The Zachary Wankfest
I feel both gleeful and sad to be a spectator of this wank, and being related to the person who didn’t quite mean to explode it into the crazy that it became. ‘Lil sis Julia finds tuition mate Zachary’s blog. Self-congratulatory post discriminates against neighbourhood schools, girls and Pioneer Junior College (of which he is a student of). Exasperated by his post, she sends his blog to me, and then Elizabeth for discussion. I spout my usual ‘I don’t care, there are more things to worry about.’ monologue. Liz goes crazy and sends the link to all her PJC friends.
Shit blows up. Zachary is verbally attacked on his LJ. Zachery calls everyone ‘pussies’ and attacks back. People print out Zachary’s blog and post it up on the toilets in school, along with his contact number and email. Said people nearly get expelled. Principal, Vice Principal, Discipline Master, teachers and the entire school gets involved. Zachary deletes his blog. Zachary is harassed at school. Zachary restores his LJ and posts an apology. Rumour has it Zachary withdraws from PJC.
Holy shit, and it all started with us.
I shan’t get into Zachary’s post and what I think of it. It’s only natural for kids their age to be spouting nonsense, and whatever I read I took with a grain of salt. I had once contemplated discussing his misogynistic thoughts on his LJ, but decided not to. I wasn’t really on either side of the argument, because (as I said before) both sides were taking it too personally, and their arguments were the equivalent of a drunk guy attempting to make conversation.
From what little I’ve read about the fallout, people have constantly said something along the lines of ‘neighbourhood school girls unite!’ or ‘PJC is awesome, if you don’t like it then quit school’. It’s no longer something rational to discuss about; it becomes personal, and that’s what created this drama. His words shouldn’t have been blown into the epic proportions that it was, and it seemed like people put pride before humanization.
I’ve never been a big fan of the idea that fighting for abstract ideals should triumph over empathy. I don’t like wars fought in the name of ‘freedom’, or the word ‘patriotism’ becomes a blanket term for xenophobia (hence my dislike for Bush). In this case, ’school pride’ is held up as justification for smearing his name on the walls (literally). I think people have forgotten that Zachary is just another guy. He has a family, his own thoughts, his own flaws. Now, he’s out as fodder on the execution range, and nobody gives a shit.
This brings me back to the Wee Shu Min saga many a year ago. She was around the same age, and she too harboured elitist views. She was mercilessly torn apart by everyone, and it was made even worse when she was featured in the press. I’m seeing all this again in Zachary. As usual, the responses are massively disproportionate to the crime at hand.
I honestly feel that teenagers don’t know what to think. I’ve seen blogs that mock Singlish and yet lambast the Speak Good English campaign. I’ve seen blogs that have criticized people for being stupid, and yet using poorly phrased arguments to convey their point. I’m not criticizing them, since that’s what kids do, but I think some perspective should be nice. Do Unto Others and all that crap.
I’m not sure what to think of this. I don’t hold Zachary responsible for his post, because I think people are still mentally developing at that age (at least in my case), but I wouldn’t want to meet him. I understand the outrage the people at PJC felt, but they went too far. In any case, I still don’t care.
What I can say, however, is that his apology post reeks of political correctness. I get the feeling that he was forced to write an apology by the higher authorities, something that I’ve always been vehemently against. I’ve had my own run-in with the principal of CGS, and I was forced to suck up to her to ‘atone for my mistakes’. It went against everything I stood for, and all I got from that ordeal was a lifelong vendetta.
What truly matters is that Zachary’s character grows from this; not an apology dictated by the higher ups. His misogynistic and elitist views cannot be changed in a fortnight, much less a single letter. I don’t like this culture of facades, where doing the right thing on the surface automatically means you’re absolved of everything else. Some PJC people called bullshit on his apology, and while I feel there are still remnants of a grudge, I actually agree. For this, I don’t blame Zachary. I blame the people upstairs, thinking that an apology would solve everything without actually addressing the real issues at hand - the problem of character. (In short: no, I do not think Zachary really meant what he said).
I do sympathize wholly with Zachary, given that I was once beaten into submission in a similar fashion, and I’ve seen firsthand how brutal and unsympathetic Singaporeans can be. I do hope that he changes for the better, and that the people who harassed him also understand the word ‘empathy’. I think Singapore created an elitist culture, where Singlish, neighbourhood schools and Geylang are considered ‘inferior’, while the Esplanade, PAP and British fags are the cream of the crop (or cake? Whatever), and, well, I don’t think I can blame the kids for harbouring such views. Zachary was a product of a culture that was generated by the very hands that prosecuted him, and I do think it grossly unfair.
The End.
ETA: Oh Zachary On The Tagboard, please shut the hell up. There won’t be any more people on your side if you continue with this special brand of faggotry.
ETA 2: According to ‘ANON’ on Elizabeth’s tagboard, here’s the new update.
hi zach. (pardon me, liz for using ur blog) your scandal has spread to almost all JCs in the west, God Bless You.
I particularly LOL’ed at God Bless You. Also, Zachary has, apparently, shut the hell up. I applaude you.
4 Responses to “The Zachary Wankfest”
If you read the post properly, I saw the beginnings of this whole wank.
haha sorry.. uh then how you find out about the website we@cheeyewshouse?
A Google search. Just type in ‘Zach PJC blogspot’ and your blog’s on the first few links.
Erm, I would like to comment on Zachary. Firstly how did you get wind about this whole issue? Anyway he still doesnt dare to go to PJC now.