Obstructing Peace

Another protest downtown. This time they were flying Tamil Tiger flags.



I recall a funny anecdote. Back in 1987 the insurgency on the island was so bad that peacekeepers from India - the IPKF - were summoned to quell the situation. Stepping into a middle-class home in the northern part of Sri Lanka, a bemused Indian soldier remarked "You have plumbing. Why would you want an independent homeland?"

There's a profound astuteness in that comment. Those people living in Slumdog Millionaire conditions in Mumbai don't give a shit about being discriminated against; they have more pressing concerns - like keeping a full belly and a roof over your head. It's only when your basic needs are met that you can concern yourself with more abstract things - like ethnic chauvinism, xenophobia, discrimination.

I put up that Jerry Maguire clip in the last post. You have Cuba calling Cruise. The white agent asks the black football player what he can do for him. His answer is simple. "Show me the money." Race isn't an issue. The only colour that matters is GREEN. People of different races, classes, and social milieus working together for mutual benefit and united in the pursuit of wealth. It's a beautiful thing. That's North America.

Think of the principal preoccupation of guys in their 20s - pimping out their pad, ripping 620 hp under the hood, scoring tail, acquiring the newest and the best of everything to show off for status. That's why we work. The problem in South Asia is you have a bunch of overeducated, underemployed idle zealots + dumb customs like caste and arranged marriage, and too few jobs and material capitalism and free women to keep them busy and occupied. That entire cesspool is rife with corruption, casteism, political violence, bureaucracy, and there is too little traction to get things moving - like investing in capital, people, infrastructure.



Anyhow, I saw a lot of people today flying the Tamil Tigers flag on my way home. People openly flying the flag of a group banned in the country gracious enough to welcome them. WTF?! They're just as complicit in the violence as the Sri Lankan military. They're an anathema to the peace. But talking to the demonstrators, you come to realize that - as with all nationalist movements - most of its disciples are sheep who have only a superficial understanding of the history and nature of the conflict. Besides mouthing the propoganda they've been brainwashed with, there's little room for reason or critical thinking or level-headed prudence. Only zealous jingoistic fervor.