The end of writers and their worthless words
A writer/artist friend of mine, Ng Wai Choy just announced on Facebook that he would be working exclusively on visual arts and giving up totally on the craft of words. Another friend, retired actor/TV host Zhang Wei announced that he would be going back on TV because he enjoys what he had been doing before he announced his retirement.
I was struck in opposite directions, stunned on a moody Monday morning. Wai Choy has been my inspiration in the field of writing since I met him in the early 1990s. His departure from the industry is a discouraging indication that in an anti intellectual world overloaded with fast-moving images, there is no future for writers working on static words.
Zhang Wei is also an inspiration. I’ve seen him on TV hosting Sharp Night when I was a kid. I didn’t get in touch with him until we connected on Facebook. At a time when there were no schools or classes for TV hosts and toastmasters, Zhang Wei created the unique image for local TV host. He later went into acting and persevered into his 80s. But in spite of his age and the diminishing TV audience, Mr Zhang’s craft is still in demand. I can’t say the same for my “worthless words” in this age of anti-intellectualism. The only thing I have in common with Mr Zhang is that we both love what we are doing.
I’ve said that I will never give up doing what I love, but this latest announcement from Wai Choy made it more difficult than ever to persevere.
On a more cautious and positive note, the Gaza peace deal is underway. The cynics call this a temporary ceasefire and I’m inclined to agree with them. As long as Hamas holds on to its charter that Israel must be destroyed, there will be no peace. The original plan to move everyone out of Gaza might have worked. Unfortunately, that was deemed too drastic and the Muslim allies couldn’t agree. It should be pointed out that while Israel has definitely won the war on the ground, the country had completely lost its narrative in the war of public opinion.
Decades ago when I first heard about organisations like the PLO, Faiyadeen etc, I would immediately associate them with acts of terrorism. The list of aircraft hijackings that Palestinian militant groups have been responsible for is listed here. You can also read about how King Hussein acted decisively against a cancer growing in his territory here. I can say quite confidently that back then, absolutely nobody sympathised with the Palestinian militants. In contrast, I noticed that the free Tibet movement received a lot of moral support from fellow travellers. The protesters never desecrated Chinese temples. They didn’t cheer or celebrated when something bad happened to China or the Chinese people. Back then, the “woke” were simply empathetic people who detested violence and they could tell right from wrong. Back then, they read books, watched credible news reports and they knew that free Tibet was peaceful and free Palestine was bloody and genocidal.
Fast forward to the present and things have totally changed. Not only are people cheering for Hamas and their brutal attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Israel, they dance on the streets burning their own/host country’s flags where synagogues attended by Jewish citizens are attacked. What some would call it “moral inconsistency”, but I think it has a lot to do with young people not reading history and getting themselves “educated” by minute-long toxic TikTok videos.
Meanwhile, the free Tibet movement has lost steam. You may say that Tibetans are not suffering as much, but that’s because they had taken steps to integrate into the society of their host countries without trying to force them to play by their rules. In contrast, the pro-Palestinian supporters are waving foreign flags, cheering for Hamas, celebrating October 7th and justifying terrorism in the name of defending one’s country. Instead of facing condemnation, the Western woke movement totally supports the underdogs without even bothering to find out if they are the ones who started wars against a powerful adversary, only to claim victimhood, protest against their victims for successfully fighting back and beg for humanitarian aid.
As the Israeli hostages are being released, we know exactly who they are. Those who were killed on October 7, we know who they are. These are useful words that account and document. But in the realm of worthless words, it’s all about shocking images and numbers. Hamas said 65,000 Gazans killed and it’s taken hook, line and sinker. Not only that, while Hamas didn’t try too hard to look like the good guys, boasting about their murderous “achievements” on social media, these folks play apologist and spoke out on their behalf.
The Palestinian militants are still engaged in the business of hijacking. This time, it’s not planes but the minds of woke youths in Western countries. And this form of hijacking is far more dangerous and damaging as it turns your own people against the country. Regardless of which political party you support, things like flag-burning must never happen in Singapore. Our government trusts our immigrants. Do you?
Instead of “worthless words”, somebody sent me graphic images of emaciated children, claiming that Israel is responsible. They look more like African children to me, but just like the photo of an Israeli hostage unknowingly shared by Greta Thunberg while trying to pass it off as a suffering Palestinian, I bet more people received the lies than the debunking. This woman’s lies and nonsense have incredible reach. Hamas is known for setting their own people up as human shields and use self-inflicted 苦肉计 to gain support from impressionable young and old alike. Who reads history nowadays? Who bothers with the truth when it’s written in worthless words?
We must all be mindful of the consequences of losing our writers and their “worthless words”.