Link to Today's article.
I was under the impression that NLB was the sole organizer of the Singapore Literature Prize when the three judges decided to pull out in protest of NLB pulping those pulled children books. I would cut the huge bureaucracy some slack, there is no need to over react. The process that is leading to those three books to be destroyed did not respect or disrespect books. They were just being practical and the process has no embedded value system or any attitude toward books. To me it was just like what ordering a Dell PC online used to be. You just run the process. It is amazing writers impute so much into the action. It gives those of us ordinary citizens who mostly aren't avid readers much less writers a bad impression of them. They are emotional, irrational and even childish.
Now those three judges, and I gotta name them here look even sillier. They are theatre educator T Sasitharan, former journalist Romen Bose and Yale-NUS College Professor Robin Hemley.
NLB is just one of 40 members to the NBDCS.....what were these three thinking?
I think some of these local top writers have caught religion but not found faith. Nobody is burning books for real or metaphorically.
Many years ago before you could easily get portions of the Bible off the Web, I bought a cheap Bible and tore off many pages, cutting away many passages for inserting into my wallet to read because it was impractical to carry the full Bible. I found faith that way but religionists would inexplicably derive some special spiritual quality from a book just because it has pages printed with scripture. I tell you, if your life do not reflect scripture, ceremonial respect for a Bible amount to nothing!
I have absolutely no respect for these three fools because given their credentials and experience they still confuse form with substance and imagine NLB controls the 39 other organizations behind the National Book Development Council of Singapore.
How could they be fools? Tell us what exactly is your agenda?
I think all these people are just not respectful of others. The National Library is for the public at large and if there are certain issues that may not be suitable or "offensive" or certain quarters (in this case, young children who have not been properly formed in their mental faculty) then these people who want to stand up for whatever rights should refrain from asserting them. If they like to circulate their lifestyle they are welcome to do that in their private quarters. Just like it is fine for those who want to assert their right to smoke, go ahead, smoke but not in public spaces where passive smoke becomes harmful to innocent non smokers.
ReplyDeleteHave some respect - and respect will be given unto you