Jonathan Switzer

Poli-Sci 211

April 14, 1994

A Cane for a Cane

 Its been all over the news about the caning of Michael Fay for vandalism in Singapore, so I decide to use this issue to write my paper on "choose a controversial current event topic and discuss your standpoint.  Be sure to state the issue in its entirety before offering your opinion" (Professor Powell).

According to the news, Michael Fay is 18 and spray painted someone's car and got caught for it.  Allegedly, the punishment for "vandalism" (spray painting) is getting caned six times on the bare "buttocks" (butt).  The caning (when someone is whipped with a cane) is said to happen next week, and the issue is that Americans don't think it should happen because it's cruel (getting caned with your pants down for just spray painting).  President Clinton wrote to the King of Singapore to ask that Michael Fay not get caned because it's cruel.  But all that the King did was lower the times of caning to 4 instead of 6.  This shows that the President is better than the King because he has the power of persuasion.

 My Standpoint: Who cares?

 To conclude, who cares if some stupid kid gets whipped by a cane for spray painting. I have a friend who has a friend who went to school with Michael Fay and apparently he's a major tool.  My friend's friend called him a major f*#@%#ck up, that he always got in trouble at military school and nobody really liked him because he tried to act cool when he really was not.  A good caning in the *#%#ss is probably good for him.  Also if I went to like Russia and stole some fruit I would expect to get my hand cut off and I wouldn't complain about it because as the Bible says "an I for an I" (Genesis 1:1).  This means that since I stole, I should also be stolen -- my hand stolen that is.

Additionally, its just a stupid cane.  How bad could that hurt?  People in Singapore are little and skinny and so the guy doing the caning ("caner") probably isn't even strong anyway so the caning won't even hurt that much.  I say Michael Fay should get punched in the stomach six times (not 4 President Clinton!) and that Mike Tyson does the punching.  I'm sure it would be easy for the King of Singapore to give Mike Tyson citizenship for like one hour while he's doing the punching so it's still fits with Singapore law.  That would teach people to spray paint in another country (aka vandalize).
 In the other hand, spray painting isn't that big a deal and it looks cool if it's done good.  My friend "tags" a lot of cool things (I won't tell you where, unless your cool and won't say anything) and in another paper I'll talk about how its art and not "vandalism".  But for this paper, the law should be if you can't spray paint like an artist (i.g my friend) then Mike Tyson or maybe Evander Holyfield should punch you.