These days I don’t read local news, because I have generally given up on the standard of reporting (or rather, the lack thereof) of our local media and a little tired of the mundane news that actually managed to hog the headlines – like a couple fornicating in a condominium swimming pool. I usually just scan through the headlines in the RSS section (News and Blogs) of the Mozilla Thunderbird 2 email application and just mark them read when they do not interest me. Thus, I came to notice the current furor around the new AWARE committee, the same way I came to notice the matter on the food poisoning cases. [AWARE, for the uninitiated, is the acronym for the Association of Women for Action and Research.]

It attracted my attention because several blogs I followed on RSS had numerous articles on the matter. And from what I have gathered from those articles, it all begin when the Straits Stooge Times reported that in a recent AGM, the previous AWARE Executive Committee [ExCo] was ousted in an alleged ‘hostile take over’. It was achieved by the mobilisation of previously unknown and inactive * sic * new members, who then voted in a new group. Amazingly, this report has endeared the Stooge Times to even the usually hostile liberals. Well done, champs!

Somewhere along the line, the allegation that it was a concerted effort by ‘religious fundamentalists’ (read: Christians) to take over AWARE rose. It was pointed out that a large majority * sic * who turned up to vote joined in the preceding 3 months this year, and the primary focus falls on past comments by some of the committee members against the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual) agenda. Even the fact that these members were attending the same church came under the limelight. It left me a little puzzled… just what has the LGBT Agenda got to do with whatever AWARE stands for?

Is that all the old committee cared about? Or it is fear that because of the new ExCo’s religious convictions, the new committee would make the organisation less inclusive to lesbian members or members of other religions? At times I wondered, would it be an issue if some of the new ExCo members are non-Christians worshipping in particular temple or mosque. It is quite hilarious that some even derided the newly elected ExCo ‘attempt at hostile take over’ and suggested they should go form their own ‘fundie-version’ of AWARE. To me, that’s sort of like the supporters of the ruling party telling the opposition to go found their own… country!

Whatever the case is, let me propose a counter-theory to the consipiracy theory of hostile take over of AWARE by religious fundamentalists fundies since the Internet has been quite one sided in their opinion in this matter. This all done for laughs, and not with malice. I understand that not everyone like my sense of humor but that’s really your problem. Here goes:

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First of all, the matter that majority of those who voted only joined a few months ago actually suggests to me that there was a previous confrontation between the traditional-minded, conservative and religious members and the former committee on the direction AWARE is taking. It leaves me to speculate that confrontation ended unresolved or in a stalemate, and the powers-that-be then, suggested that the matter be raised after the AGM in a not so friendly and challenging tone (i.e. vote me out if you ‘bway song’ [unhappy] lor!), confident that they will be re-elected to the ExCo resoundingly and put the upstarts in their right places. Did I mention they actually wanted to amend their constitution or something so new members can only be elected only after they have been members for more than a year or something like that?

So this is what happened, the old committee was so confident of victory and they failed to mobilised. In fact, a former president even arrived late at the meeting and they were all caught with their skirts down. They paid the price for their arrogance and over-confidence just like President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in December 2007. In that election, Chavez was so confident that he would win the referundum for indefinite terms that his supporters failed to rally to vote.

Frankly, if the LGBT agenda is the **only** thing the old committee is all concerned with, no wonder they got voted out! Even those who are not religious fanatics or otherwise agnostic members would have voted in new faces to refocus on agendas that is more all encompassing and truly – women focused!

Of course the old committee isn’t going to take this lying down. Instead of abiding to the outcome of a democratic process, they took the matter to our press – which like tabloids loves to sensationalise even the most minor issues. The outcome was a rallying of cyber ‘brown shirts’ of the LGBT agenda (**SIEG HEIL!!) on the Internet. Meantime, an EGM is called on May 2, and the old guard might even call for a vote of no confidence on the new ExCo in that meeting. Perhaps they took a page out of contemporary Thai history, that when you lose in the democratic process you then resort to the ‘streets protests’ (in this case virtual ones) and other not-so-undemocratic means to attempt to topple the winners.

This is a simply nothing more than a fxxking power struggle and just how the Internet is so one-sided for the pro-LGBT old guard is appalling.

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Ok… so much for my crappy conspiracy theory. Don’t really take me seriously. In fact, as a man, what AWARE stands for doesn’t really concern me. While some people may have considered AWARE to be credible and what they advocate to be commendable, I have frown upon some of those things (if my hazy memories serves me right). In fact, I generally perceived AWARE as redundant in view of the Woman’s Charter. In summary, I really can’t care less about AWARE.

Thus, if I may describe what I am doing here in an analogy, this entire matter is akin to a small puddle of shit hitting the fan. The little chunks then get flunked all over the place and people start hurling some of their shit at the same fan. The result was an even greater stink and some of that shit had unfortunately landed on my ‘virtual front lawn’. Annoyed that I had to clean up the place in the process, I have decided to hurl a rock at the fan as well.

Doesn’t matter the rock might just ricochet back in my face along with more shit… lol!!!