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I am not a homosexual, and for friends who know me well, whenever I make the "joke" that I am gay and is going to come out of the closet, they have always rebutted with: "Oh yeah right. You will be the last person we expect to be gay."
Even if I am not a homosexual, and even if it is true that I sometimes make low-brow crude jokes regarding homosexuals (but I make low-brow crude jokes with regards to everything else... nothing is sacred), I am quite sympathetic to their plight. Given that in Singapore most people are still not receptive to the "gay lifestyle" or think that being homosexual is an abomination, I cannot imagine the kind of pain and unfair treatments that gays have to endure in our society.
I remember hearing a story one of my catholic friend has told me. In her church, the pastor (or priest? whatever) was telling the congregation something like this: homosexual is a (sinful) choice... these young people go onto the internet and learn about the decadent lifestyles of the homosexual, and then they choose to be homosexuals... This is something that Ms Agnes Chai alluded to in her letter to straitstimes (see below). First of all, I must say her argument is wrong. I've looked at the journal articles she cited, and it seems that she is just cherry-picking through the data. Her argument is that homosexuals are not born gay because the study found that only 50% of identical twins (i.e. similar DNA) are both homosexuals. The argument goes like this: If identical twins have similar DNA, then they should always be gay. However, as not all identical twins are homosexual, hence genetics plays no role at all.
First, this argument is fundamentally flawed. It assumes that genetics influences ALL our behaviors. However, ask any first year psychology student and they will tell you that it is never that simple. Yes, our DNA influence most of our behaviors, but not all. Second, Ms Agnes Chai forget to include the fact from the same study: non-identical twins (still share DNA, but not 100%) and adopted siblings (do not share DNA at all) have a lower probablitiy of being both homosexuals (22% for non-identical twins and 11% for adopted siblings). If anything, this suggests to me that our sexual orientation is highly affected by our DNA. Ms Agnes Chai has managed to distort the interpretation of the original study by cherry-picking the data (from the perspective of someone trained in scientific research and statistics, this is just pure evil). Furthermore, even though it was true the authors were cautious in their interpretation of the data in the original study (as all scientists are...... you will never catch a scientist saying: huh, I've proved this to be true......), more and more studies that have come out to suggest that our sexual orientation is innate. Doesn't it strike you strange that Ms Agnes Chai said that a new article in Science (a very highly respected journal) said that they have overwhelming evidence that our sexual orientation is innate, and then goes to cite a study 15 years old ago to reject that point. Unlike wine which gets better with age, scientific research gets obsolete with age, as scientists are always coming up with better techniques, and better measures in order to address the issues they are investigating. The area of genetic research has blossomed during the past decade, and to cite a study that is 15 years old to counter new and recent evidence just sounds retarded.
With regards to the second letter posted in straitstimes written by Jonathan Cheng, this is just pure bigotry at its worst. To link homosexuality with pornography, promiscuity, and a whole lot of social problems without any empirical evidence to back it up is just pure evil again... To quote comedian Lewis Black: Yeah, that is the problem. The wars, global warming, social inequality, etc, it is all the gay's fault. Son-of-a-bitch, that is the real problem.... GAYS! If we get rid of all the gays, then the war in Iraq will end and the Sunnis will be hugging the Shites.
Also, while Jonathan Cheng claims the pro-homosexual lobby as being aggressive, I find the christian right's oppression on homosexual individuals as even more aggressive. I suspect both Ms Agnes Chai and Mr Jonathan Cheng are christians in name, people who say that they are christians but who do not follow the teachings of jesus, who said that (to paraphrase) one must avoid judging people. But then again, you don't need to be a chrsitian to understand this very concept.... it should be readily apparent to those who have a bit of empathy for individuals who were treated unfairly.....
And what is this about the "Singapore-ness" if homosexuality were not made legal??? I always thought that the guiding principle behind the ideal Singapore's society is that we are an inclusive society, given the difference in race, language and religion. I always thought the success behind the Singapore story is because we are able to put aside all our differences and work towards building a better society. How are we able to do that if there are people out there like Jonathan Cheng???
And by the way, whether homosexuality is innate or not should not be the deciding factor so to whether we legalize homosexuality.. Homosexuality should be legalized on humanitarian grounds, on the very same reasons why countries like USA and South Africa decides that apartheid and segregation should not be allowed. I don't see the homosexuals oppressing anyone, unlike Mr Cheng who seems eager to oppress others in order to maintain a false ideal society which does not exists (wholesomeness singapore? no porn? have you ever not surfed the internet???)
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Are homosexuals truly born gay?
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said in a dialogue with 400 Young PAP members on Saturday that, 'if in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual - because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes - you can't help it. So why should we criminalise it?'
Are homosexuals born gay? Why the importance to prove this issue? The reason is simple: If society is convinced that some people are indeed born gay, then there would be a need for the Government to not criminalise this behaviour, and, by extension, even protect homosexuals as a designated minority class.
In the United States, this debate is far from over. While a publication by research journal Science, claiming that we were 'on the verge of proving that homosexuality is innate, genetic and therefore unchangeable, a normal variant of human nature', generated much media interest in the early 1990s, scientific attempts to prove homosexual genes have yet to really bear fruit.
A study conducted in 1991 which attempted to show that homosexuality occurs more frequently among identical twins than fraternal twins actually provided support for environmental factors versus genetics.
If homosexuality were indeed in the genetic code, then both of the twins should be homosexual 100 per cent of the time, yet this was not the case.
The LeVay brain study of 1991, which tried to find differences in the hypothalamuses (a very small part of the brain) of homosexual and heterosexual men found no evidence that there is any genetic cause for homosexuality.
Other prominent researchers concluded that there was a lack of evidence to support a biological theory, but rather that homosexuality could be best explained by an alternative model where 'temperamental and personality traits interact with the familial and social milieu as the individual's sexuality emerges'.
With respect to possibly decriminalising homosexual behaviour in the upcoming Penal Code review, I urge the Government to refrain from proceeding hastily in view of inconclusive findings on 'homosexual genes'.
Agnes Chai Shiang Jen (Ms)
============================================MM's comments have me and family worried
I AM writing about the review of the criminal code. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's recent comments about liberalising laws regarding homosexuality have got my family and me very concerned.
My expatriate friends find Singapore a conducive place in terms of its low crime and cleanliness. More importantly, they comment that it is a wholesome place. One does not find pornography sold openly in a neighbourhood shop. Having lived in the West myself, this down-to-earth wholesomeness is what makes Singapore special.
Singapore today faces the challenge of a declining birth rate and families are breaking down at the same time. To legalise homosexuality will compound these problems, given that homosexual couples do not reproduce.
The homosexual lobby in the West is extremely aggressive. It is the same here. Observe how it is now considered intolerant when one criticises them.
What would it be like to have a homosexual teach our children that it is normal to be gay? You might scorn the idea but this is what is happening in the West.
Homosexuals lead a promiscuous and hedonistic lifestyle. What else can you expect when you do not have children to live for or be in a loving and committed relationship? This increases the risk of STDs, Aids, etc, further increasing the risk to the general population.
Homosexuality is not going to go away. All I am saying is that we do not make it easier to be a homosexual by legalising their activities. Singapore is our home and I am proud to be Singaporean. Let us keep it a wholesome place.
Jonathan Cheng Hern Sinn
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