.
He says "I'm gay". So what? It breaks the same rules as him saying "Christianity is bad, Islam is good" or "Buddhism is bad, Judaism is good" or "Cao Dai-ism is bad, Hinduism is good".
Which begets the questions, why he did what he did. If he is looking towards a continued career as a teacher, he shouldn't have done that, period. Whether he's gay or not, is not the issue. As a teacher, he is not to do anything that espouses his personal beliefs in public. He is not to go against the system!
Yes. It could be like a teacher saying he's heterosexual. What's the difference?
The difference is in our criminal laws. Like.
Stealing is a crime :: Assault is a crime :: Cheating is a crime :: Rape is a crime :: Murder is a crime :: Engaging in gay acts is a crime :: Kidnapping is a crime :: Arson is a crime :: Terrorism is a crime :: Robbery is a crime :: Smuggling is a crime ::
As long as Section 377A remains, homosexuals will be emotionally persecuted in this country. Don't we all already know that? So why make such a moral hooha about it?
Of course it is in reference to this and the brave act. It is a topic close to our hearts because alot of the friends are gay and many of the intimates are from that particular institution or a sort of sister school. Please note. Not all gay friends are the institution's alumnus, but comprise of some. The institution's alumnus and alumna may comprise of, but not all gay friends. See. I'm being deliberately, patronizingly confusing.
We can debate till the cows come home about whether a gay teacher is acceptable. You know, in some circles, apparently gay teachers will molest their students at every opportunity. Like you know, all gays are promiscuous.
Whatever happened to meritocracy? It's selective. You know from their answers. We put teachers on this high moral pedestal. We force them to be so highly grounded that the slightest wobble will not be tolerated. There are very heavy social expectations of how a teacher should behave. All these unspoken, tangible pressure.
Teachers should not smoke :: Teachers should marry and have 2.3 children :: Teachers should be filial to their parents :: Teachers should be calm and nurturing :: Teachers should wear white and show purity :: Teachers should not party :: Teachers should not drink alcohol :: Teachers should wear a halo :: blah blah blah.
Our social norms have always, and will always stem from the majority's definition. There will never be an antithesis to what are held up as shining examples. From what I gleaned, we don't give a damn if our teacher is gay. We just need him to be a brilliant teacher. Being gay is not contagious. Like other teachers, he's not allowed to espouse his personal or religious beliefs to us.
I give alot of credit to 18-year-olds. What I did at 18 weren't influenced by friends or by supposed glamorous examples. While these factors did contribute to my 'knowledge' of the world at large, I didn't give a flying f*%^ if what I did was considered 'right' to the society. I had enough common sense not to be 'monkey see, monkey do'. I considered rather thoroughly before I wanted to do something. I always question why. And I am optimistic that today's 18-year-olds hold a similar sort of common sense.
He says "I'm gay". So what? It breaks the same rules as him saying "Christianity is bad, Islam is good" or "Buddhism is bad, Judaism is good" or "Cao Dai-ism is bad, Hinduism is good".
Which begets the questions, why he did what he did. If he is looking towards a continued career as a teacher, he shouldn't have done that, period. Whether he's gay or not, is not the issue. As a teacher, he is not to do anything that espouses his personal beliefs in public. He is not to go against the system!
Yes. It could be like a teacher saying he's heterosexual. What's the difference?
The difference is in our criminal laws. Like.
Stealing is a crime :: Assault is a crime :: Cheating is a crime :: Rape is a crime :: Murder is a crime :: Engaging in gay acts is a crime :: Kidnapping is a crime :: Arson is a crime :: Terrorism is a crime :: Robbery is a crime :: Smuggling is a crime ::
As long as Section 377A remains, homosexuals will be emotionally persecuted in this country. Don't we all already know that? So why make such a moral hooha about it?
11 comments:
how many of us are truly comfortable with homosexuals? how many of us parents hold the secret thought of 'thank god my son/daughter's straight'?
we're so quick to judge homosexuals, forgetting that the worst judgment might come from their parents instead.
what would you and i do if faced with children who embrace homosexuality? would we say 'such a thing won't happen'? or would we say 'burn 'em at the stake'?
i know for a fact my teacher is gay. it doesn't disturb at all. nor the other 11 students in my class.
then again, i'm 28yrs old, not 18yrs old.
i don't hear the youngsters making a big deal out of it. the entire hooha seems to have come from parents and well, you know.
of course it's an issue. our society's very uneasy and wary abt gays.
and to have a teacher 'come out' like that, it's obviously akin to challenging the system.
it's like, there, ball in MOE's court.
*clap clap*
hahahha. you know. yes.
i never liked my teachers because he had ugly clothes, she wore ugly shoes, he had bad teeth, she had bad boobs...you know? i never bothered whether they're gay or not. that wasn't even a factor. i dislike teachers on any small bit.
would students really care? agreed. they have brains too.
it's kinda shocking in prim and proper singapore that someone, a teacher, no less, would 'come out' and admit something that society frowns upon.
of course pple will talk. but what matters is, how society will treat him from now on. will we be close-minded? ostracize him? what?
It's a non-issue insofar as everyone knows of the bias that exists. I think the issue is more the effect of the bias than its existence. Just because one lives in an oppressive environment and knows it to be oppressive does not mean that no issues exist. (Note: I use the word oppression in this instance quite loosely. I think Singaporeans have it quite good, save some political issues. There are countries where even 'unsanctioned' congregating for prayers are a crime.)
I cringe everytime I read about gays being persecuted in the headlines. *cringe cringe*
i won't be 'commenting' on your comments. am reading though. i like to hear the different perspectives we all have.
i like to think there is no right or wrong, we can just talk. :)
thank you for sharing.
Well, from my experience dealing with the teens, let's say a certain percentage would be bothered even though they might not want to admit. It's one thing to guess your teacher is gay, and it's another to have him confirm so.
Personally, I say keep personal life private as a teacher if one doesn't want to be morally judged.
Politicians are smart :: Politicians' children are smart :: Politicians care for your livelihood :: Politicians don't serve for money :: Politicians wear white and show purity :: Politicians are only good from one Party :: Politicians HAVE halos :: blah blah blah.
Some very heavy social expectations indeed.
Oh we're talking about teachers here?! Oops sorry!
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