I am sure some of us were wondering what happened to Otto, the gay RI teacher who revealed that he was gay in his blog last year.
Some people thought he was incredibly brave to come out when he was working in a "sensitive" job as a teacher. Others thought he was incredibly stupid. Just as he admitted it was naive of him to think it was just as easy coming out.
What was he thinking?
Within 2 days, he took down that blog entry and faced the music. He had to answer to his school, his students, the society.
Frankly, I am glad that he did not faced much persecution over what he did and that life is back to normal for him.
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The New Paper
25 July 2008
TEACHER WHO REVEALED HE IS GAY
His life now revolves around cartooning
By Ng Tze Yong
ONCE a teacher in Raffles Institution (RI), he now wants to become a world-class cartoonist. The life-changing move was a consequence of one decision that Mr Otto Fong made - to reveal that he is gay.
As a teacher, Mr Fong had done cartoons in his spare time and even won awards for his work. But the outing incident that caused a mini-storm proved to be an awakening of sorts for him.
'I had always asked my students to chase their passion,' he told The New Paper, in his first interview since the controversy. 'I loved teaching, but my real passion was cartooning. I realised that if I didn't leave, I would not be true to what I said to my students.'
So he packed up and left.
COMIC BOOK SERIES
Since then, he has been working on a new book, the third in the popular Sir Fong comic series which he started in 2005. The book, which will retail in bookstores nationwide next month, uses comics to teach students in their early teens about science.
Life after RI is busier than before, he says. He gives tuition part-time ('Goodness, I miss teaching.') and spends the rest of his time working on his cartoons and giving talks on cartooning.
But still fresh in his mind is the day he outed himself in his blog entry, almost a year ago. He remembers the anxiety of returning to school the Monday morning after the news had spread.
He loved his job, his school and his students. But that morning, the spring in his step was gone.
He stepped through the school gate feeling a sudden dread.
Three days before, his blog entry that he was gay had sparked a heated debate. Some supported his honesty. Others - especially parents - asked him to leave the job, fearing his influence on impressionable boys.
His 2,000-word blog entry brought even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong into the fold. In Parliament a month after the incident, PM Lee made a call to Singaporeans to strive for an inclusive society with space for all.
But that morning, all Mr Fong was thinking of was: 'I want to skip the morning assembly.' He imagined everyone's eyes on him, he said.
Then, out of nowhere, the head prefect appeared and asked to shake his hand. 'Mr Fong, you have my support,' the student said. It almost brought tears to his eyes.
Until today, many find it hard to understand his reasons for 'outing' himself.
Mr Fong maintains, as he did then, that it was a letter intended only for his colleagues and old boys whom he was close to. 'I had been at RI for several years. I went through ups and downs with my colleagues. They became like family to me,' he said.
'They invited me to their weddings and to their homes. But what could I do? 'If I invited them to my home, I would have to hide pictures of my partner. They would see a single king-sized bed, four pillows, and think that I'm either living with an unmarried woman or a man.
'I didn't want to lie to them anymore.'
His childhood struggle with his sexuality left deep scars. 'All that I had heard about gay people was negative.'
After mulling over it for months, Mr Fong finally took the leap of faith. He wrote an entry in his blog one Friday night and sent out a mass e-mail, asking friends to read his blog.
He says he still does not know how things got out of hand from there.
'NAIVE'
He also thinks he was naive. 'I had only started blogging two months before,' he said. 'I didn't realise the power of blogs. Sometimes, I would write something and tell all my friends, 'Come, read my blog' and only something like 10 or 15 would actually visit. 'So, for me, blogs were still something private.'
After his entry, Mr Fong watched with growing trepidation as the counter on his blog rocketed. By Monday, it had garnered a staggering 15,000 hits.
That first day back in school was filled with crisis meetings. In class, the students were unusually well-behaved, he remembered.
'I broke down once when my principal asked me why I did that,' he said.
The media approached him. Some parents left nasty messages with the school. Many of his students, however, stood by him. 'I found out later that a few of my students had taken it upon themselves to watch out for me, if there was going to be any trouble or snide remarks,' he said.
Things got heated between him and his parents, even though he had told them when he was 17 that he was gay. 'Last time, they could keep it within the family. Now, they were reading about me in Lianhe Zaobao. It was tough for them,' said Mr Fong.
SCHOOL WAS SUPPORTIVE
At the end of last year, Mr Fong left teaching. It was his choice, he said. 'The school never once asked me to quit. They are very supportive of teachers if they see we have our hearts in the right place,' he said.
Nowadays, he invites his ex-colleagues to his house regularly. 'They are now part of my life. I feel like, finally, I have shown them how much I treasure their friendship,' he said.
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Lianhe Zaobao
12 September 2007
RI male teacher comes out on blog
by Lu Caixia
A male teacher of a local elite school came out as a homosexual on his blog, and attracted much attention. In the end, he rapidly deleted this open letter.
The Ministry of Education responded that it does not permit teachers to endorse homosexuality openly, because teachers have special authority - they have influence over students, and are often regarded as role models.
The 38-year-old- Raffles Institution male teacher Otto Fong started teaching 8 years ago. He worked in the theatre before he started teaching.
He published this 2000-word open letter to his friends and colleagues on his personal blog. The letter is dated 7th September, and published on the 8th.
This blog was featured in the local blogger site tomorrow.sg, and many netizens were engaged in discussion, including students from Raffles Institution. The open letter was deleted within 3 days of its publication on the internet.
However, some netizens have saved a copy of the open letter, thus it is still circulating on the internet.
Otto Fong admitted frankly that he is gay in his open letter. He also hoped Singaporeans can be more tolerant towards people like him.
He said in his letter: "When I became a teacher in 1999, I looked back on the good guidance my own teachers gave me as a template, and tried to be a better teacher to my students. Besides teaching them Science, I spent considerable effort in imparting good social values.
Yet, in the eight years I have taught, I have done little for that small group of students who are gay... When my niece returned from school saying, "Gays are disgusting!" I knew she learnt that hatred from a classmate, who had in turn absorbed that hatred from a parent."
"This is the same environment of hatred I grew up in, as a gay teenager and student."
Otto Fong said that he was motivated by some personal reasons later on to come out openly, and stop being "a bonsai tree at the mercy of people's trim and cut".
One of the reasons for this motivation was MM Lee's speech in April. MM Lee was engaging in a dialogue with young PAP, and he questioned the validity of criminalizing homosexuality when it is an in-born condition.
