Picture created by an American blogger on the issue of protecting First Amendment rights. It prohibits the federal legislature from making laws that establish religion (the "Establishment Clause") or prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause"), laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to assemble peaceably, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.While the rest of you were busy sipping on tea/coffee, depending on your appraisal, a handful were down at MediaKorp last Wednesday to state their views on whether blogging should be controlled. A debate based entirely on where the line should be drawn. Keling Kween and I were down at MediaKorp representing the panelists on behalf of the KLKindred.
Now, what we were aware of was that 8 others would join in to wrangle this issue out. 5 in a team, we were expected to battle each other out on where the line should be drawn along with how much of a freedom we should take up in hand. But what we weren't aware of was that Barathi and Yuvaneswari [of previous Ms. Vasantham (in)fame] appeared as guest speakers to relate how blogs have affected them. This left us in uncertainty.
Were we there to talk about the freedom one should take in hand when blogging or were we there to defend ourselves as to why such comments were thrown at them during the Miss Vasantham beauty pageant proceedings? What was the agenda? In my opinion, their unexpected visit actually defied the objective of the proposed subject. Barathi had earlier questioned the host, unaware that we have connections everywhere watching every move, on who the guy was from KLK who wrote the post about the Vasantham girls [he was attempting a major paper in uni FYI]. Upon hearing it this minutes after they had posed the question, I knew very well this whole subject was heading a one way direction. Immediately, I expected an 'attack' and 'defend' session. [Oh well, we're all footy players anyway. Another day, another game]
The 'intended' debate was to tackle issues such as social responsibility, limits to freedom of speech and the use of vulgar language. Didn't look pretty much that way when the recording eventually got on its way. Much wasn't talked about social responsibilities nor limits to freedom of speech nor the use of vulgar language. Most of the show was spent arguing over the whole Miss Vasantham saga. A 30 minute episode had a one hour debate going on about why such comments were thrown at the girls.
We had to repeat time and again what we pen down in words are what we truly feel about a given subject. It's all about your perception. You can't take it cause you have a heart of butter and our words seem like a hot knife through it. We can't do anything about it. That's as far as you go. I believe that freedom of speech is the authorization handed to an individual to mention what one wishes to. Of course, we ain't just sitting behind the computer typing remarks. If there was any predicament arising from what we wrote, readers were given the rights to state their opinions in the comments. Else, get through to us VIA the links on this blog.
At the end of the day, after all was said and done, I don't think we owe anyone any explanation nor any apology for what we blog about. We feel like this, we blog this. If we have to restrict our point of view, then I think the word "freedom" has been mistaken. And a point I'd like everyone to take note. We in KLK don't just sit behind computers and type. We also come out and speak up when it's required. And like we have said on TV which will be aired pretty soon, we have the guts to state our opinion. At the same time, we also have the guts to face the repercussions. It's not like we blog under an anonymous identity or moniker and go underground.
On asked if blogging should be controlled, I agreed that it should to a certain extent. The vulgarities. Not the content that we're dealing with. But then again, if I am one who uses vulgarities even while speaking, then there is nothing wrong in me using vulgarities while blogging cos thats just me. What I blog is what I am. When there is no 'KNNBCCB!', there is no point in expressing a really agonizing or censure feeling. As for the content, I believe that everybody should be given the right to state their opinions. The definition of blog states that it's an online diary, I don't think anyone needs to worry about what they'll write about in their diary.
Now, what we were aware of was that 8 others would join in to wrangle this issue out. 5 in a team, we were expected to battle each other out on where the line should be drawn along with how much of a freedom we should take up in hand. But what we weren't aware of was that Barathi and Yuvaneswari [of previous Ms. Vasantham (in)fame] appeared as guest speakers to relate how blogs have affected them. This left us in uncertainty.
Were we there to talk about the freedom one should take in hand when blogging or were we there to defend ourselves as to why such comments were thrown at them during the Miss Vasantham beauty pageant proceedings? What was the agenda? In my opinion, their unexpected visit actually defied the objective of the proposed subject. Barathi had earlier questioned the host, unaware that we have connections everywhere watching every move, on who the guy was from KLK who wrote the post about the Vasantham girls [he was attempting a major paper in uni FYI]. Upon hearing it this minutes after they had posed the question, I knew very well this whole subject was heading a one way direction. Immediately, I expected an 'attack' and 'defend' session. [Oh well, we're all footy players anyway. Another day, another game]
The 'intended' debate was to tackle issues such as social responsibility, limits to freedom of speech and the use of vulgar language. Didn't look pretty much that way when the recording eventually got on its way. Much wasn't talked about social responsibilities nor limits to freedom of speech nor the use of vulgar language. Most of the show was spent arguing over the whole Miss Vasantham saga. A 30 minute episode had a one hour debate going on about why such comments were thrown at the girls.
We had to repeat time and again what we pen down in words are what we truly feel about a given subject. It's all about your perception. You can't take it cause you have a heart of butter and our words seem like a hot knife through it. We can't do anything about it. That's as far as you go. I believe that freedom of speech is the authorization handed to an individual to mention what one wishes to. Of course, we ain't just sitting behind the computer typing remarks. If there was any predicament arising from what we wrote, readers were given the rights to state their opinions in the comments. Else, get through to us VIA the links on this blog.
At the end of the day, after all was said and done, I don't think we owe anyone any explanation nor any apology for what we blog about. We feel like this, we blog this. If we have to restrict our point of view, then I think the word "freedom" has been mistaken. And a point I'd like everyone to take note. We in KLK don't just sit behind computers and type. We also come out and speak up when it's required. And like we have said on TV which will be aired pretty soon, we have the guts to state our opinion. At the same time, we also have the guts to face the repercussions. It's not like we blog under an anonymous identity or moniker and go underground.
On asked if blogging should be controlled, I agreed that it should to a certain extent. The vulgarities. Not the content that we're dealing with. But then again, if I am one who uses vulgarities even while speaking, then there is nothing wrong in me using vulgarities while blogging cos thats just me. What I blog is what I am. When there is no 'KNNBCCB!', there is no point in expressing a really agonizing or censure feeling. As for the content, I believe that everybody should be given the right to state their opinions. The definition of blog states that it's an online diary, I don't think anyone needs to worry about what they'll write about in their diary.
