To whomever it may concern,
I am writing in support of Otto Fong, one of your colleagues whom had recently came out on his personal blog, but only to have deleted the posts under pressure from the ministry.
Personally, I am a student currently pursuing my diploma in Information Technology in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I am openly gay, and I am one of the founding members of Plume.sg, a GLBT support group for teenagers below 25 seeking a safe environment to explore and reconciliate their sexuality and their struggles as a gay person.
I must say that I am deeply touched by Mr Fong's article. It really reminds me of my secondary school days, facing attraction towards the same sex, yet without peers I can share this new and alien experience with, much less teachers or authority figures that could most probably guide me. It was frightening, because I never knew that there are other people just like me, thinking that it's just me alone experiencing such attractions towards my own gender - something that is not accepted by the society at large.
I know that this is a difficult issue to tackle, since many conservative parents would most likely target the ministry for a reason of why a gay teacher is in the teaching profession, "corrupting" their kids with the wrong values of homosexuality. Well, my take will be that it doesn't seem that their kids would grow taller if he hanged around their tall friends. I don't personally blame the ministry or the school for the actions taken, but I believe it is about time the ministry accepts that there will always be homosexuals in the teaching profession - just like any other profession. If the pressure are constantly coming from the conservatives, I would think that they would want us out of Singapore, let alone seeking employment here. There is no point to stop someone with such passion to teach from doing a great job just because of his sexuality.
I would believe that the school will have a group of gay students that are also seeking a teacher that could guide them: something I've always yearned for back then, so that I will not be pressurised by my peers, or other factors due to the harsh homophobic climate we have in the education ministry. Many gay and lesbian teens would want to seek help - as many of my personal gay friends had once lanced into depression or thoughts of suicide just because they were different and couldn't fit into the straight environment in school, with people calling them names like "queers".
Lastly, I hope that the school can continue to use such a great teacher in your teaching team, for his sexuality is no reason one should judge him for, as he is still someone that is passionate about teaching.
Thank you for your time.
I am writing in support of Otto Fong, one of your colleagues whom had recently came out on his personal blog, but only to have deleted the posts under pressure from the ministry.
Personally, I am a student currently pursuing my diploma in Information Technology in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I am openly gay, and I am one of the founding members of Plume.sg, a GLBT support group for teenagers below 25 seeking a safe environment to explore and reconciliate their sexuality and their struggles as a gay person.
I must say that I am deeply touched by Mr Fong's article. It really reminds me of my secondary school days, facing attraction towards the same sex, yet without peers I can share this new and alien experience with, much less teachers or authority figures that could most probably guide me. It was frightening, because I never knew that there are other people just like me, thinking that it's just me alone experiencing such attractions towards my own gender - something that is not accepted by the society at large.
I know that this is a difficult issue to tackle, since many conservative parents would most likely target the ministry for a reason of why a gay teacher is in the teaching profession, "corrupting" their kids with the wrong values of homosexuality. Well, my take will be that it doesn't seem that their kids would grow taller if he hanged around their tall friends. I don't personally blame the ministry or the school for the actions taken, but I believe it is about time the ministry accepts that there will always be homosexuals in the teaching profession - just like any other profession. If the pressure are constantly coming from the conservatives, I would think that they would want us out of Singapore, let alone seeking employment here. There is no point to stop someone with such passion to teach from doing a great job just because of his sexuality.
I would believe that the school will have a group of gay students that are also seeking a teacher that could guide them: something I've always yearned for back then, so that I will not be pressurised by my peers, or other factors due to the harsh homophobic climate we have in the education ministry. Many gay and lesbian teens would want to seek help - as many of my personal gay friends had once lanced into depression or thoughts of suicide just because they were different and couldn't fit into the straight environment in school, with people calling them names like "queers".
Lastly, I hope that the school can continue to use such a great teacher in your teaching team, for his sexuality is no reason one should judge him for, as he is still someone that is passionate about teaching.
Thank you for your time.
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