Some Malaysians never grow up #antiICERDrally
Unless this child has learnt to share with his/her siblings or, better yet, serve and suffer for them, one dark truth will become absolutely clear: This child will never grow up.
Alwyn Lau, The Malay Mail Online
In Paul Beatty’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel, The Sellout, the protagonist reinstates segregation in a small town as a way of reinvigorating his black community.
Perversely, he realised that blacks require institutional discrimination as a means of casting off the pretence or façade of formal equality, a subtle deception which was a greater burden than overt racism.
I wonder what Beatty would have said if he was in KL last Saturday.
Okay so there’s a rally to protest the ICERD. Sure… they must be protesting the fact that it wasn’t ratified, right? Surely this must be the minority groups pissed at the government for refusing to take the next important step towards ending racial discrimination, no? This rally is a straight-forward rally against racism, right?
But hang on. Wait a minute. Huh? This protest was by members of the majority segment, the group already enjoying the lion’s share of political power and constitutionally stipulated privileges, people who for years have the fewest reasons to claim ill or unequal treatment by the government — hang on, these are the groups protesting? And they’re protesting the ICERD after the government agreed not to ratify it?
Kinda like white communities in the US and UK complaining about a lack of benefits and advantage in life after a decision which promoted white supremacy, isn’t it?
A straightforward parenting metaphor cum lesson is available here. If you spend many years showing favouritism to one child over the others in your family, in the end the result will be detrimental to that favoured child.
S/he will have entitlement grow on him, and fury will follow any time his Most Favoured Kid status is under threat. Unless this child has learnt to share with his/her siblings or, better yet, serve and suffer for them, one dark truth will become absolutely clear: This child will never grow up.
