Gilbert Goh resumes the offensive against Vincent Wijeysingha

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

• Gilbert Goh
  
  
  
  Yesterday someone messaged me lamenting how she was slammed by a critic for a cause she is driving at and there was also some name calling on her wall.
  
  She asked me how to respond to such distasteful comment and was clearly upset. I told her silence is often the best policy.
  
  "How can you take in so much criticism and... not fret?"she asked.
  
  I told her that I'm human too and feel the hurt when people criticised me openly for all to see on social media. We are build for compliments and strokes and when we are being brought down blatantly we tend to react back tit for tat often inflicting much more hurt in return but not really solving the problem at all.
  
  Staying silent in the face of criticism is also not easy as we want to defend ourselves and stand our ground. For guys, the ego thing manifested itself naturally and we want to win an online argument at all cost often ending the friendship in the process.
  
  We have been slammed online, offline and on many other media platform and implicated in all kinds of rumours. I have been rumoured to sleep around, swindle money from donations and possessed a personal agenda in all that I do.
  
  We don't only handle critics who are natural foes but also friends who suddenly turn against us midway due to some misunderstanding. They join the other side attacking you and you wonder if the person you have lunch with last month is the same one.
  
  No one touches us for the past few years when we were quietly doing our work for the unemployed but all hell breaks loose after Feb 16th. Even government agencies started to write to us wanting this and that when all along we were left pretty much to our own devices.
  
  COC has already invited us to lim kopi at their office next week.
  
  Welcome to the world of activists whereby you don't need an application form to join - its free for all and there is a huge market out there that is very much untapped.
  
  Contrary to popular belief, being an activist doesn't mean you have to be political or always slam the government - you can start something for the environment or for a social cause like single mums or orphaned children.
  
  However, when your cause grows and turn big be prepared for people to criticise you - often its done out of envy than anything else.
  
  As for the person who asked me how should she respond in the face of criticism for her own charitable cause, I told her to stand stoically as there is a price to pay for what we believe in. We ought to be proud that we sacrifice abit for what we truly stand and fight for.
  
  More importantly, when people criticised us it means what we do have created an impact for others to take notice however diverse their opinions may be - hopefully my young friend can take solace in that as well.

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