Otto Fong said, "I felt that in order to reach my fullest potential as a useful human being, I must first fully accept myself, and face the world honestly. I have lived long enough to know that what I am is not a disease, an aberration or a mental illness."
He narrated the story telling his parents about his sexual orientation, and gained their support. They also accepted his partner.
Otto Fong also said that the only thing gay people want is to have the same rights and dignity as other people. He hopes that he will have the same respect from society, just like other Singaporeans.
Otto Fong's open letter sparked off much discussion on the internet and in school, after it was widely circulated and deleted. Zaobao's journalist contacted Otto Fong yesterday to inquire the reason for deleting his letter, but he told the journalist that he cannot be interviewed at the moment in his email reply.
Raffles Institution's statement to Zaobao revealed some clues. "As a school, we need to be considerate towards the views of stakeholders, especially parents who are uncomfortable with teachers who endorse homosexuality."
"In this incident, Mr Fong hoped that his colleagues and friends would read his blog. He has already clarified that he has no wish to promote homosexuality to students; therefore he did not give his blog address to his students. However, he discovered that some students read his blog as well, and thus he decided to delete it." The Ministry of Education said, "MOE supports the school's way of handling this incident, because this is in line with the Ministry's stand."
Otto Fong was an engineer before joining the Chinese theatre. He wrote a play about homosexuality" Different Species" in 1992. Later, he resigned to study movie directing at Beijing Film Academy, and began to teach in 1999. He is a comics artist as well, and published a series of "Sir Fong" comics.
Interviewed parents and students: Sexual orientation should not be a concern
After the open letter is released on the internet, a lot of netizens are speculating whether Otto Fong will lose his teaching position. Zaobao's journalist tried to ask him about this possibility, but he declined to respond.
However, a student's blog revealed that Otto Fong planned to leave the teaching profession before writing this open letter. Even if he quits, it may not be due to this incident.
Furthermore, parents and students interviewed say that if a teacher has upright character and dedication for teaching, his sexual orientation should not be a concern.
Raffles Institution Secondary 4 student Huang Maoxuan (16) described Otto Fong's teaching style to be very lively and fun, and sustains students' interest. He is a good teacher, and hard to come by.
He feels that even if Otto Fong comes out publicly, it would not affect students' impression on him.
Parent Wu Shuqian (46, housewife) thinks that dedicated and responsible teachers should not be ostracized or reprimanded because they are gay. She said, "From what I know, Mr Fong is good at teaching. A teacher like him is hard to come by. It would be a great pity if he is forced to leave because of this incident."
Another parent Mdm Lim (42, housewife) said that she felt a little uncomfortable when she first found out that a teacher at school came out publicly. However, she felt that if he does not overstep boundaries, there is no need for him to leave.
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The New Paper
13 September 2007
Gay teacher outs himself in blog posting. Then he removes it as...
Blog not meant for his students
by Liew Hanqing
His online declaration was straightforward - 'I'm gay.' But it was no ordinary blog. It was written by a 38-year-old teacher at one of Singapore's top boys' schools.
He claims it was only meant to be read by his colleagues and some friends. But somehow word spread and it got online forums buzzing.
The school, however, is not over-reacting to the teacher's honest and sober admission. And this is why we are not naming him or his school.
As more people learnt of it, the teacher removed the post - just two days after he wrote it on 8 Sep.
In the entry, the teacher said he was inspired to come out of the closet and write openly about his sexuality after attending a forum on gay teachers and students.
UNCOMFORTABLE
In an e-mail statement to The New Paper, a spokesman for his school said it is 'mindful of the views of (the school's) stakeholders, especially parents who would not be comfortable with placing their children under the charge of a teacher who advocates homosexuality.'
The spokesman confirmed that the school had spoken to the teacher concerned. 'In this instance, (the teacher) intended the blog to be read only by his colleagues and friends.
'He has clarified that he had no intention of advocating homosexuality to students. Thus, he did not give the link to any of his students. 'However, now that he is aware that some students have been reading his blog, he has decided to take down the blog.'
The reaction of the local Internet community has been mixed.
Former students and other netizens have left messages on his blog and on other websites, many in support of his decision to go public about his sexual orientation.
In the original blog post, the teacher recalled having felt attracted to classmates of the same sex from the time he was in Primary 6. He wrote: 'As a teenager, I was very quick to sense society's aversion towards the 'sissies' in my classes. I worked hard to distance myself from them.
'While I was successful in modifying my outward behaviour, my sexual orientation remained unchanged. 'My denial gnawed at me, and the suppression of my true self resulted in self-destructive behavior during my overseas university years.'
He 'spent more than 20 years in the professional closet', keeping his sexual orientation under wraps to all but a 'handful' of colleagues. Explaining his decision to speak openly about his sexuality, the teacher wrote: 'Being in the closet, pretending to be straight, trimming our true selves to suit the whims and expectations of others, is just like being a human bonsai tree.'
He also wrote: 'I am still a teacher. 'My main purpose and joy is to teach our youngest citizens, the same ones who will be the leaders of our nation tomorrow.'
NOT SEXUAL DEVIANT
The teacher also said being gay did not make him a sexual deviant. 'I'm not, as some people like to label gays, a paedophile, a child molester, a pervert or sexual deviant.'
While some have voiced support for the teacher's online confession, others say he should have kept the information private.
A student from another school, Jasper Chen, 18, said he admired the teacher's honesty and courage. 'He risked losing his job in an attempt to transform the public's perception of gays in the teaching profession,' he said.
Parents like Mrs Catherine Gasper, 48, however, were less enthusiastic about the teacher's candour. 'He should keep such things private - I don't think it's our business to know about his personal life,' said Mrs Gasper, who has a son in Primary 5. 'It (his sexual orientation) doesn't really matter, as long as he's a good teacher - but parents will likely become wary because they don't know enough about the gay community.
'There's a lack of awareness that comes from a lack of contact with (gays), so people will tend to go along with their own biases and prejudices.'
Added one secondary school teacher, who declined to be named: 'In this case, the teacher is in contact with boys who are still young and impressionable. 'Their sexual preferences may still be somewhat unclear and in flux, so it's probably best that the teacher doesn't reveal too much, too soon.
'There is a line that must be drawn between a person's public and personal life.'
