Blogging with Quills

I saw Quills, a production by Luna-Id Theatre, a couple of weeks ago.

Great performances all-around, a beautiful set, and sharp, witty writing all made it a great experience. Of course, the very decent prices helped too.

But what strikes me about the play is that while the events might have taken place centuries ago, the issues are still incredibly relevant today.

All too often, the leaders of our societies are all too willing to make decisions for us based on their own flawed moral codes. And sadly, all too often, we are willing to let them make these decisions for us.

Have we lost the ability to think for ourselves? To judge what is right or wrong for us by our own standards? I'm not saying there's a universal right or wrong; I don't believe in something as naive as that. I'm just saying that everyone should be allowed to form their own moral code and make their own decisions as to what is right or wrong.

Is it wrong to write intense erotica and sado-masochistic prose? Why should it be? Because it corrupts the young? If they were that easily corrupted, they'd be rotten in no time, with or without these texts.

In the same vein, and in light of recent events, is it wrong to post racist comments or blog with a racist slant? Of course these views and opinions are offensive to most people, but even bigots deserve the freedom of speech. I say, damn it all and let them speak, because there can only be two possible outcomes.

First, there will be the inevitable backlash. Members of the online community are fast to respond and condemn such remarks. Webmasters will ban the respective members, their blogs will be flooded with hate-comments, and so on. They will get the message that what they're doing is wrong in the eyes of many.

And second (and what I think is most important, and what everyone is missing here), ranting and raving does not make other people respect your views. They only make you look like an absolute fucking idiot. Which is what these people are, anyway.

Compare stupid racist rants with Hitler's theories on racial superiority and the Final Answer. If someone was able to write a convincing thesis on why one race is better than another, then that would be a far more dangerous man, in my opinion. Why? Because there is the possibility of a large group of people actually believing his arguments. On the other hand, no one is going to believe silly racists who rave on and on without coherence nor intelligence.

So yeah, my two cents on the issue is that the Singapore government completely over-reacted, just like it does on everything that doesn't really matter. Charging bloggers in court is akin to shooting a cat because it scratched you. It doesn't really do anything besides show how silly you are to have taken it so seriously.

Of course, I hardly need to mention what this does for any notions about the existence of free speech in this country.

Fuck it. Let the fools blather on. It's all just noise anyway.