SINGAPOREANS NEED TO BE MORE ACCEPTING OF THE GAY-LESBIAN COMMUNITY

“Omg, that cca is so gay!” I cringed when I heard that in school today. A single line, simple, yet encapsulating of certain disturbing points of view. I needn’t quote statistics of our nation’s GDP. It’s obvious that we’re progressing with no signs of slowing down. Yet, how far is this true with regards to the maturity of thoughts and actions of our people?

Stephanie Koh has challenged us to ‘hit her’ with a refreshing point as to why we’d be proud to be Singaporeans. Well, I can present a single one to back her stand. I’m not proud because I’m surrounded by a backward bunch of Singaporeans. And because I’ve actually been taught to evaluate, I’ll admit, Singaporeans are not all bigoted. Thankfully, there is an arguable increase in acceptance for the LGBT. I maintain though, that a good portion of our society still views the ‘different’ as the ‘perverted’. It is disturbing, the way people use the word ‘gay’ with such negative connotations. “That’s such a gay bag.”, “Oh, you only lift 2.5kg? That’s so gay.” My gp teacher, even, prohibits the formation of groups in her lesson with members all of the same sex. She’d question our inclinations, she declared, as the class burst into laughter. I wonder if I’m the only one not finding the poke fun amusing.

I wouldn’t go as far as to criticize the education system for manufacturing identical and indistinguishable human-robots. I’d boldly propose though, that when it comes to issues that we feel strongly about, Singaporean students lack the ability to step back to look at the situation in an impartial light. If the issue hardly concerns them directly, they’d be professionals even, in addressing every point of view possible. I’d willingly testify to that. Yet, bring up homosexuality and boom, every critical thinking skill goes forgotten. For at least half the students that is. How far have they gone to evaluate the legitimacy of the other points of view, I question. And with even the students of a top five junior college in Singapore exhibiting this, I can only scoff. Hopefully such disconcerting behaviour isn’t national as well.

The point is, we are all entitled to our opinions. Homosexuality is a complex question with no simple response it provokes. Having said that, the least we could do is to be respectful and mature. Making fun of others just because you don’t share their traits is unacceptable. And that must be established with no trace of hypocrisy. Fat shaming is frowned upon, but many are still giggling behind backs the moment they escape the critical public eye. Often, they are the same people who proclaim that inner beauty matters above all else. Not only are they immature, they are hypocritical as well. The same applies towards the less academically inclined, the ones we label ugly, and worse of all, the LGBT community, except that the situation is ever more pessimistic even. Some don’t even bother to put on a mask in front of others to be polite. This only shows that many of us have lost the ability to empathize. To put ourselves in the shoes of the victims. To stop the insensitive thoughts and remarks.

I’m truly disappointed.

All I’ve gathered is that political, social, economic, and even intellectual advancement does to equate to the growth of our hearts. Much less does it mean that our characters, not the fake one we portray in public, does not take steps back.

I wish that people would stop being so self-centered. To be harsh, I wish they’d stop being retarded. If they think that their little comments are harmless, buckle up, I can tell you just how wrong they are. Singapore is far away from achieving sturdy support of the LGBT community. But I’d like to believe that we aren’t that far from learning to be tactful and kind people. Please, prove me right. The next time anyone says retarded things, yes, retarded, talk back to them.

Ignoring puts you in the same category of people as they are in.

Nat