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Straits Times
15 September 2007
THINKING ALOUD
A teacher's disclosure and the issue is out in the open
By Paul Jacob, Deputy Political Editor
We are supposed to be a society that is evolving and becoming more accepting of changing social norms.
But Mr Otto Fong should know that we remain largely and deeply conservative.
Despite what blog- and Net-savvy Internet users are calling a brave outing online last week by the teacher at a top all-boys school about his being gay, there is a larger and quieter majority more apt to regard the recent actions of Mr Fong as some kind of misguided honesty or stunt, one that they worry could cause more harm to those students that the disclosure purports to help.
By all the accounts that I have seen online and in The New Paper, Mr Fong, 38, is an A-one teacher; one who has continued to receive the support of those students who blog, or who have responded to discussion threads on the numerous sites that picked up on his outing.
While he has removed his posting from his blog, reportedly after discussions with his superiors, many others have posted copies, so it continues to generate debate.
There are those who salute his decision and the honesty with which he has put his case across.
It must be a difficult decision to go public about being gay.
But it is one thing to do so to those nearest and dearest - family, relatives, friends - and another to do so on an openly accessible platform like the Internet.
It is apt to spark all manner of responses and consequences, as Mr Fong has now found out - most immediately, of course, in the reaction from his employers.
It is not just in the nature of Singapore society and the variegated opinions that exist here about how we feel towards those who are gay.
The outcome of that debate continues to be moulded, with the loudest voices not surprisingly coming from those at both ends of the spectrum of tolerance.
But in the issue at hand, it is also being shaped by the nature of the job that Mr Fong holds and, with that, the kind of interactions and influence he can have over his classes.
No one has made any accusations and nothing untoward exists about his conduct, it must be emphasised here.
But it is in the perceptions, the fertile imaginations, the what-ifs - all of which colour the discussions.
Let me illustrate with the case of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho in that most often-cited bastion of tolerance and openness, the United States.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a Minnesota airport men's room after being arrested for lewd conduct. He then withdrew his confession, strenuously denied he was gay, and said he did nothing inappropriate.
But under pressure from a Republican Party concerned about the damage to its image and that of the legislature he represents, he resigned.
Clearly, over there, the private conduct of a public individual matters.
What about here in Singapore?
Mr Fong recognises and has acknowledged that he is part of a profession and an institution that 'moulds the future generation of Singapore leaders'.
What puzzles me is what he hoped to achieve in making his announcement. Was it to demonstrate that there is no shame in being of a different sexual orientation? Or was it to show that there is no bar on what profession you can be in?
Or that he believes that if senior politicians have become more accommodating with the presence and contributions that gays are making to society, then it is fine to out oneself?
Or maybe, as he appears to indicate, he was prompted by a point made by a young adult at a forum about the lack of guidance he had growing up as a gay teenager.
Was that the trigger? That in outing himself, he would be in a position to be of help to those youths in school who may be uncertain about their orientation at this stage of their lives?
If so, what then would he tell those who seek his advice?
One has to question the ability and the appropriateness of someone who has outed himself being able to provide neutral, unbiased advice - and the wisdom of whichever direction it is that the puzzled student has been pointed towards.
His supporters, admirers and students provide strong backing for his continued value as an educator. Some would argue that he is, after all, the same person he was before.
Perhaps Mr Fong's decision to out himself has a simpler and more fundamental basis. It springs from a natural desire to be part of a society which accepts someone for what he or she is. It was a difficult decision that he made.
But this does not obscure the fact that he is the only full-time teacher, as far as I am aware, who has gone public about his sexual orientation.
Like it or not, fair or unfair, that has now changed the dynamics of how he will be viewed by those with whom he interacts, colleagues and parents included.
Ditto, I think, for others in the profession. Because let's be honest about this: Mr Fong is not the only gay teacher in the system.
His decision may not have the well-meaning effect he intended. He should have thought about how it could affect colleagues elsewhere before making his arbitrary decision.
Many here remember the position espoused by former prime minister Goh Chok Tong in 2003 about the Government employing openly homosexual people, even in sensitive jobs.
But in the light of Mr Fong's disclosure, it falls on his employers and, more broadly, the Education Ministry, to manage what fallout there is to come from the episode, including telling the public its stand on gay teachers in its ranks.
Much as I was initially inclined to suggest to Mr Fong that it was best to have let sleeping dogs lie, his decision is generating pertinent discussion on an issue that the ministry now has little choice but to deal with.
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Otto Fong's open letter
source: Otto Fong's blog, 10 September 2007
(which has since been deleted from his blog)
Otto Fong in RI
I am Otto Fong. I have been teaching Science in Raffles Institution for the last eight years.
Being a teacher has been the most rewarding part of my professional life thus far. My students continue to amaze me daily with their wit, maturity, independent thinking and leadership. It is very fulfilling that I am a part of an institution that moulds the future generation of Singapore’s leaders.
Leaders are people who can rise above the tide of popular opinion, people who are guided by the conviction of rightness and justice and in being so guided, lead others towards that right path.
Recent events leading to my action
Recent events have made me decide to write this open letter. In April this year, Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew – one of the school’s greatest alumni – called homosexuality a "genetic variation", questioning the validity of criminalising gay sex. In July, MP Baey Yam Keng expressed support for the repeal of Section 377A of the penal code (which criminalises gay sex acts). In August, Malaysian columnist and ordained pastor Oyoung Wenfeng released his inspiring new Mandarin book "Tong Gen Sheng", encouraging gay men and women to come out of the closet.
A few evenings later, I attended a forum organised by People Like Us on gay teachers and students. A few brave twenty-something guys asked, "Why has there been so little guidance available to me as a gay teenager?" It was a question that I had asked myself often, growing up.
When I became a teacher in 1999, I looked back on the good guidance my own teachers gave me as a template, and tried to be a better teacher to my students. Besides teaching them Science, I spent considerable effort in imparting good social values: give up your seats to the needy, save the handicapped parking lot for those in wheelchairs and their caretakers, respect people regardless of profession or social status.
How hate is perpetuated
Yet, in the eight years I have taught, I have done little for that small group of students who are gay. When the religious group Focus on the Family masqueraded as sex guidance counselors and gave a talk full of misinformation about homosexuality to our students, I was furious but kept my mouth shut.
When my niece returned from school saying, "Gays are disgusting!" I knew she learnt that hatred from a classmate, who had in turn absorbed that hatred from a parent. I knew that this hatred has been perpetrated for generations. But hatred grew out of fear, and hatred, as a line in a movie goes, "leads to the Dark Side." This is the same environment of hatred I grew up in, as a gay teenager and student.
