1. I am proud to be Feminist Mentor's feminist mentor
As my readers know - and the random AnonyMouse trolls ignore - I was against the boycott of DBS during the FOTF Singapore affair.
Considering that there was no logical reason to sanction DBS for supporting FOTF Singapore in its honourable project to build a school for disabled children and its moderation into a progressive civil society actor, it was clear that there was no just cause for the boycott action.
Certain words uttered back then are now even more relevant than ever now, during this Aware saga:
The boycott campaign by the gay activists only serves to make such change and moderation impossible. Moreover, their actions can only encourage their opponents to stage reprisals in the same vein: namely, scuttling any positive social projects (HIV awareness, testing, drug subsidies, anyone?) by objecting to the mere presence of the gay activists and gay organisations involved in these projects.
According to the rulebook of Alex Au and his facebook minions, the proper response for anyone opposed to PLU activism is to scuttle any community service project *just because* of the involvement of the gay activists - despite whatever merits that community service project has, and despite its non-relation to gay activism.
This is the lesson that Alex Au and his facebook padres want to teach FOTF Singapore. This is the lesson that will undo the very concept of civil society.
And my warning and prediction has come to pass with the takeover of Aware and Dr Thio's rationale for her operation. In a strange way, I am proud to be Feminist Mentor's feminist mentor.
But just as I called for the seppuku of Alex Au and his gay activist allies, and their exile from activism of ANY KIND, I call for the seppuku of Dr. Thio and her group of 9, and their voluntary withdrawal from AWARE. If they do not heed this advice, Operation Leper will continue to monitor and block their appointment to future leadership posts in politics, voluntary/social welfare groups, and NGOs.
2. All this has happened before; all this will happen again
It is very charming how Feminist Mentor and her Group of 9 continue to conflate the ideas of democracy and due process with pro forma legal observances, fairness with legalness.
It's even more charming that Feminist Mentor and her Group of 9 insist the media and commentators not use the word "takeover" to describe their operation. What delicacy!
Any observer with a smidgeon of knowledge of recent history would realise that all this has happened before; all this will happen again. This knowledge, if widespread, would have been as much a source of embarrassment of FM's G9 as the republication of the addresses of their workplaces.
I speak of the venerable tradition of takeovers of churches and NGOs by other churches. Starting in the 1970s in America, it is practised by (1) ambitious para/megachurches, (2) political-church conglomerations, and even (3) the tiny parish next door that doesn't like the OTHER tiny parish next door.
Non-denomination and Episcopalian parishes as well as NGOs in the United States, UK, and Australia have been taken over in a predictable pattern that tends to include the following:
A sudden jump of membership prior to elections (3)
Surprise turnout overwhelmingly votes into office unknown candidates (3)
The first rationale of taking over: Previous leaders were incompetent, look at the declining membership over the years (1, 2; see Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Second rationale of taking over: Outrageous claims that previous leaders had a homosexual agenda (2; IRD)
After taking over: Purge all administrators, leaders of sub-committees (1, 3)
When questions continue to arise: Change the locks, call in more forces (3)
Of course, it's interesting to note that none of these actions constitute "Christian governance" as we understand it.
All this has happened before; all this will happen again. The least we could do is be intellectually honest and call a takeover a takeover.
No comments:
Post a Comment