My words quoted in Today
Found on Today:
As noted in the Tomorrow Bulletin of Singapore Bloggers:
“Calling for his head, or asking for his scholarship to be revoked, serves no purpose. If he is truly racist, doing those things would not change his views. What it would do, however, is to make him hide those views.
“From a broader perspective, making an example of him would also do nothing to change society in general.
“Racists will always be racists, and find reasons to be racists. Only they themselves can change their minds, not us.”
The commentator then provides some wise words of caution: “What we have to be watchful for is whether his racist thoughts impact the way he acts if and when he ever attains public office.”
The words look familiar? 
Calling for his head, or asking for his scholarship to be revoked, serves no purpose. If he is truly racist, doing those things would not change his views. What it would do however, is to make him hide those views.
From a broader perspective, making an example of him would also do nothing to change society in general. Racists will always be racists, and find reasons to be racists. Only they themselves can change their minds, not us.
So when I called out for vigilance, what was my intention?
I maintain his right to be a racist. If he thinks racist thoughts, or says racist things to himself or his friends, that is his right. But what we have to be watchful about is if his racist thoughts impacts the way he acts if and when he should ever attain public office.
That is, in essence, the point. We should not seek to punish him for his thoughts: that would be cruel and inhumane. But we should be vigilant, such that if he ever acts on his racist thoughts and puts them into action by wielding the power of a public official, THEN we have every right to call for his head.
TODAYonline: Give racists a second chance
Tomorrow.sg: Our Proud PSC Scholar
Wannabe Lawyer ? Blog Archive ? Everything that is wrong with our scholar selection process