Until Section 377A* is repealed, there will be precious little the Ministry of Education can do to help these students. As a teacher, I am bound by my professional duty to follow the directives of my superiors.
While these events helped crystallize my decision to come out of the closet, my motivation remains deeply personal.
My family and I
As far back as primary six, I have been aware of my attraction towards classmates of the same sex. For those who argued about nurturing factors of the family, my brother and sister grew up under the same parents and remained heterosexuals despite growing up with me in close proximity.
As a teenager, I was very quick to sense society’s aversion towards the ‘sissies’ in my classes. I worked hard to distance myself from them. While I was successful in modifying my outward behavior, my sexual orientation remained unchanged. My denial gnawed at me, and the suppression of my true self resulted in self-destructive behavior during my overseas university years.
Fortunately, my American fraternity mates were supportive. I began to see a counselor who helped me accept myself for who and what I am.
Returning to Singapore, I came out to my family. My father, mother, brother and sister, out of love for their son and brother, walked the long road to acceptance. It was not easy for them, but they loved me before I came out, and they love me after. When I finally settled down with my longtime companion (we have been together for more than nine years), my entire family made sure my nieces and nephews included us in their lives. I loved my family too much to keep them in the dark, to deny them the chance to really know me. And they loved me too much to let some old prejudice tear our family apart.
I kept my sexual orientation a secret at work, and only a handful of my colleagues knew about me.
I don’t want to be a bonsai tree
Not counting my childhood, I have spent more than twenty years in the professional closet. I am nearing my fourth decade on Earth. While I have had some successes in life, I am not content to be just average. As I have often told my students, "Why be average when you can be your best?"
Do you know what a bonsai tree is? A bonsai tree is an imitation of a real tree. It is kept in a small pot with limited nutrients, trimmed constantly to fit someone else’s whim. It looks like a real tree, except it can’t do many things a real tree can. It cannot provide shelter, it cannot find food on its own; its life and death are totally reliant on its owner. It is the plant version of the 3-inch Chinese bound foot for women: useless and painful.
Being in the closet, pretending to be straight, trimming our true selves to suit the whims and expectations of others, is just like being a human bonsai tree. By staying in the closet, we cannot even hope to be average, much less above and beyond average.
I felt that in order to reach my fullest potential as a useful human being, I must first fully accept myself, and face the world honestly. I have lived long enough to know that what I am is not a disease, an aberration or a mental illness.
Hate is not a religious value
Many people have cited many ‘reasons’ for hating homosexuals, just as many people tried to justify their views that the Earth was flat, that the darker skinned should always be inferior, and that women should subjugate their lives to men. The teachings of the world’s great religious traditions offer many words of wisdom, but the interpretations of their human followers are not infallible. As Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount (yes, a personal Bible was given to me by a great lady and I honored her by reading the book), we must love our neighbors as ourselves. It is a simple teaching, but one that’s rarely followed by those who seek to oppress people different from themselves. The path to enlightenment always faces stubborn resistance. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you..."
There are some people who are using homosexuality to advance their personal ambitions vis a vis religion. They claim that the homosexual ‘agenda’ is to make the whole world gay and threaten the stability of the family. Yet, let us examine the evidence: Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first countries to legalise gay marriage, are more stable than ever – their population has not been converted by gays and their heterosexual divorce rates have even decreased since gays have been afforded legal rights. (William N. Eskridge, Jr and Darren R. Spedale, Oxford University Press, 2006).
The only agenda gay people have is to be able to live with the same rights and dignity as our heterosexual brothers and sisters. Our very vocal opponents are the ones actively preying on innocent people, recruiting them to their cause by spreading fear and misinformation. I hope thinking people will quickly see that it is this small group of vocal objectionists who have a more dangerous agenda, that their fight with gay people has nothing to do with what’s right or wrong, but is merely a litmus test of their political influence. For peace and prosperity to continue, Singapore must always uphold secularism, where each different segment of the population respects the beliefs and rights of the others.
Can a country with no natural resources afford to drive away its own citizens?
There is a very pragmatic reason that you should support the rights and dignity of gay Singaporeans: in this globally-competitive era, Singapore needs her gay sons and daughters, just as we need our Singaporean Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, immigrants, men and women, old folks and young. Most importantly, we need those gay sons and daughters because those gay sons and daughters are Singaporean Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, immigrants, men and women, old folks and young. Can a country without natural resources continue to flourish when it starts to drive away its own children?
As I said before, leaders are people who are guided by the conviction of rightness and justice and in being so guided, lead others towards that right path.
I am still a teacher. My main purpose and joy is to teach our youngest citizens, the same ones who will be the leaders of our nation tomorrow. But, I feel I am shortchanging both society and myself by staying in the closet. I must be true to myself. If my colleagues and students, both gay and straight, see that being true to one’s own self has great value, perhaps we can produce a new generation who is truly courageous. A new generation of young people who are proud to be themselves, no matter what difference they have from their classmates. Then I will have succeeded in providing them a better education than I had the opportunity to receive during my years in school.
So here’s what I am, and I am a friend in need at the moment
So here it is: I, Otto Fong, have always been and always will be a gay man. When you ask about my spouse, I will say he is a man. I am as proud being gay as you are proud being straight. I am not, as some people like to label gays, a pedophile, a child molester, a pervert or sexual deviant. I did not choose to be gay, just like heterosexuals did not choose to be straight. I am not going to hell (not for being gay anyway).
I am not going back in the closet. When you ask me who I am, I will answer: I am a son, a brother, a long-time companion, an uncle, a teacher, a classmate, a colleague, a part of your community, a HDB dweller, a Singaporean. And I am also gay.
I would like to enjoy the respect that all other Singaporeans enjoy. I will not let the closet bind my feet, because I am made to sprint. I am not interested in being a bonsai tree, my DNA is programmed to climb higher. My heart aspires to reach my fullest potential as a human being.
I hope, dear friends and colleagues, that you look back and remember what I am, and see that I am not someone you fear. I am essentially the same person – flawed, imperfect, but brought up properly by two loving parents to lead a productive, beneficial and meaningful life. My friends and family love me for who I am, and I hope you can too. I come out to you with as much hope and trepidation as when I first come out to my mother and father. Your support and understanding are very important to me at this moment.
