following a complaint to Singapore’s Media Development Authority which
found it was not in line with social norms …..
OK Singapore is a weird place, it allows (we hope) internet porn while blocking Playboy (the interviews, people are missing out on the interviews!!!!)
But why ban Archie? Because….. presumably, just like Iran, Singapore does not have any gays. Not only that, just hearing about gays will pollute the minds of youngsters and they will turn int gays. What a nightmare.
When people talk about the positive influence of religion (which we do not deny) they should also acknowledge the immense harm that it does on both believers and non-believers alike.
…….
Singapore has banned a volume of the “Archie” comic book that featured a
same-sex marriage, adding fuel to a censorship row that erupted over a
children’s story about two male penguins hatching an egg.
“Archie: The Married Life Book Three” was taken off book shop shelves
following a complaint to Singapore’s Media Development Authority which
found it was not in line with social norms and breached their content
guidelines.
…
News of the ban, which was imposed earlier this year but came to light
late on Wednesday, comes a week after Singapore’s National Library Board
said it was to destroy three children’s books seen as being
pro-homosexual, including penguin story “And Tango Makes Three”.
…
That prompted about 400 people to turn out on Sunday for a “read in” of
the books in the national library’s atrium, while on Wednesday, three
authors resigned as judges from Singapore’s main literature prize in
protest against the move.
Singapore has tight rules on censorship, banning Playboy magazine and
blocking dozens of websites in what it has described as “a symbolic
statement of the types of content which the community is opposed to”.
However, whether homosexual content falls into that category is a thorny
issue. A growing groundswell of support for gay rights is being met
with noisy protests from religious groups, keen to maintain the status
quo of sex between two men being illegal.
Last month, a record crowd turned out for a gay-rights rally called
“Pink Dot” while several Christian and Muslim groups protested against
it by wearing white.
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim has said he
supports the library’s stand, although unusually not all members of the
governing People’s Action Party (PAP) share that view.
“I do not believe homosexuality falls in the category of issues which
should be excluded,” said Hri Kumar Nair, a PAP member of Parliament in a
Facebook post titled Pulp Friction.
“But I think most neutrals would agree that children should read books with controversial themes supervised,” he added.
For Archie, the volume’s removal from book shelves in Singapore comes as
the redheaded American teenager is due to exit the comic world
altogether.
Next week, an issue will be released in the United States that shows him dying as he takes a bullet protecting a gay friend.
…..
Link: http://www.firstpost.com
…..
regards