In Defense of Amos Yee

Two days ago, I came across the headline “Amos Yee goes on a long rant against Lee Kuan Yew”. My initial thought was that it’s just another day on the Internet and as this was Singapore, he’s gonna get in trouble. Sure enough, another headline followed, “Police report lodged against Amos Yee for incendiary comments on LKY and Jesus Christ”.

I didn’t watch the video until yesterday, after I had taxi drivers on two separate occasions spontaneously break into angry rants about Amos Yee. And apparently, he was arrested and doxxed too. So what was it he said that was so unforgivable? All I saw was an angsty kid posturing with f-bombs and shooting off his mouth. What exactly was he arrested for? He didn’t incite violence against Lee Kuan Yew’s family or any Christian groups. He’s perhaps guilty for hurting the feelings of a lot of grownups. His tirade might merit an eye roll but surely not a criminal charge.

I’m disturbed by the knee-jerk reactions of many Singaporeans who applaud his being arrested, not realizing the repercussions of laws that clamp down on free speech. Sure, Amos Yee was outright insensitive and provocative but I think he projected a lot of the frustration from his own life on to easy political targets. The folks with the pitchforks think that some jail time will teach him a lesson but what will he and, to a greater extent, the rest of us learn from this?

What I’m most worried about is the kind of culture we are propagating — one in which we censor ourselves so that nobody’s toes get stepped on. We bandy around words like “responsible speech” and “respect”, and we build our laws on top of these arbitrary principles. That is counter-productive. We must discuss racial, religious and political issues as they are intrinsic parts of our lives. There will always be offended parties which is why discussing these difficult and sensitive topics requires a certain delicate finesse. It is a practiced skill that can only be acquired through experience. If people get offended all the time and the offenders get thrown in jail, one might reasonably surmise that it is safer to keep silent. The consequence is that any essential conversation grinds to a halt and we fail to gain progress not only in civil discussion but also in living harmonious lives.

In other words, grow thicker skin! Our ability to constructively talk about difficult things rests on our capacity to accept dissenting opinions, no matter how offensive. It follows then that the best approach to Amos Yee’s provocation is to shrug off the insults and take him seriously. Ask him to support his statements and steer the discussion toward a more constructive direction, toward a deeper understanding of the issues. Don’t act like “that young punk could learn a thing or two.” Talk to him with the attitude that you would like him to adopt with you — calm, rational and open-minded. And if he can’t be reasoned with, at the very least, you have demonstrated how one can be gracious and rise above all that ignorance and hostility.

All I’m saying is don’t be quick to judge someone as a nut job, a fanatic or a bigot. Don’t assume they can’t be reasoned with. Lodging a police report or filing a lawsuit should never be the first tools we reach for. It should be patience, understanding and empathy.