Thank you, may you prosper in health and soul.
Some people thought he was incredibly brave to come out when he was working in a "sensitive" job as a teacher. Others thought he was incredibly stupid. Just as he admitted it was naive of him to think it was just as easy coming out.
What was he thinking?
Within 2 days, he took down that blog entry and faced the music. He had to answer to his school, his students, the society.
Frankly, I am glad that he did not faced much persecution over what he did and that life is back to normal for him.
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The New Paper
25 July 2008
TEACHER WHO REVEALED HE IS GAY
His life now revolves around cartooning
By Ng Tze Yong
ONCE a teacher in Raffles Institution (RI), he now wants to become a world-class cartoonist. The life-changing move was a consequence of one decision that Mr Otto Fong made - to reveal that he is gay.
As a teacher, Mr Fong had done cartoons in his spare time and even won awards for his work. But the outing incident that caused a mini-storm proved to be an awakening of sorts for him.
'I had always asked my students to chase their passion,' he told The New Paper, in his first interview since the controversy. 'I loved teaching, but my real passion was cartooning. I realised that if I didn't leave, I would not be true to what I said to my students.'
So he packed up and left.
COMIC BOOK SERIES
Since then, he has been working on a new book, the third in the popular Sir Fong comic series which he started in 2005. The book, which will retail in bookstores nationwide next month, uses comics to teach students in their early teens about science.
Life after RI is busier than before, he says. He gives tuition part-time ('Goodness, I miss teaching.') and spends the rest of his time working on his cartoons and giving talks on cartooning.
But still fresh in his mind is the day he outed himself in his blog entry, almost a year ago. He remembers the anxiety of returning to school the Monday morning after the news had spread.
He loved his job, his school and his students. But that morning, the spring in his step was gone.
He stepped through the school gate feeling a sudden dread.
Three days before, his blog entry that he was gay had sparked a heated debate. Some supported his honesty. Others - especially parents - asked him to leave the job, fearing his influence on impressionable boys.
His 2,000-word blog entry brought even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong into the fold. In Parliament a month after the incident, PM Lee made a call to Singaporeans to strive for an inclusive society with space for all.
But that morning, all Mr Fong was thinking of was: 'I want to skip the morning assembly.' He imagined everyone's eyes on him, he said.
Then, out of nowhere, the head prefect appeared and asked to shake his hand. 'Mr Fong, you have my support,' the student said. It almost brought tears to his eyes.
Until today, many find it hard to understand his reasons for 'outing' himself.
Mr Fong maintains, as he did then, that it was a letter intended only for his colleagues and old boys whom he was close to. 'I had been at RI for several years. I went through ups and downs with my colleagues. They became like family to me,' he said.
'They invited me to their weddings and to their homes. But what could I do? 'If I invited them to my home, I would have to hide pictures of my partner. They would see a single king-sized bed, four pillows, and think that I'm either living with an unmarried woman or a man.
'I didn't want to lie to them anymore.'
His childhood struggle with his sexuality left deep scars. 'All that I had heard about gay people was negative.'
After mulling over it for months, Mr Fong finally took the leap of faith. He wrote an entry in his blog one Friday night and sent out a mass e-mail, asking friends to read his blog.
He says he still does not know how things got out of hand from there.
'NAIVE'
He also thinks he was naive. 'I had only started blogging two months before,' he said. 'I didn't realise the power of blogs. Sometimes, I would write something and tell all my friends, 'Come, read my blog' and only something like 10 or 15 would actually visit. 'So, for me, blogs were still something private.'
After his entry, Mr Fong watched with growing trepidation as the counter on his blog rocketed. By Monday, it had garnered a staggering 15,000 hits.
That first day back in school was filled with crisis meetings. In class, the students were unusually well-behaved, he remembered.
'I broke down once when my principal asked me why I did that,' he said.
The media approached him. Some parents left nasty messages with the school. Many of his students, however, stood by him. 'I found out later that a few of my students had taken it upon themselves to watch out for me, if there was going to be any trouble or snide remarks,' he said.
Things got heated between him and his parents, even though he had told them when he was 17 that he was gay. 'Last time, they could keep it within the family. Now, they were reading about me in Lianhe Zaobao. It was tough for them,' said Mr Fong.
SCHOOL WAS SUPPORTIVE
At the end of last year, Mr Fong left teaching. It was his choice, he said. 'The school never once asked me to quit. They are very supportive of teachers if they see we have our hearts in the right place,' he said.
Nowadays, he invites his ex-colleagues to his house regularly. 'They are now part of my life. I feel like, finally, I have shown them how much I treasure their friendship,' he said.
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Lianhe Zaobao
12 September 2007
RI male teacher comes out on blog
by Lu Caixia
A male teacher of a local elite school came out as a homosexual on his blog, and attracted much attention. In the end, he rapidly deleted this open letter.
The Ministry of Education responded that it does not permit teachers to endorse homosexuality openly, because teachers have special authority - they have influence over students, and are often regarded as role models.
The 38-year-old- Raffles Institution male teacher Otto Fong started teaching 8 years ago. He worked in the theatre before he started teaching.
He published this 2000-word open letter to his friends and colleagues on his personal blog. The letter is dated 7th September, and published on the 8th.
This blog was featured in the local blogger site tomorrow.sg, and many netizens were engaged in discussion, including students from Raffles Institution. The open letter was deleted within 3 days of its publication on the internet.
However, some netizens have saved a copy of the open letter, thus it is still circulating on the internet.
Otto Fong admitted frankly that he is gay in his open letter. He also hoped Singaporeans can be more tolerant towards people like him.
He said in his letter: "When I became a teacher in 1999, I looked back on the good guidance my own teachers gave me as a template, and tried to be a better teacher to my students. Besides teaching them Science, I spent considerable effort in imparting good social values.
Yet, in the eight years I have taught, I have done little for that small group of students who are gay... When my niece returned from school saying, "Gays are disgusting!" I knew she learnt that hatred from a classmate, who had in turn absorbed that hatred from a parent."
"This is the same environment of hatred I grew up in, as a gay teenager and student."
Otto Fong said that he was motivated by some personal reasons later on to come out openly, and stop being "a bonsai tree at the mercy of people's trim and cut".
One of the reasons for this motivation was MM Lee's speech in April. MM Lee was engaging in a dialogue with young PAP, and he questioned the validity of criminalizing homosexuality when it is an in-born condition.
