Making Martyrs out of Molehills

I thought the Singapore blogosphere had finally laid the ghosts of the tripartite CZ-Infantile-AcidFlask affair to rest. I had wanted to post about some inane, out of point topic (ie resume normal service) but evidently there are somethings I just cannot resist commenting on.

Apparently some very 'insidious' smart aleck has instigated MrBrown, MrMiyagi, Xiaxue and CowboyCaleb to 'use their voice' against what he – i use the word 'he' because it is probably one misguided individual – perceives as a miscarriage of justice, a oppressive, bully tactics against freedom of speech.

MrBrown and especially MrMiyagi and CowboyCaleb reacted with indignance, castigating the instigator with biting posts. I think Xiaxue reacted the best in such situations, which is effectively ignoring the post as if it never existed (i think she is somewhat used to doing that anyway, heh, but thats another matter).

Nevertheless it is somewhat perturbing to see yet another matter go out of hand. Firstly, while I fully sympathise AND empathise with AcidFlask, I do think inevitably it is a matter between 2 parties, as opposed to the forces of good against the forces of evil as some have made it out to be. And somehow I doubt that most are actually genuinely sympathetic towards AcidFlask, but rather, seizing this opportunity to further their political agenda, effectively making AcidFlask a hapless martyr. Grabbing whatever little morsels they have about the issue, they use it to further their own personal cause and grievances. Adopting a siege mentality – blogs against authorities. Freedom of Speech against Opression. Which is still ok, except that you should pick your own fights, you do not expect others to fight your battles for you, you do not use others to fight your own battles. You are probably one of those persons who complain that the gov 'never lets us make any decisions for ourselves', and if this is what is going to happen if they do let you have freedom to do whatever you want, then I'm sorry to say I'd rather the gov reins in on your petty tail than to let you wreak complete anarchy upon us.

I put it to you, that you are merely using 'freedom of expression' as just another convenient tool to further your own personal grudges and distaste against the establishment. Worse still, you martyr others for your own cause. Frankly, on a scale of respect for such perpetrators between 0-10, you rank about -15, and thats kind because you probably meant well but are seriously misguided.

If I may suggest, you could start by starting your own blog to highlight whatever grievances you have, you could start by championing your own cause yourself- and not expecting others to do your trumpet calling for you. And write your own original stuff, and not lambasting others for not doing so.

And then Gilbert of SLMJD finds that his works have been literally copied and pasted unto a political website without his permission or knowledge. Pardon me but that is just blatantly STUPID, not to mention DUMB. Obviously Gilbert is none too happy about having his works copied and his name associated with a party he has absolutely no affilations with. I have no idea what they were trying to achieve by lifting his texts, other than pissing off a lawyer – not the wisest of things to do imho, especially since this can be an extremely grave offence. As Gilbert has mentioned, even students ask permission to use his work in private school projects. This is simply basic courtesy, respecting others work and crediting them where they are due. NOTE: THIS is what freedom of expression is about. By abusing others works without permission, you have committed the most grievous sin against expression itself, by infringing on others freedom of expression, so to actually claim to want to promote freedom of expression is a farce. This is also what the Courtesy Campaign is about – and you wonder why the Gov takes the trouble to have such campaigns. The answer could very well be found by looking at yourself.

Gilbert also mentions an email about a perpetrator who wanted Gilbert to join 'the opposition', then claiming he is 'of no use' after he politely declined their offer. Again this scenario is another instance of stupidity, and a certain conclusion can be derived from these events.

Some People Just Don't Understand What is Free Speech. Some people don't understand that with freedom comes responsibility not to abuse it or abuse others right to use it. Perhaps that is why the checks and balances in place are arguably more stringent than elsewhere. Note to you: The word 'Free' in Free speech is not to be taken literally

By taking such misguided steps, it is, in effect, one step forward and two steps backward. If one wishes to champion free speech then he should firstly ensure that he truly understands what free speech entails. Then, instead of abusing it, he can actually practice free speech himself rather than instigating others to do the work for him, or alternatively using other's name and work for their own advances. This in itself is a sin against free speech – then again, it is most likely that these people do not actually care so much about free speech as opposed to their own personal or political agenda and grievances.

In other words, seizing on every tiny morsel they can find, blowing up the matter out of water, opportunistically martyring others for their own causes, twisting causes to suit their own agenda.

And the scale of respect that should be afforded to such people on a scale of 0 to 10? -20.

You refers to Instigator for the 1st part and CopyCat for the 2nd