Musings
By MARINA MAHATHIR
The mark of a civilised society these days is that
people no longer kill each other in order to defend their honour or to
seek revenge, and vendettas are no longer passed down in families.
Violence does not always come in physical forms but in varied ways these
days.
I AM reading an interesting book by Steven Pinker called The Better Angels of Our Nature. Pinker’s thesis is that, despite what we think, violence globally has actually decreased over the centuries.
He gives plenty of evidence of how in ancient times, people’s lives were short not just because of health reasons but also because there was so much violence in their societies that even stepping outside their doors could be dangerous.
Over the years with more centralised governments, progress and prosperity, people realised that violent behaviour brought no benefits either for themselves or for their societies since people became more interdependent.
Of course if we looked at some societies, there is still a lot of violence. While the homicide rate in Western Europe is fairly low, it is still high in parts of the United States.
Pinker gives a fascinating account of the psychological history of the northern US states and the southern US states to explain the high rates of gun ownership and homicide in the latter.
Most of us have gone through what Pinker calls the ‘Civilising Process’. Through a series of negotiations between the state and people, lawlessness has been brought down to very low levels.
Having a central government, laws and law enforcers has meant that people generally are able to lead a peaceful life, as long as other social and economic conditions are also taken care of.
For instance, a country in a state of economic meltdown cannot be sustainably peaceful, as we can see with Greece. And the Arab revolutions are, in part, fuelled by high youth unemployment.
The mark of a civilised society these days is that people no longer kill each other in order to defend their honour or to seek revenge, and vendettas are no longer passed down in families.
Which is why, when we see people acting violently, we say they are uncivilised. But what we fail to see however is that violence does not always come in physical forms.
This is why we accept that mental abuse against someone is also a form of violence. But there are many ways of abuse that, while not causing physical harm, are still symptoms that we are still not civilised.
In the past week there have been several ‘innovative’ forms of abuse directed towards people, or rather individuals, with whom the abusers disagree with.
Some people decided to set up a burger stall in front of a private home. It may have been classified as peaceful but still it was a form of abuse, of privacy and certainly of some city by-laws.
It did not help that some people in authority said that it wasn’t illegal.
Then a few days later a group of grown men decided to shake their substantial butts at the same place.
There can be no mistaking the message of this act. It was meant to insult, and that can only be classified as abuse.
While these abuses veer on the edge of what we would call civilised protests, the pelting of a talk in Malacca with stones and eggs clearly goes over the edge.
Which goes to show that our society can easily slip down the civilisation ladder if nobody says anything to stop it.
Circular arguments have been made that, had it not been for the Bersih violence, none of this would have happened.
This is a bit like saying if you don’t drive your car, nobody else can crash into you. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Furthermore, some of these abuses have been going on long before Bersih. Take the cowhead incident for example. One side has exhibited these uncivilised behaviours at far greater frequency than the other.
This is where leadership comes in. If those who these abusers support keep silent, then it will be perceived as if these leaders condone these behaviours.
There is no point in disclaiming any links with these groups when these groups themselves say whom they are doing it for. Nor is there any point in claiming that these are small groups who should not be seen as tarnishing the larger membership.
By that logic, neither should misbehaviour on the part of some of the Bersih protesters be seen as representative of the entire body of protesters.
If we tout ourselves as a civilised moderate country, then surely there is no room for illegal food stalls, butt-shaking insults or the pelting of stones and eggs at anyone.
Nor should there be room for any other proven violence. Let us also not forget that violence by the state is also a symptom of incivility; look at Syria.
If our leaders insist on silence at these small incidents, it will only be a licence for more to happen. Then the responsibility for violence will be on them.
I AM reading an interesting book by Steven Pinker called The Better Angels of Our Nature. Pinker’s thesis is that, despite what we think, violence globally has actually decreased over the centuries.
He gives plenty of evidence of how in ancient times, people’s lives were short not just because of health reasons but also because there was so much violence in their societies that even stepping outside their doors could be dangerous.
Over the years with more centralised governments, progress and prosperity, people realised that violent behaviour brought no benefits either for themselves or for their societies since people became more interdependent.
Of course if we looked at some societies, there is still a lot of violence. While the homicide rate in Western Europe is fairly low, it is still high in parts of the United States.
Pinker gives a fascinating account of the psychological history of the northern US states and the southern US states to explain the high rates of gun ownership and homicide in the latter.
Most of us have gone through what Pinker calls the ‘Civilising Process’. Through a series of negotiations between the state and people, lawlessness has been brought down to very low levels.
Having a central government, laws and law enforcers has meant that people generally are able to lead a peaceful life, as long as other social and economic conditions are also taken care of.
For instance, a country in a state of economic meltdown cannot be sustainably peaceful, as we can see with Greece. And the Arab revolutions are, in part, fuelled by high youth unemployment.
The mark of a civilised society these days is that people no longer kill each other in order to defend their honour or to seek revenge, and vendettas are no longer passed down in families.
Which is why, when we see people acting violently, we say they are uncivilised. But what we fail to see however is that violence does not always come in physical forms.
This is why we accept that mental abuse against someone is also a form of violence. But there are many ways of abuse that, while not causing physical harm, are still symptoms that we are still not civilised.
In the past week there have been several ‘innovative’ forms of abuse directed towards people, or rather individuals, with whom the abusers disagree with.
Some people decided to set up a burger stall in front of a private home. It may have been classified as peaceful but still it was a form of abuse, of privacy and certainly of some city by-laws.
It did not help that some people in authority said that it wasn’t illegal.
Then a few days later a group of grown men decided to shake their substantial butts at the same place.
There can be no mistaking the message of this act. It was meant to insult, and that can only be classified as abuse.
While these abuses veer on the edge of what we would call civilised protests, the pelting of a talk in Malacca with stones and eggs clearly goes over the edge.
Which goes to show that our society can easily slip down the civilisation ladder if nobody says anything to stop it.
Circular arguments have been made that, had it not been for the Bersih violence, none of this would have happened.
This is a bit like saying if you don’t drive your car, nobody else can crash into you. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Furthermore, some of these abuses have been going on long before Bersih. Take the cowhead incident for example. One side has exhibited these uncivilised behaviours at far greater frequency than the other.
This is where leadership comes in. If those who these abusers support keep silent, then it will be perceived as if these leaders condone these behaviours.
There is no point in disclaiming any links with these groups when these groups themselves say whom they are doing it for. Nor is there any point in claiming that these are small groups who should not be seen as tarnishing the larger membership.
By that logic, neither should misbehaviour on the part of some of the Bersih protesters be seen as representative of the entire body of protesters.
If we tout ourselves as a civilised moderate country, then surely there is no room for illegal food stalls, butt-shaking insults or the pelting of stones and eggs at anyone.
Nor should there be room for any other proven violence. Let us also not forget that violence by the state is also a symptom of incivility; look at Syria.
If our leaders insist on silence at these small incidents, it will only be a licence for more to happen. Then the responsibility for violence will be on them.
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