Otto Fong said, "I felt that in order to reach my fullest potential as a useful human being, I must first fully accept myself, and face the world honestly. I have lived long enough to know that what I am is not a disease, an aberration or a mental illness."
He narrated the story telling his parents about his sexual orientation, and gained their support. They also accepted his partner.
Otto Fong also said that the only thing gay people want is to have the same rights and dignity as other people. He hopes that he will have the same respect from society, just like other Singaporeans.
Otto Fong's open letter sparked off much discussion on the internet and in school, after it was widely circulated and deleted. Zaobao's journalist contacted Otto Fong yesterday to inquire the reason for deleting his letter, but he told the journalist that he cannot be interviewed at the moment in his email reply.
Raffles Institution's statement to Zaobao revealed some clues. "As a school, we need to be considerate towards the views of stakeholders, especially parents who are uncomfortable with teachers who endorse homosexuality."
"In this incident, Mr Fong hoped that his colleagues and friends would read his blog. He has already clarified that he has no wish to promote homosexuality to students; therefore he did not give his blog address to his students. However, he discovered that some students read his blog as well, and thus he decided to delete it." The Ministry of Education said, "MOE supports the school's way of handling this incident, because this is in line with the Ministry's stand."
Otto Fong was an engineer before joining the Chinese theatre. He wrote a play about homosexuality" Different Species" in 1992. Later, he resigned to study movie directing at Beijing Film Academy, and began to teach in 1999. He is a comics artist as well, and published a series of "Sir Fong" comics.
Interviewed parents and students: Sexual orientation should not be a concern
After the open letter is released on the internet, a lot of netizens are speculating whether Otto Fong will lose his teaching position. Zaobao's journalist tried to ask him about this possibility, but he declined to respond.
However, a student's blog revealed that Otto Fong planned to leave the teaching profession before writing this open letter. Even if he quits, it may not be due to this incident.
Furthermore, parents and students interviewed say that if a teacher has upright character and dedication for teaching, his sexual orientation should not be a concern.
Raffles Institution Secondary 4 student Huang Maoxuan (16) described Otto Fong's teaching style to be very lively and fun, and sustains students' interest. He is a good teacher, and hard to come by.
He feels that even if Otto Fong comes out publicly, it would not affect students' impression on him.
Parent Wu Shuqian (46, housewife) thinks that dedicated and responsible teachers should not be ostracized or reprimanded because they are gay. She said, "From what I know, Mr Fong is good at teaching. A teacher like him is hard to come by. It would be a great pity if he is forced to leave because of this incident."
Another parent Mdm Lim (42, housewife) said that she felt a little uncomfortable when she first found out that a teacher at school came out publicly. However, she felt that if he does not overstep boundaries, there is no need for him to leave.
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The New Paper
13 September 2007
Gay teacher outs himself in blog posting. Then he removes it as...
Blog not meant for his students
by Liew Hanqing
His online declaration was straightforward - 'I'm gay.' But it was no ordinary blog. It was written by a 38-year-old teacher at one of Singapore's top boys' schools.
He claims it was only meant to be read by his colleagues and some friends. But somehow word spread and it got online forums buzzing.
The school, however, is not over-reacting to the teacher's honest and sober admission. And this is why we are not naming him or his school.
As more people learnt of it, the teacher removed the post - just two days after he wrote it on 8 Sep.
In the entry, the teacher said he was inspired to come out of the closet and write openly about his sexuality after attending a forum on gay teachers and students.
UNCOMFORTABLE
In an e-mail statement to The New Paper, a spokesman for his school said it is 'mindful of the views of (the school's) stakeholders, especially parents who would not be comfortable with placing their children under the charge of a teacher who advocates homosexuality.'
The spokesman confirmed that the school had spoken to the teacher concerned. 'In this instance, (the teacher) intended the blog to be read only by his colleagues and friends.
'He has clarified that he had no intention of advocating homosexuality to students. Thus, he did not give the link to any of his students. 'However, now that he is aware that some students have been reading his blog, he has decided to take down the blog.'
The reaction of the local Internet community has been mixed.
Former students and other netizens have left messages on his blog and on other websites, many in support of his decision to go public about his sexual orientation.
In the original blog post, the teacher recalled having felt attracted to classmates of the same sex from the time he was in Primary 6. He wrote: 'As a teenager, I was very quick to sense society's aversion towards the 'sissies' in my classes. I worked hard to distance myself from them.
'While I was successful in modifying my outward behaviour, my sexual orientation remained unchanged. 'My denial gnawed at me, and the suppression of my true self resulted in self-destructive behavior during my overseas university years.'
He 'spent more than 20 years in the professional closet', keeping his sexual orientation under wraps to all but a 'handful' of colleagues. Explaining his decision to speak openly about his sexuality, the teacher wrote: 'Being in the closet, pretending to be straight, trimming our true selves to suit the whims and expectations of others, is just like being a human bonsai tree.'
He also wrote: 'I am still a teacher. 'My main purpose and joy is to teach our youngest citizens, the same ones who will be the leaders of our nation tomorrow.'
NOT SEXUAL DEVIANT
The teacher also said being gay did not make him a sexual deviant. 'I'm not, as some people like to label gays, a paedophile, a child molester, a pervert or sexual deviant.'
While some have voiced support for the teacher's online confession, others say he should have kept the information private.
A student from another school, Jasper Chen, 18, said he admired the teacher's honesty and courage. 'He risked losing his job in an attempt to transform the public's perception of gays in the teaching profession,' he said.
Parents like Mrs Catherine Gasper, 48, however, were less enthusiastic about the teacher's candour. 'He should keep such things private - I don't think it's our business to know about his personal life,' said Mrs Gasper, who has a son in Primary 5. 'It (his sexual orientation) doesn't really matter, as long as he's a good teacher - but parents will likely become wary because they don't know enough about the gay community.
'There's a lack of awareness that comes from a lack of contact with (gays), so people will tend to go along with their own biases and prejudices.'
Added one secondary school teacher, who declined to be named: 'In this case, the teacher is in contact with boys who are still young and impressionable. 'Their sexual preferences may still be somewhat unclear and in flux, so it's probably best that the teacher doesn't reveal too much, too soon.
'There is a line that must be drawn between a person's public and personal life.'
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Straits Times
15 September 2007
THINKING ALOUD
A teacher's disclosure and the issue is out in the open
By Paul Jacob, Deputy Political Editor
We are supposed to be a society that is evolving and becoming more accepting of changing social norms.
