Hong Kong citizens seem to have to identify themselves with either the anti-government or the pro-government group. The anti-government protest people are called Yellow Ribbons. The pro-government people are called Blue Ribbons.
Recently a friend asked me: "which side do you support?" She expected that I must support either one or the other side. She expected that I could not be neutral or only support some aspects of one group. I wasn't given a choice to be an individual with my own viewpoints.
As the Hong Kong community becomes more divided, people identify themselves as one or the other group. They feel that if you disagree with me, you are with the other side; You are the enemy; If you are not with me, you are against me. As conflict continues, hatred deepens. Many in Hong Kong have started describing those opposite as dogs, cockroaches.
People start considering others as sub-human. That gives them the permission to treat others violently, cruelly. That seems to be what is happening in Hong Kong now. Sadly, deep hatred does not dissipate easily. The anti-government protest will subside one day; but the hatred between people, between former friends, will remain for much longer. Some people may never forgive. For some, the wound never heals.
A way to avoid this is to treat each other as individuals. I hope that people will see issues from different perspectives; respect and value the opinions of others, even when they disagree; critically analyse the right and wrong of each issue; decide what actions, if any, to take as individuals, not as part of a group they have to fit in.
People start considering others as sub-human. That gives them the permission to treat others violently, cruelly. That seems to be what is happening in Hong Kong now. Sadly, deep hatred does not dissipate easily. The anti-government protest will subside one day; but the hatred between people, between former friends, will remain for much longer. Some people may never forgive. For some, the wound never heals.
A way to avoid this is to treat each other as individuals. I hope that people will see issues from different perspectives; respect and value the opinions of others, even when they disagree; critically analyse the right and wrong of each issue; decide what actions, if any, to take as individuals, not as part of a group they have to fit in.
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