free speech &c.

to whomever it may concern:

the views posted by the user 'david' on the unichannel tagboard, amongst others, are in no way representative of the Raffles Institution Red Cross unit. These views are neither endorsed by this unit nor reflect the opinions held by the rest of the members of the unit.

david has been informed of the consequences of his actions; however, we are in no position and have no right to control or restrict what he chooses to post, of his own volition, on various sites online. his views may be offensive, or just plain irritating - but they are his nonetheless, and thus have a right to be expressed. on the other hand, we don't have to listen to them.

we understand that people may be offended by these views, and apologise to those who may have been. however, what we cannot and will not do is to take responsibility for, or restrict and control, what he elects to post online. in this digital sphere, he is (as are all of us) acting as a free agent and expressing his own opinions, as is his right to do so.

these opinions are his and his alone, and it is not within our power to suppress or restrict them. we can only advise and guide him - whether he chooses to take our advice is entire up to him, as it is for others to take notice of and react to the comments he has posted online. as again, his comments are in no way representative of the rafflesian community at large.

we appreciate your understanding in this matter.

rirc/16.3.2011


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we do not censor.

what you choose to say outside of training is entirely up to you. we believe in the right to free speech; to the freedom of expression.

all we can do is to remind you of the possible consequences of your actions. whether you choose to listen, or not, is another matter entirely. similarly, whether you want to take notice of and react to what others post online is, of course, up to you to decide.

of course, if you elect to post something that is false, slanderous or a misrepresentation of our views or positions, then we will take action by providing the true side of the story, exposing your lies for what they are.

but opinions themselves are another matter. we cannot and will not control them. it is up to you to recognise and acknowledge the ramifications of what you want to say, and then decide if it's really worth saying or not.

we can only help you understand and appreciate the consequences of your words and actions. ultimately, it still remains your choice to do whatever you may want to do. take note that once something goes online, it's pretty hard to take back.

freedom of speech is a universal right.
so is the right to ignore people who are making themselves out to be idiots online.

I hope this makes things clear.