But Mr Otto Fong should know that we remain largely and deeply conservative.
Despite what blog- and Net-savvy Internet users are calling a brave outing online last week by the teacher at a top all-boys school about his being gay, there is a larger and quieter majority more apt to regard the recent actions of Mr Fong as some kind of misguided honesty or stunt, one that they worry could cause more harm to those students that the disclosure purports to help.
By all the accounts that I have seen online and in The New Paper, Mr Fong, 38, is an A-one teacher; one who has continued to receive the support of those students who blog, or who have responded to discussion threads on the numerous sites that picked up on his outing.
While he has removed his posting from his blog, reportedly after discussions with his superiors, many others have posted copies, so it continues to generate debate.
There are those who salute his decision and the honesty with which he has put his case across.
It must be a difficult decision to go public about being gay.
But it is one thing to do so to those nearest and dearest - family, relatives, friends - and another to do so on an openly accessible platform like the Internet.
It is apt to spark all manner of responses and consequences, as Mr Fong has now found out - most immediately, of course, in the reaction from his employers.
It is not just in the nature of Singapore society and the variegated opinions that exist here about how we feel towards those who are gay.
The outcome of that debate continues to be moulded, with the loudest voices not surprisingly coming from those at both ends of the spectrum of tolerance.
But in the issue at hand, it is also being shaped by the nature of the job that Mr Fong holds and, with that, the kind of interactions and influence he can have over his classes.
No one has made any accusations and nothing untoward exists about his conduct, it must be emphasised here.
But it is in the perceptions, the fertile imaginations, the what-ifs - all of which colour the discussions.
Let me illustrate with the case of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho in that most often-cited bastion of tolerance and openness, the United States.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a Minnesota airport men's room after being arrested for lewd conduct. He then withdrew his confession, strenuously denied he was gay, and said he did nothing inappropriate.
But under pressure from a Republican Party concerned about the damage to its image and that of the legislature he represents, he resigned.
Clearly, over there, the private conduct of a public individual matters.
What about here in Singapore?
Mr Fong recognises and has acknowledged that he is part of a profession and an institution that 'moulds the future generation of Singapore leaders'.
What puzzles me is what he hoped to achieve in making his announcement. Was it to demonstrate that there is no shame in being of a different sexual orientation? Or was it to show that there is no bar on what profession you can be in?
Or that he believes that if senior politicians have become more accommodating with the presence and contributions that gays are making to society, then it is fine to out oneself?
Or maybe, as he appears to indicate, he was prompted by a point made by a young adult at a forum about the lack of guidance he had growing up as a gay teenager.
Was that the trigger? That in outing himself, he would be in a position to be of help to those youths in school who may be uncertain about their orientation at this stage of their lives?
If so, what then would he tell those who seek his advice?
One has to question the ability and the appropriateness of someone who has outed himself being able to provide neutral, unbiased advice - and the wisdom of whichever direction it is that the puzzled student has been pointed towards.
His supporters, admirers and students provide strong backing for his continued value as an educator. Some would argue that he is, after all, the same person he was before.
Perhaps Mr Fong's decision to out himself has a simpler and more fundamental basis. It springs from a natural desire to be part of a society which accepts someone for what he or she is. It was a difficult decision that he made.
But this does not obscure the fact that he is the only full-time teacher, as far as I am aware, who has gone public about his sexual orientation.
Like it or not, fair or unfair, that has now changed the dynamics of how he will be viewed by those with whom he interacts, colleagues and parents included.
Ditto, I think, for others in the profession. Because let's be honest about this: Mr Fong is not the only gay teacher in the system.
His decision may not have the well-meaning effect he intended. He should have thought about how it could affect colleagues elsewhere before making his arbitrary decision.
Many here remember the position espoused by former prime minister Goh Chok Tong in 2003 about the Government employing openly homosexual people, even in sensitive jobs.
But in the light of Mr Fong's disclosure, it falls on his employers and, more broadly, the Education Ministry, to manage what fallout there is to come from the episode, including telling the public its stand on gay teachers in its ranks.
Much as I was initially inclined to suggest to Mr Fong that it was best to have let sleeping dogs lie, his decision is generating pertinent discussion on an issue that the ministry now has little choice but to deal with.
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Otto Fong's open letter
source: Otto Fong's blog, 10 September 2007
(which has since been deleted from his blog)
Otto Fong in RI
I am Otto Fong. I have been teaching Science in Raffles Institution for the last eight years.
Being a teacher has been the most rewarding part of my professional life thus far. My students continue to amaze me daily with their wit, maturity, independent thinking and leadership. It is very fulfilling that I am a part of an institution that moulds the future generation of Singapore’s leaders.
Leaders are people who can rise above the tide of popular opinion, people who are guided by the conviction of rightness and justice and in being so guided, lead others towards that right path.
Recent events leading to my action
Recent events have made me decide to write this open letter. In April this year, Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew – one of the school’s greatest alumni – called homosexuality a "genetic variation", questioning the validity of criminalising gay sex. In July, MP Baey Yam Keng expressed support for the repeal of Section 377A of the penal code (which criminalises gay sex acts). In August, Malaysian columnist and ordained pastor Oyoung Wenfeng released his inspiring new Mandarin book "Tong Gen Sheng", encouraging gay men and women to come out of the closet.
A few evenings later, I attended a forum organised by People Like Us on gay teachers and students. A few brave twenty-something guys asked, "Why has there been so little guidance available to me as a gay teenager?" It was a question that I had asked myself often, growing up.
When I became a teacher in 1999, I looked back on the good guidance my own teachers gave me as a template, and tried to be a better teacher to my students. Besides teaching them Science, I spent considerable effort in imparting good social values: give up your seats to the needy, save the handicapped parking lot for those in wheelchairs and their caretakers, respect people regardless of profession or social status.
How hate is perpetuated
Yet, in the eight years I have taught, I have done little for that small group of students who are gay. When the religious group Focus on the Family masqueraded as sex guidance counselors and gave a talk full of misinformation about homosexuality to our students, I was furious but kept my mouth shut.
When my niece returned from school saying, "Gays are disgusting!" I knew she learnt that hatred from a classmate, who had in turn absorbed that hatred from a parent. I knew that this hatred has been perpetrated for generations. But hatred grew out of fear, and hatred, as a line in a movie goes, "leads to the Dark Side." This is the same environment of hatred I grew up in, as a gay teenager and student.
