A slightly edited chat transcript with a friend (will not identify and link unless permission is granted). Her words in blue; mine are in red.


Come think think of it, I doubt I’m much of a patriotic person. Actions taken have rarely been for the country. Or never.

:(

A tragedy, i suppose

And you say it so lightly.

That’s probably because I do not feel the magnitude of it

Indifference really saddens me.


I suppose it’s a scale of which one looks at the universe. Do I look after myself, my family, my nation or my planet?

I guess the sense of duty vary in different people.

If I am only concerned about my welfare, I do what's best for myself. Or if I’m worried about the state of the universe, really, the earth does not even appear in the picture.

Of course your welfare also includes it's relation to the state because every action that you do is a direct impact from government policies. Unless one is super apathetic. Now that ... is scary.

That's true, but if one's concern is at a vastly different scale, then the connection can be quite small. Sacrifice my family's welfare for adding (my family size)/(state population) influence to the state? It’s a tiny proportion, to the order of 1 in a million. Then, will that be enough to change things sufficiently so my family lives better?

That's how many people think. They:
1. underestimate what the power of a collective can do
2. expect their actions to resonate loudly and create ripples as an individual, which is unreasonable unless one is Hitler
3. expect change overnight when most battles are often fought for many years.

That describes me well enough...

People like me are fighting for people like you, and it take fuckloads of will not to give up. It's rather stressful.

I don't know if you were ever a product of the injustice in the country. I wasn't one entirely because my parents could afford to pay for my education and I never asked for a scholarship.

But those who has been turned down, missed opportunities and having their merits trampled on because of their ethnicity - they need to fight the system. And stop the system from being irreversible.

Cos by then, I would help get people out of Taliban Malaysia instead as staying in Malaysia would be futile. Right now, the fight rages on ... and everybody hopes for change and better lives. Of course not just for us but for future generations. Clichéd as it seems. It's really daunting. but I’m glad to have tried than to have given up already.