Intolerance And Defensiveness Are Causing Some Real Troubles Around The World

and you may disagree too, but make it rational

For the last couple of days, the internet and the media were overwhelmed with the U.S. election. The drama, at last, ended with the victory of Joe Biden. One of the things that came once again, the polarization of ideologies, is dividing the world more than ever before; the latest U.S election is just an example of that.

This article is not to theoretically describe what and how this happens, but to highlight that we need to rethink how we are moving forward as a species, let it be human or a rational, intelligent being.

In the U.S. election, you have seen how the whole country was divided, and notably, one of the sides showcased their hatred and intolerance in different aspects of the election.

And, it’s happening around the world

The same scenario is evolving worldwide, including the country where I was born, circulating political and religious intolerances amongst the people. Bangladesh is deemed as a secular country, valuing minorities’, although it’s not true. The negligence and disdain minorities face in our country are hard to explain in plain words.

Let me put some words on what I faced, or other minorities face (or faced) during their lifetime in my country:

• to be called as ‘Malaun (a pejorative term, specifically used for Hindus, derived from Arabic, means- “accursed” or “deprived of God’s Mercy”) in front of you or on your back,
• reminded of the fact that you are a 2nd class citizen in your country (as there is an official state religion)
• threatened by all the political parties, as you are a vote-bank for them

Those are just a few examples of intolerance. The people who belong to a different ethnic group, they face the worst. They are not yet being recognized as regular people in our country. They are evicted from plain lands and hilly areas of Chittagong, Bandarban, and Khagrachari.

When I was in my university days, I had the opportunity to be in the same class with multiple classmates who belonged to different tribal ethnic groups. The neglect and the disdain they had gone through were intolerable, even for me. Did I protest? Hell, yaa. Did anything change after that? They ignited the same for me.

This sort of scenario is not only present in Bangladesh and the U.S.A. but also other countries. Numerous examples are there: India, Myanmar, Pakistan, several middle eastern countries, some parts of Israel and Palestine, in some of the previous Russian states which are now different countries, China, in several European countries, etc. And, it’s not that always the people belonging to the majority group done these things. And that’s where the defensiveness comes in.

Most of the time, people get defensive when in our brain-circuits, we get the notion that others threaten our values and norms. Same as the war-time scenario, you make your defense system stronger when someone attacks your fort. Defensiveness is not destructive, but it depends on how you are using it after interpreting the impact.

Coming back to U.S.A. again

And it’s the same for any political or religious belief. Think about the last U.S. election (of 2016). There were numerous reasons why the American people elected Donald Trump as the president.

Two of the reasons were saving the country and making America great again. Trump marketed his stance as he was the savior of the country, where he would protect the jobs, retain americanization, and ensure steps that make the world feel like America is the greatest of all. Every country believes that they are the greatest, although a few are actually. But, the belief drives you to do crazy things. The same thing happened there. The U.S. voted for Trump as they wanted to protect their so-called core belief of being an American. They wanted to ensure that U.S. matters should always get priorities, and of course, many racist people thought giving Trump a chance would help them retain the white-supremacy. That’s what too much defensiveness does to you.

Across the world, intolerance is getting traction.

Look at the Myanmar scenario; a massacre is taking place now, and then, minority Rohingya are being hunted down, and they are crossing borders to take refuge in Bangladesh. Because the Rakhains and the ruling party think Rohingyas do not belong to Myanmar. That intolerance and defensiveness to a particular ideology are driving them to act inhuman. Some people blame it on Buddhism (as that’s the majority in Myanmar), but it’s not. It’s the ideology that Rohingyas are not part of Myanmar’s culture, heritage, and society, hence the intolerance.

What about the U.K. There are patrol parties in some London areas where they ask women to cover their heads or wear covered dresses that don’t reveal. The U.K. parliament prohibits its citizens and residents from conducting polygamous marriage practices within the country, yet mysteriously are taking place in different parts of the U.K. You can practice your religious faith, but you can not ask or demand others to obey the same or break the country law.

What about the minorities in other countries, like India. Along with the political differences and inter-state political differences, religious tensions are continued to increase. Disdaining other religious viewpoints in different parts of the country is questionable. And, hurting others for their religious practices, where the land is portrayed as secular to the world, is not right.

So, you can have your version of free speech in your own country, where you are the majority, but things start changing when the same things happen to any other country in the world?

Did the incident occurred in France in recent time indicate the same thing? Yes. It is questionable what Samuel Paty did, as he offended a religious ideology or belief, under the impression of ‘freedom of speech.’ Does that give anyone the right to slaughter an individual? Never, not in any lifetime. What sort of ideology intrigued a person to enter into a church to kill people who were there to practice their religious beliefs? The defensiveness to protect its faith ignited the intolerance that had driven this barbaric act.

Who permitted you to do this horrendous act? If a divinity says so, that’s not divine at-all.

You may say that I do not have the right to speak about religious viewpoints and political ideologies. Of course, I do. I am questioning different views and opposing the ideas that stimulate to perform hatred and clashes worldwide.

It’s the ideology that we have to protect our viewpoints at all costs that drives us insane. When you are not tolerant of listening to others’ views and become defensive when questioned, that’s where the problem starts.

Some of the mentionables here:

• People can use the good virtues of a particular ideology to influence others positively. However, throughout history, it is evident that it’s more effective to control people by establishing fear. And, pointing towards a belief can raise the panic tenfold to make people more defensive and becoming more intolerant to others.
• Most of us want to share and dominate with our ideas and thoughts. But, most of us do not want to listen to others. We feel threatened when we see questions that we believe might cause trouble with our views or norms or the stances we believe in.
• Gradually, people are moving towards debates than discussions or conversations. Blaming feels too good, but facing questions and logically answering them seems a far-fetched notion to think about.

I’m fortunate enough to be born as a human. I breathe the air, use my senses to know about the injustices, and try to raise my voice against unjust within my capacity. However, I feel pi**ed off (too many times recently) because people who are causing these troubles worldwide are not interested in rational conversations. Instead, they take ammunitions or spread hate speeches to protect their corrupted or blind ideologies, creating humanitarian issues. We need to embrace liberal viewpoints (I’m not talking about any political parties) on having rational conversations to attain real positive changes.

Ideas, faiths, and beliefs are integral parts of human civilization. Those had created building blocks for humans to prosper. These elements also need to adapt to changes. It is great to have different views, different choices, and diverse paths to follow. But we also need to transform for collective greatness.

From a humanitarian perspective, if you hurt others with your intolerance or defensiveness to protect your views at all costs, you don’t deserve to call yourself a human at-all.

Up for discussion! If any of the points hurt any person, I apologize in advance, and I’m ready to have a conversation in rational ways. If you want to change the world positively, start having the change from yourself first.

Thanks for reading and exploring my words.