Have been quite upset with the recent baby saga. I mean, yes, I did hear about a new born babe being found in the rubbish chute. But never knew the details till yesterday. Heard it over the radio while jogging. Was especially shocked and upset to hear the baby had not only fallen 18 storeys, but had also been cut into 3... *shudder*...

Feel so, so, so sad for the baby....for the life it had that was so abruptly snuffed out in that instant of ...i dunno, impulse? fear? selfishness? HOW COULD the mother bear to kill her own flesh and blood, and in such a manner? Can an innocent, helpless little bundle be nothing more than rubbish in the eyes of the one who brought it into the world?

Was even more upset to hear the discussion that was going on air. The deejays were asking for 'hostelites' to call in and discuss the sexual scene on campus. One of the questions asked was whether these trysts in question were usually planned for or impulsive acts. It seems that they were usually planned, special occasions where the romantic ambience was usually created on purpose for such an affair. Yet, for some reason, no protection was taken into consideration to prevent tragedies from happening. Do people even think of the consequences of their action nowadays? As the discussion progressed, the deejay asked why protection was not enforced and whether anything could be done to promote safe sex. The response from the said caller was that protection was not enforced because it usually isn't convenient to get that protection, especially in the heat of the moment. The solution? Place 'vending machines' in strategic, convenient spots in the hostel to dispense the essential, yet frequently unused item. This, according the the caller, ensures the privacy of the customer and saves 'face', since the buyer would no longer have to queue and buy it over the counter in plain view of everyone else.

My thoughts? How did we progress from "No premarital sex" to "Have safe sex" and not only that, authorities may now even have to think of ways to bend over backwards to make it convenient for such activities to carry on. Many teachers now even say that it's no longer feasible and reasonable to ask or tell students not to have sex before marriage. They say, "Why tell them to do something they'd never be able to do? Why not just tell them to practise safe sex since u can't stop them from doing it?" Really, it actually sounds logical at times. Yet, something in me rebels against that. Are we supposed to shift our standards along with the shifting standards of modern society? Are we supposed to aim at educating students to do what is feasible and forget about the so-called unattainable? I really resent that. Am i being stubborn and a stick-in-the-mud? Am i reaching for the stars when i expect my students not to have pre-marital sex? I simply can't bring myself to reconcile with that. The horror of it all. And to top that off, i'm learning that even TEACHERS are having that "if you can't beat them, join them" stand. This came up during the time last year we form teachers had to do a sexuality education programme with the students. Needless to say, we had no training whatsoever and yet had to stride into the classroom and naturally engage in "Oh-such-an-easy-topic". I refused to budge from my stand. I insisted that such practices should not be done. I refused to talk about the advantages of using protection. Just can't bring myself too. I guess, even talking about such a possiblity makes it more likely (in my mind) that my students would engage in it. Perhaps i'm just a stubborn coward at heart, closing myself from realities of this world. Dunno anymore. Is it really just a nian dai thing? Is this cos i'm from a different era from youngsters these days?

Am i just a stubborn old mule?