Should the people involved be videoed?

No I do not think that the people involved should be videoed. Although it is true that what they were doing on the bus were deemed unacceptable by many people, that does not mean that their privacy can be intruded and their acts made public. After all, what good wills that do except to humiliate the couple and draw another heated debate on whose fault is it? It does not address the root problem that this kind of act should not be allowed in public, and there is no practical meaning to videoing the couple. Even the fact that what the couple did was wrong does not justify the videoing of their actions.

Who is at fault?

In my opinion, both parties, couple and the person who took the video, are at fault. The couple should recognize that their actions are susceptible to the opinions and assessments of third parties, no matter how justified they think they are. Society is shaped by what people think of you, not by what you think of yourself. Moreover, the couple obviously did not consider the possible implications of their actions, such as being videoed and posted on the net. Such irresponsible and unacceptable acts may also contaminate children and teenagers, much less damage the image of the Singaporean society.

Yet, on the other hand, the guy who videoed the couple also has his wrongs. Yes, the couple did wrong, but what good will videoing them do? I question his motive for taking the video. This intrusion of privacy is obviously unnecessary. Why video them instead of stopping them from continuing with their indiscreet acts? Contrary to what ZongXian has said, I believe it to be an unnecessary breach of privacy. Education does not require the use of a ‘live feed’. Are Singaporeans so ignorant that they can only be educated with such ‘hard evidence’ presented on them? I think not. Also, I doubt that by making such exclusive material available to the whole world will make them realize the problems and immorality of these acts. In fact, they will more likely treat it as another porn material.

What should not be done?

Committing such obscene acts in public as well as videotaping the whole process should not be done. The couple’s actions indeed deserves some reprimanding and ‘education’, but the video-er’s actions are also rather inappropriate. Forget about the intrusion of privacy. Uploading the video on the Internet does not just leave the problem unsolved, it has aggravated the situation, making such obscene material available to the public as well as hurting the esteem of the couple in question. In the end, everyone will be on the losing side.

Jin Hao

Howled at 12:07 PM