In response...
'Ateegoy's post, "A not-so-funny-issue" today touched one of my most delicate heartstrings... the issue of discrimination.
Atee, girl, I really feel you. One's religion, ethnicity, and language are always close to one's heart. A temple is a symbol of one's religion, community a manifestation of the ethnicity, and schools (hopefully) a practicing place for one's language.
When one's temple is destroyed, it's not that physical place that claws at your heart when you see it reduced to rubble. It's the fact the somebody didn't see you as a valid person. Somebody didn't think that your religion mattered, and somebody didn't respect your background.
"Your in our country", they say, "you have to adapt our ways. What you believe is not important. Go back to where your forefathers came from if it's so dear!"
But is that place not your home now too? What is it that made that place ok for your grandfather, but now shuns you?
Let's face it - a missing building permit - no matter how important it was - is nothing but a pretext... are they asking the members of the dominant religion for the building permits?
The truly sad thing is knowing that with 'modern thinking' we are meant to be more open minded, and yet... *sigh* there are still governments that are clinging to the ideal of a homogenous nation state even when it is clear that such an ideal entails religious, linguistic and cultural genocide!
Each and every country in the world is multicultural (with the exception, maybe, of homogenous Iceland), and that is manifested in the existence of different languages, cultures and religions in each country. The sad thing is that almost every country bullies the minorities under various pretexts... Your neighbours in Thailand, Atee, bully the Islamic minority in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat by telling them their culture and religion do not fit into the "Thai" concept. The Finns disregard the heritage of the Lapps (a.k.a. the Sami people) by not recognising them as anything else but 'indigenous Finns'. Sri Lanka is marginalising the Tamil population in the country. The Americans are trying to implement an "English Only" policy in the US to prevent the Spanish from gaining any prestige. Aboriginals in Australia are treated as a social phenomenon, rather than as the rightful owners of the land (despite what policy may say). The list is endless, and controversial. And let's face it... hearts are broken every day...
Atee: I'm so sad to hear of your temples being destroyed. I'm hanging my head in shame, too, at belonging to this race of creatures that cannot see beyond power dynamic. How blind we all are!
Numerous studies in psychology, sociology, politics, linguistics, etc., show that as creatures in homogenous environments, we are close-minded, and perform not-so-well in cognitive and analytical tasks. Learning about other cultures (usually by learning a foreign language) broadens ones perspectives, and in makes one better at cognitive tasks (just ask me for the references, and I can give you a host of research that shows this!).
And yet, we are endangering hundreds of cultures in the world with nationalistic policies that seek to "unify" people under the banner of "One nation, One culture" What a load of bullshit! The antagonised don't just go "Oh, ok, you don't like us? Sorry, we'll just put a stop to our own ways and start using yours." They fight. We all fight when we're up against the wall!
Just this past Thursday, 44 bombs went off in Southern Thailand. That's what happens... it's not the fault of the minorities, but the manifestation of the wrongdoings of the dominant culture.
Majority groups! What is it that you need to prove so badly?! Why all of this jealousy and hatred?
This may seem like a strange quote, but it fits:
- Jewel
Why is it that the elephant is so afraid of the mouse?
Atee, girl, I really feel you. One's religion, ethnicity, and language are always close to one's heart. A temple is a symbol of one's religion, community a manifestation of the ethnicity, and schools (hopefully) a practicing place for one's language.
When one's temple is destroyed, it's not that physical place that claws at your heart when you see it reduced to rubble. It's the fact the somebody didn't see you as a valid person. Somebody didn't think that your religion mattered, and somebody didn't respect your background.
"Your in our country", they say, "you have to adapt our ways. What you believe is not important. Go back to where your forefathers came from if it's so dear!"
But is that place not your home now too? What is it that made that place ok for your grandfather, but now shuns you?
Let's face it - a missing building permit - no matter how important it was - is nothing but a pretext... are they asking the members of the dominant religion for the building permits?
The truly sad thing is knowing that with 'modern thinking' we are meant to be more open minded, and yet... *sigh* there are still governments that are clinging to the ideal of a homogenous nation state even when it is clear that such an ideal entails religious, linguistic and cultural genocide!
Each and every country in the world is multicultural (with the exception, maybe, of homogenous Iceland), and that is manifested in the existence of different languages, cultures and religions in each country. The sad thing is that almost every country bullies the minorities under various pretexts... Your neighbours in Thailand, Atee, bully the Islamic minority in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat by telling them their culture and religion do not fit into the "Thai" concept. The Finns disregard the heritage of the Lapps (a.k.a. the Sami people) by not recognising them as anything else but 'indigenous Finns'. Sri Lanka is marginalising the Tamil population in the country. The Americans are trying to implement an "English Only" policy in the US to prevent the Spanish from gaining any prestige. Aboriginals in Australia are treated as a social phenomenon, rather than as the rightful owners of the land (despite what policy may say). The list is endless, and controversial. And let's face it... hearts are broken every day...
Atee: I'm so sad to hear of your temples being destroyed. I'm hanging my head in shame, too, at belonging to this race of creatures that cannot see beyond power dynamic. How blind we all are!
Numerous studies in psychology, sociology, politics, linguistics, etc., show that as creatures in homogenous environments, we are close-minded, and perform not-so-well in cognitive and analytical tasks. Learning about other cultures (usually by learning a foreign language) broadens ones perspectives, and in makes one better at cognitive tasks (just ask me for the references, and I can give you a host of research that shows this!).
And yet, we are endangering hundreds of cultures in the world with nationalistic policies that seek to "unify" people under the banner of "One nation, One culture" What a load of bullshit! The antagonised don't just go "Oh, ok, you don't like us? Sorry, we'll just put a stop to our own ways and start using yours." They fight. We all fight when we're up against the wall!
Just this past Thursday, 44 bombs went off in Southern Thailand. That's what happens... it's not the fault of the minorities, but the manifestation of the wrongdoings of the dominant culture.
Majority groups! What is it that you need to prove so badly?! Why all of this jealousy and hatred?
This may seem like a strange quote, but it fits:
"Do you hate them 'cos they're pieces of you?"
- Jewel
Why is it that the elephant is so afraid of the mouse?