With a dogged persistence in campaigning for the legitimizing of pedophilia, Amos Yee has run out of social media platforms and even friends. Even his most devoted supporters from yore could no longer stomach his current pursuits, not even the person who helped the teen obtain political asylum status in the United States last year.
Addressing Yee’s recent pro-pedophilia activities that got him kicked off Twitter, US-based Singaporean activist Melissa Chen has called for the 19-year-old to be deported back home. This despite her playing a major role in advocating for the teen’s right in his freedom of expression, going so far as to help finance the costs he incurred during his four-month detainment by theUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Chen, a permanent resident of the United States, had been instrumental in helping Yee flee Singapore and condemned her home country’s overcorrecting societal climate in a New York Times report.
Chen’s singing a different tune about the problematic teen right now — something that she has publicly established since November last year.
If @AmosYee gets deported, I am all for it.
He had a chance to become an activist protected by the US First Amendment.
But he totally screwed it up. pic.twitter.com/3Yba7rAMDJ
— Melissa Chen (@MsMelChen) November 25, 2017
I think he deserved asylum. But that was before he went on supporting pedophilia and child porn.
These views crossed the line into unprotected speech. He is on very shaky legal territory.
— Melissa Chen (@MsMelChen) November 25, 2017
“Given my active role in his successful asylum case that gifted him a clean slate and newfound freedoms, I must actively oppose him out of sheer personal responsibility as he has thoroughly abused these hard-won freedoms,” she declared in a video posted on her Facebook page.
Broken ties
For those wondering why she hasn’t been able to have some semblance of control over the wayward teen, Chen clarified that Yee cut all contact with her since February last year when he was still being detained by ICE.
“He felt that I was too authoritarian in my approach to him as I constantly ‘advised’ him on how best to behave in a way that would enhance his chances of winning his case and also in a way that would enhance his success in America after he got out,” Chen said. She would get occasional updates about his life from a person familiar with Yee.
But that was then — now, her conscience weighs heavy on her. Strongly advocating that Yee should be deported, she even said that she would volunteer to personally escort him out of the United States.
“He has betrayed basic human decency; he has betrayed innocent children everywhere; he has betrayed the moral fabric of society. If any child was sexually abused because the perpetrator came across Amos’ pro-pedo resources or even connected with other pedos through his Discord server… honestly I could never forgive myself.”
She apologized for how Yee turned out and how his actions will have ripple effects on legitimate, responsible activists doing good work in Singapore.
As for Yee himself, he has run out of major social media platforms to spread his toxic views, and it’ll just be a matter of time before he gets himself into serious trouble with the law.
Editor’s Note: Information updated to clarify the GoFundMe campaign set up in Yee’s name, which has since been taken down.
