So in the recent weeks I’ve been bombarded with many questions about Amos Yee in regards to my father, Vincent Law.
“Why did your dad do it?” “Have you met Amos?” “How do you feel about the allegations that Amos made against you dad?”
Not wanting to jeopardise my reputation for fear of my future, I had decided to stay silent. However, after reading Amos’ latest post, I feel it is time my selfishness came to an end. Amos claimed that nobody but himself knew what was going on? Well, now there’s me.
So let’s begin with “Why did you dad do it?”
My dad did it because he saw a brilliant boy who needed a second chance. He didn’t care for the publicity, he wasn’t “jealous” that Amos was getting all the attention. All he wanted was to help Amos out of his predicament.
In many ways, my dad treated Amos almost like a son. While he may have seemed hard on Amos in front of him, my dad stood up for Amos in more ways than one. Whenever the press questioned him, he would never put Amos down, always painting a positive portrayal of Amos in hopes that that would improve the public opinion of Amos. I’m not saying that my father is right in raising his voice at Amos, but he did it because he cared for him and wanted to fulfil is role as a bailor. Part of my father’s conditions as a bailor was to keep in contact with Amos every 24 hours, which, I must add, Amos wasn’t very compliant to.
There was once Amos came over to my place, he stared long and hard at a luggage tag in the shape of those green aliens from Toy Story 2. Convinced that Amos really liked it, my dad would look through every shop he passed by that might sell the luggage tag. While he did manage to find and purchase a figurine, he never had a chance to give it to him because Amos had already gone and broke his bail terms.
Which leads me to the next question, “Have you met Amos?”
It was about 9 in the morning on the first Saturday after my father had bailed Amos out. I was awoken by loud discussions coming from the living room. Annoyed by the noises I opened my door, and, lo and behold, it was Amos Yee in his pyjamas sitting on my couch.
I still remember his first words to me after we introduced ourselves to each other.
“Hey Francis, your father is a great man. He bailed me out of jail!” With a wide grin on his face.
After I had brushed my teeth, I returned to the living room to see that my brother was receiving the same greetings I had just a few minutes ago.
“Hey Frederick, your father is a great man!” he repeated.
After-which we all sat down and had a chat about his plans for the future as well as our personal thoughts on education and film. I would say we all had a pretty good time. In that space, we all respected each other’s opinions which I was something I really appreciated.
Just before he left (and stared at the luggage tag), he turned around and said, “You know Vincent, I wasn’t so sure about this before, but this was quite nice. We should do this again sometime.”
So yes, I have met Amos.
And of course, “How do you feel about the allegations Amos made against your dad?”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t angry. In fact, I had half a mind to take legal action against him as well. That’s my father he was defaming!
Then again, no one makes the best decisions when they’re angry so I decided to calm down before taking any further action.
Disclaimer: Before reading this next portion, I would like you to know that I am not using this post to promote my faith. Everything I’m writing is merely my opinion and you have every right to disagree with me.
After I taken a step back and looked at the situation in its totality, I decided there really was no point in me retaliating in anger.
In his post, Amos referred to Mark 3:29. Well, let me quote two passages in the Bible that explains my reaction to his allegations.
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
Mark 12:31 “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
As a Christian myself, I believe that responding in love instead of hatred would not only be a more peaceful solution, but a more constructive one as well. I could take legal action against him, get him and the media to apologise and so forth, or I could just forgive him and find an alternative solution to protecting my father’s reputation.
Once again, I’d like to stress that I’m not trying to impose my faith on the reader through this post, I’m merely stating my side of the story that wouldn’t be complete without including my beliefs.
At the end of the day, no man is perfect, my father included. We all make mistakes and bad choices. However, my father’s choice in bailing Amos out was not a mistake. I firmly believe that he was right to offer Amos a second chance and I fully support my father in this matter.
I hope that this post clears the air up a bit on the issue pertaining to my father’s tenure as Amos’ bailor. If anyone has any questions regarding what I said above, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Source: Francis Micah Law
