Monday, September 06, 2004

-*- unlock the 2nd prison...  

was watching tv all evening.. shiok~! watched the 7pm channel 8 show, the 8pm channel 8 show, and the 9pm channel 8 show.. followed by FRIENDS on channel 5, and extreme makeover on channel 5!!! haha and now im watching holland V on channel 8.. but not really watching la, since im blogging..
anyway, the main point is not my evening.. but if u watch tv lately, u would notice this ad.. shows a little boy hving his head shaved at some very old 80s barber shop.. his mum in the background, voiceover of the mum saying how naughty the little boy is and all.. and next scene, a grown man having his head shaved.. definitely too old for NS... and there was this iron gate thingie locking him up... so he's become a prisoner.. next we see him writing this letter.. something along the lines of "will u forgive me?", as we would read in the next scene, when his wife is reading the letter on the bed at home.. and in runs a little boy who asks:"Is daddy coming home today?" in such a darling way u have to smile at him.. and so the mum does smile and nods in response to the question... little boy runs to the door and sticks this little yellow ribbon on the frame of the door... (or was it the gate?) and then next scene was the man (yes, the same prisoner that was released) at a saloon helping to cut a woman's hair.. and in the background, his wife... voiceover saying something along the lines of "im glad that i gave him a second chance and let him work in the saloon..." lastly, black background and some words.. the yellow ribbon project yada yada... voiceover:"unlock the second prison"...
this is an excellent ad! no questions..
remember the ad of this woman in the car who sees in the rearview mirror a tattooed man pulling this little girl along, and the little girl reluctant and all? and at this, the woman in the car looks worried.. (cos obviously the man is a wicked man... *rolls eyes* not a very nice way to judge people...) and the man continues to pull the little girl along.. then the mum of the little girl comes along.. mum and dad exchange some affectionate looks.. at which all three walk towards the same direction and leaves... seeing that, the woman relieves and leaves too.... do u remember that ad? that was quite a successful ad too...
but the yellow ribbon ad leaves a deeper impression.. what with the words after that and the definite relevant phrase "unlock the second prison"... with the sound effects of the gates closing and all? and most importantly, the show of love by the family? and the little boy? the yellow ribbon project.. "seeks to help ex-prison inmates return to society" (www.channelnewsasia.com)... very warming to the heart i feel, even though im no ex-prison inmate or whatsoever....
i dont know much about this project.. but i imagine it to be a very wonderful campaign for the ex-prisoners.. (i would suppose the words "ex-prison inmates" is a better way to say it.... and a softer term...) i feel for those who are released and determined to start anew, BUT the society refuses to let them... it's not like they havent learnt from their mistakes... why cant we trust them again? *note: i have no first hand experience or what, im just sayin in general...* anyway, i feel that if they have learnt new skills (for those who did get locked up for years, they studied and can even get degrees or something inside), they should be given the chance to use them! and i believe they would have gone through counselling and all, all prep for the society to start trusting them again..
but faced with a society that doesnt wanna accept them, what can they do? if they go back to their old ways, they would have to do time again and that makes the society even less trusting of them... but if they persist, will they get the support they need? from family, from friends.. maybe yes... but from society? perhaps not.. we grow up in a society that feels that a leopard will never change its spots.. (and dun let me even start on how ridiculous that is!).. and that better change now! our society is changing.. advancing in technology and everything.. but shouldnt our thinking change too? we shd start accepting people, letting them learn from their mistakes and letting them know that they can still be accepted! that they will not be ostracised, just becos they did something wrong in the past...
i feel that a society should be like the parents of kids... no matter what wrongs the kid does, the parents will still accept him and forgive him... and society should be as such! (this may be bad analogy.. but it's good concept.. so forgive my lousy analogy k? ;p)
i know, there are people who REALLY cannot change their ways.. erm, more like they wont change their ways... but must we judge all by the little few that are beyond help? we shouldnt, that's what im saying..
and that's what the yellow ribbon project is about.. it's about making the society change their old ways of thinking and begin to accept the ex-prison inmates for people willing to start anew!isnt it heart warming to see this kinda campaign?
well, i feel it is.. :)

unlock the 2nd prison... - 

~~~%%%~~~