Honesty Doesn’t Really Pay
“What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-
Well, Goethe apparently forgot about the enemies that you can make in the process.
Enter Fang Shi-min, a crusader against pseudoscience and fraud in China. He made it his mission to debunk falsehoods passed off as truth, and guess what happened?
Science reports that he got slapped with libel judgements from Chinese courts.
Ouch.
That’s the problem with society (more often Asian and Middle Eastern than West). Dissent is largely seen as disrespectful/insult/provocation/taboo and the ones who speak with brutal frankness often get ostracised/prosecuted. We are a bunch of cynical people.
Instead of properly considering the words a person utter or his/her actions and then debating the person with the drawbacks/flaws they see, people would prefer to keep silent and then backstab the person. It is presumptous for you to accuse someone of arrogance when you never make your views heard isn’t it?
Fortunately, all is not lost. His supporters are rallying and providing financial support in fighting the libel suits. You can find out more here.
Note: Subscription to Science is needed to access the link, which shouldn’t be a problem for any undergrads. NUS students, you can access it via proxy through LINC.
On a personal note, Semester 1 is over. Nothing went well (I keep on telling myself that it could have been much worse), but I’m still trying to fit in. I guess I still need more time that is soooo hard to come by.
