I’m running out of outrage™.

Another day, another piece of news that pisses me off.

With each confoundingly maddening event in our current political and societal climate, a little bit more of me dies inside.

Am I talking about the US Department of Justice? Maybe.

Am I talking about stupid ‘budaya’ practices? Maybe.

Am I talking about the demonisation of LGBTQI’s? Maybe.

I don’t know what really gets my goat at this point, other than that I live in a society that seems to have the majority of its members seemingly okay with being associated with grand larceny, corruption, murder and dehumanisation.

There are bright spots, of course – friends and family that carry within them the beacon of enlightenment and the spark of progress that this country so desperately needs to survive. But they are, by far, a minority.

Don’t let the previous GE results fool you, when a historic 52% voted for the opposition and BN lost the popular vote for the first time in 40 years. Amongst the winners were 21 PAS MPs – a party known for its thoroughly progressive agenda, dedicated to social equality and eradication of poverty. I’m kidding – they want to bring back amputation as a legal form of punishment for thievery, and adhere to the idea that the only way to get Muslims to become better Muslims is to punish them for not being Muslim enough.

It is in this cauldron of polarisation that we find little vignettes of life that remind us that no matter what stripe your spots are (malaphors rock, don’t they?), there are some things that betray the truth of this nation’s identity. Cue all of that other stuff I mentioned earlier. We are not, as it is commonly believed, a nation of ‘sopan-santun’ (polite & welcoming) practitioners – we are a nation of bullying traditions. We are not, as is commonly assumed, a nation of tolerance and acceptance – we are a nation of murderous bigots. You may read this and find yourself offended at the notion that you, dear reader, are an accessory to morally repugnant behaviour. But that’s how democracy works, and you are guilty by association.

Malaysians have chosen this path. The tyranny of the majority over the minority is the right to craft the national identity in whatever image it deems fit.

And the majority are totally okay with the idea of being a*******.

We see it in the often-displayed denial of truth right before our eyes. From the tub-thumbing jingoism of ‘special rights’ to the race-to-the-bottom of ‘who plays the religion card better’, via the reprehensible propagation of toxic masculinity and patriarchial thinking, this is a nation that is completely okay with being oblivious to simple truths – that race does not determine patriotism or privilege, that religion should remain in the private sphere, and that the freedom to be oneself free from societal pressures and expectations will give rise to individuals that are happy and more than willing to give back to the nation that birthed them.

I hope that stings you – because it stings me, knowing that I am just as guilty of this happening.

We allowed our millions to be stolen. We gave Zulfarhan’s bullies their irons. We gave Nhaveen’s killers our permission.

So long as we accept that it’s okay to spend RM50 to get out of a summons, tell ourselves that it’s ‘necessary’ to respect traditions that are problematic or that being anything other than Straight™ and Muslim™ is the way to go, then the money shall never return, the discrimination will never stop and the blood shall never wash off our hands. Aim To Digital

Do I have a solution? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps we should demand equal rights for all. Perhaps we should look at putting faith into its proper (private) place. Perhaps we should teach not just tolerance, but acceptance. Perhaps we should criticise hateful, discriminatory or bigoted behaviour no matter what race or religion the person displaying it belongs to. Perhaps we should just let people be themselves. Perhaps we should let people love who they want to love.

Perhaps.

Actually, all those things sounds way too reasonable to ever come true. When have we ever been a sensible bunch?