Until Section 377A* is repealed, there will be precious little the Ministry of Education can do to help these students. As a teacher, I am bound by my professional duty to follow the directives of my superiors.
While these events helped crystallize my decision to come out of the closet, my motivation remains deeply personal.
My family and I
As far back as primary six, I have been aware of my attraction towards classmates of the same sex. For those who argued about nurturing factors of the family, my brother and sister grew up under the same parents and remained heterosexuals despite growing up with me in close proximity.
As a teenager, I was very quick to sense society’s aversion towards the ‘sissies’ in my classes. I worked hard to distance myself from them. While I was successful in modifying my outward behavior, my sexual orientation remained unchanged. My denial gnawed at me, and the suppression of my true self resulted in self-destructive behavior during my overseas university years.
Fortunately, my American fraternity mates were supportive. I began to see a counselor who helped me accept myself for who and what I am.
Returning to Singapore, I came out to my family. My father, mother, brother and sister, out of love for their son and brother, walked the long road to acceptance. It was not easy for them, but they loved me before I came out, and they love me after. When I finally settled down with my longtime companion (we have been together for more than nine years), my entire family made sure my nieces and nephews included us in their lives. I loved my family too much to keep them in the dark, to deny them the chance to really know me. And they loved me too much to let some old prejudice tear our family apart.
I kept my sexual orientation a secret at work, and only a handful of my colleagues knew about me.
I don’t want to be a bonsai tree
Not counting my childhood, I have spent more than twenty years in the professional closet. I am nearing my fourth decade on Earth. While I have had some successes in life, I am not content to be just average. As I have often told my students, "Why be average when you can be your best?"
Do you know what a bonsai tree is? A bonsai tree is an imitation of a real tree. It is kept in a small pot with limited nutrients, trimmed constantly to fit someone else’s whim. It looks like a real tree, except it can’t do many things a real tree can. It cannot provide shelter, it cannot find food on its own; its life and death are totally reliant on its owner. It is the plant version of the 3-inch Chinese bound foot for women: useless and painful.
Being in the closet, pretending to be straight, trimming our true selves to suit the whims and expectations of others, is just like being a human bonsai tree. By staying in the closet, we cannot even hope to be average, much less above and beyond average.
I felt that in order to reach my fullest potential as a useful human being, I must first fully accept myself, and face the world honestly. I have lived long enough to know that what I am is not a disease, an aberration or a mental illness.
Hate is not a religious value
Many people have cited many ‘reasons’ for hating homosexuals, just as many people tried to justify their views that the Earth was flat, that the darker skinned should always be inferior, and that women should subjugate their lives to men. The teachings of the world’s great religious traditions offer many words of wisdom, but the interpretations of their human followers are not infallible. As Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount (yes, a personal Bible was given to me by a great lady and I honored her by reading the book), we must love our neighbors as ourselves. It is a simple teaching, but one that’s rarely followed by those who seek to oppress people different from themselves. The path to enlightenment always faces stubborn resistance. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you..."
There are some people who are using homosexuality to advance their personal ambitions vis a vis religion. They claim that the homosexual ‘agenda’ is to make the whole world gay and threaten the stability of the family. Yet, let us examine the evidence: Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first countries to legalise gay marriage, are more stable than ever – their population has not been converted by gays and their heterosexual divorce rates have even decreased since gays have been afforded legal rights. (William N. Eskridge, Jr and Darren R. Spedale, Oxford University Press, 2006).
The only agenda gay people have is to be able to live with the same rights and dignity as our heterosexual brothers and sisters. Our very vocal opponents are the ones actively preying on innocent people, recruiting them to their cause by spreading fear and misinformation. I hope thinking people will quickly see that it is this small group of vocal objectionists who have a more dangerous agenda, that their fight with gay people has nothing to do with what’s right or wrong, but is merely a litmus test of their political influence. For peace and prosperity to continue, Singapore must always uphold secularism, where each different segment of the population respects the beliefs and rights of the others.
Can a country with no natural resources afford to drive away its own citizens?
There is a very pragmatic reason that you should support the rights and dignity of gay Singaporeans: in this globally-competitive era, Singapore needs her gay sons and daughters, just as we need our Singaporean Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, immigrants, men and women, old folks and young. Most importantly, we need those gay sons and daughters because those gay sons and daughters are Singaporean Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, immigrants, men and women, old folks and young. Can a country without natural resources continue to flourish when it starts to drive away its own children?
As I said before, leaders are people who are guided by the conviction of rightness and justice and in being so guided, lead others towards that right path.
I am still a teacher. My main purpose and joy is to teach our youngest citizens, the same ones who will be the leaders of our nation tomorrow. But, I feel I am shortchanging both society and myself by staying in the closet. I must be true to myself. If my colleagues and students, both gay and straight, see that being true to one’s own self has great value, perhaps we can produce a new generation who is truly courageous. A new generation of young people who are proud to be themselves, no matter what difference they have from their classmates. Then I will have succeeded in providing them a better education than I had the opportunity to receive during my years in school.
So here’s what I am, and I am a friend in need at the moment
So here it is: I, Otto Fong, have always been and always will be a gay man. When you ask about my spouse, I will say he is a man. I am as proud being gay as you are proud being straight. I am not, as some people like to label gays, a pedophile, a child molester, a pervert or sexual deviant. I did not choose to be gay, just like heterosexuals did not choose to be straight. I am not going to hell (not for being gay anyway).
I am not going back in the closet. When you ask me who I am, I will answer: I am a son, a brother, a long-time companion, an uncle, a teacher, a classmate, a colleague, a part of your community, a HDB dweller, a Singaporean. And I am also gay.
I would like to enjoy the respect that all other Singaporeans enjoy. I will not let the closet bind my feet, because I am made to sprint. I am not interested in being a bonsai tree, my DNA is programmed to climb higher. My heart aspires to reach my fullest potential as a human being.
I hope, dear friends and colleagues, that you look back and remember what I am, and see that I am not someone you fear. I am essentially the same person – flawed, imperfect, but brought up properly by two loving parents to lead a productive, beneficial and meaningful life. My friends and family love me for who I am, and I hope you can too. I come out to you with as much hope and trepidation as when I first come out to my mother and father. Your support and understanding are very important to me at this moment.
Thank you, may you prosper in health and soul.
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