"To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!" - H. L. Mencken

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Someone else: josie lau and dr chin are experts of misreading

what they have claimed to be a 'death threat' is supported only by two ambiguous sentences, probably quoted out of context

Me: 'Wait for the day to come. I may not hurt you but someone you love most, that will cause you great pain.'

hello. not death threat ah?!
this is hardly ambiguous

Someone else: 1. Hurting is not the same as threatening to kill.
2. The sentence could mean that he (the letter writer) may not be the one who will hurt her, but someone else, someone whom she is very close to or loves most, may hurt her, and thus cause great pain to her. He could be referring to the possibility that if someone close to her (e.g. her own children) comes out of the closet one day, she will be deeply hurt because of her deep-seated homophobic beliefs.

However, without the context in which the rest of the letter was written, it is difficult to justify this interpretation. But it seems plausible to imagine that the letter writer meant to warn her about being the danger of being so rabidly anti-homosexual that one day she could be forced to reject someone close to her if this person comes out of the closet.

If that was the intention of the letter writer then it is very easy to see how they (either the media or Josie Lau and Dr Chin) have deliberately quoted these two sentences out of context to support what they would like the public to see as a death threat, to see them as victims of hatred.

Me: .................

that's rubbish lah
"*I* may not hurt you"

if you say "I will hurt you" is not a death threat you might as well say "we wouldn't want anything to happen to your wife" is not a death threat

Someone else: depends on the overall tone of the letter
what else was written in the letter

Me: somehow I doubt it was a satirical take on "I will piss on your grave"

Someone else: i don't mean to say it was a satirical take
i just think it is plausible that they have intentions to misrepresent the letter writer and portray themselves as victims

Me: I find it hard to believe how those lines could not be taken as threats
this is why literary critics are not called upon as witnesses in courts of law

Someone else: they choose to read it (or present a reading of it) as a death threat

if decontextualized i agree that they sound like threats
as "it is" i entirely support reading it as threats

but we could, and the police ought to, question if the letter is written with such malice
if it is justified to call for an arrest warrant and interrogation at the station

they have strenuously presented themselves as victims

[Ed: What has been revealed of the threats:

"MY hatred towards Dr Thio (Li-ann) and all Christians is so strong that... you are now on my hit list... wait for the day to come. I may not hurt you but someone you love most, that will cause you great pain."]


adri: none of the half a dozen straight girls who became my girlfriend did so because I showed them a stupid movie. Not even the L Word.

Me: Har?! So easy to convert straight girls to like girls? Does the reverse work? And I thought sexual orientation was immutable!

adri: not immutable with women. just about every straight woman i know has slept with a woman these days. it's not me i'm not so powerful
(it's just better with women, see)

Me: yeah I think female sexuality is more fluid, but pro-gay lobby claims orientation is immutable

adri: sexual orientation not same as sexual behaviour. makes you tend to sleep with 1 gender. but not always. harder to turn gays straight.

and. ask any of the straight girls i've been with :) just cos they sleep with me doesn't mean they IDENTIFY as gay. or bi. rarely ever

Me: Hah! Why so convenient ah? Straight guys've a fantasy of turning a gay girl straight. But gay girls also have a turning fantasy

adri: in the case of gay girls, straight girls more obliging to turn for us :) straight men+gay girls=over my dead body.

and i never hit on straight girls. they hit on me :) i'm only happy to oblige, if they're hot.