Unprotected sex – not single-parent benefits – causes unintended pregnancies

Tue, 4 Aug 2015
2 min read
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Dear Madam/Sir,

I respectfully disagree with “Unequal benefits for single unwed mums a matter of deterrence” (Aug 3).

The writer argues that benefits for single parents is an incentive for people to have children out of wedlock.

Children are not born out of wedlock as a result of benefits for single parents.

It is unprotected intercourse between heterosexual couples which causes unintended pregnancies.

As a matter of public interest, unprotected sex occurs for myriad reasons.

It ranges from the thrill of making love in the raw to ignorance about reproductive cycles.

Unprotected sex can also inadvertently take place when prophylactics fail.

Couples most assuredly do not have unprotected sex while thinking about the benefits that single parents will obtain.

It is the furthest on the average person’s mind before and during the deed.

Unplanned conception can be deterred through holistic sexuality education programmes, such as those already being carried out in educational institutions.

But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry; there will be people who fall through the cracks, as well as accidents that happen.

Single-parent benefits will address these unfortunate scenarios – not incentivise more women and men to make the beast with two backs.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Laremy LEE (Mr)

(Published as “Unprotected sex, not state benefits, causes unintended pregnancies” on 4 Aug 2015 in TODAY.)

Ozymandias

Tue, 24 Mar 2015
1 min read
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Come, it's time to go. (ILLUSTRATION: Ashley Virgilius Leong)
Come, it’s time to go. (ILLUSTRATION: Ashley Virgilius Leong)

I didn’t have anything textual or visual to add to the conversation.

So I went down the aural route instead; I created a playlist I call “Ozymandias”.

  1. Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones
  2. Pride (In The Name Of Love) by U2
  3. Eye In The Sky by The Alan Parsons Project
  4. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next by Manic Street Preachers
  5. Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
  6. Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.
  7. I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie
  8. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day
  9. Viva La Vida by Coldplay
  10. Closing Time by Semisonic

Listen to it here on YouTube.

Interestingly, none of the artists that came to mind when creating it were Singaporean…

Redacted

Fri, 29 Aug 2014
2 min read
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[redacted]! #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] DISCLAIMER: This post is intended to be social commentary on [redacted] in any form, by satirically responding to the news of [redacted] that is trending now. It does not condone [redacted] in any form, and it does not condone the practice of [redacted]. If you propagate this post - that is, you quote from it, link to it, repost it or share it with others in any form - please take responsibility for whatever happens if you propagate the post out of context, or if you mismatch the audience and the content.
[redacted]! #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] DISCLAIMER: This post is intended to be social commentary on [redacted] in any form, by satirically responding to the news of [redacted] that is trending now. It does not condone [redacted] in any form, and it does not condone the practice of [redacted]. If you propagate this post – that is, you quote from it, link to it, repost it or share it with others in any form – please take responsibility for whatever happens if you propagate the post out of context, or if you mismatch the audience and the content.
So! I was reading the news yesterday when I came across a story I found absolutely hilarious.

It was a very serious story, but I found the concept it discussed absolutely hilarious, and I made it a point to tell my friends about it.

But because they are stupid – just kidding; they’re not and I love them a lot – no one got it. Which happens quite often, so I was, like, whatever.

But this morning, I suddenly woke up and the visual image of the concept appeared in my mind, and I was like: YES!

So I immediately grabbed my phone, fired up Phoster, and designed a little graphic, which I promptly Whatsapped to my friends.

The reaction: “Hahahaha.” “This is hilarious.” “Where did you get that from?”

But when I proposed to post it online, with a disclaimer, the reaction I received instead:

It’s troublesome to enforce how people share content. It’ll just be taken out of context and someone will report you for sedition. Then you can forget about being NMP.

No. Too sensitive to post.

I disagree with making it public. There will surely be people who will take it the wrong way. If it goes public, there will be people who will over-react. Sharing it with friends is fine.

So I decided to post what you see above instead. You can like it on Instagram too:

BONUS: Responses to this graphic:

Yeah, this is much better. You’ll still be reported, but it’ll be for being dumb.

Haha! But what is the point of posting it if everything is censored?

I know right.