just another rakyat

Spreading our genes is natural, yes, but so is not having kids.

Gender is natural and so is not being confined by gender.

Heterosexuality is natural and so is homosexuality.

We are not slaves to our genes. Nature is not as boring as what some people seem to think, it encourages diversity and experimentation and free will because rigidity results in extinction.

Nature is why the cat is curious even if there a chance curiosity might kill the cat. Because when a cat is bold and willing to explore, it might open up new possibilities – or even the key to survival.

Since Nature has endowed us with the ability to choose for ourselves, let us be free to choose love and happiness even if some people see that as “unnatural”.

Those of us who voted for PH, those of us who voted for PN, those of us who voted for third force, those of us who voted tactically, those of us who voted out of principle, those of us who voted out of fear, those of us who voted out of anger, those who stayed at home because no point voting, politicians who played the race and religion card, politicians who took voters for granted, politicians who worked with sincerity, politicians who split votes, opportunists, idealists, cynics, pessimists, optimists…

Whatever results we see later today, it’ll be our collective karma.

All of us played a role in this.

And that’s democracy for you.

In the dance of progress, big wins shrink in hindsight while small wins grow in silence.

Keep this in mind the next time you celebrate or despair.

Do I believe in an afterlife? No, not that I can.

Do I wish that there’s an afterlife, so that my wife can be happy knowing that her grandma is now in a happy place with Buddha?

Yes, absolutely yes, desperately yes.

Most Malaysians want Malaysia to stay the same. Better, but same.

But, when we are told that they want to change the country into something unrecognizable (whether it’s more Muslim, Malay, Chinese, or “liberal”, we feel the need to impose our values to stop the other side from winning.

And that’s how we get polarized.

And it’s not because all options are equally rotten, but because most people want things differently from you. Compromises exist to manage conflicts.

Turn it into an uncompromising fight and you’ll find very few people on your side.

Why are politicians in feudal societies not ashamed to show off their obscene wealth and power?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and have came to a realization. I call it the paradox of feudalism.

The more wealthy/powerful/famous a person is perceived to be,

the more others feel in awe,

and the more his/her supporters feel noticed when the leader/person pretends to reach out to the masses = results in higher levels of devotion and support.

If you ask me, this explains why Elon Musk has such a fanatical fan base (the richest man on earth shitposting like a 12-y-o and replying to random tweets from normies is a perfect way to make his supporters feel noticed and why Malaysian politicians seem to enjoy plenty of support despite their ugly display of wealth.

And when they make insensitive comments on Instagram, instead of getting angry at their out-of-touch comments, supporters fall deeper in love because it makes them think wow Bossku makes mistakes just like me, he’s so powerful and rich but still so human. It gives normal people like us the illusion that these powerful gods might reach down to us, connect with us and bring us up to their level if we worship them enough.

Lesson: if you are a politician, don’t hide that expensive Burberry shirt. Show it. Then go jalan-jalan at the pasar a bit or belanja journalists makan KFC a bit and people will fall heads over heels for being visited by such a rich and powerful person, even though what the leader does is not even reaching the bare minimum.

Meanwhile leaders who are humble and not prone to showing off their wealth will have to do actual work and may still not get noticed at all.

Not fair, but that’s the reality.

Image source: Insider Intelligence

It’s easy to look at charts like the one above and think that TikTok is overtaking YouTube because some condescending young people don’t have the patience bullshit.

but YouTube remains strong & young people spend lots of time on both TikTok and YouTube.

Not to forget that YouTube videos are getting longer as a whole. Hour-long YouTube videos are a thing and many people watch them.

Young people are abandoning Facebook not because they have no patience, but because that’s where their parents and bosses and aunties and uncles are. Social media is not entertainment, it’s a social event & you don’t go to a party where your parents and bosses are there to watch you & tell lame uncle jokes.

YouTube is doing fine because young people still watch “traditional” videos like everyone else. They turn to TikTok for instant entertainment but for anything more in-depth or engaging, they go to YouTube. These are two different products that serve different needs among the same audiences.

After all, young people still watch 2-hour long Marvel movies. They clearly have the patience for long-form content and entertainment.

They just don’t want to watch it while Uncle Bob keeps telling lame dad jokes around them, or worse, making judgmental comments about young people nowadays. Something like that.

Let’s say tomorrow all governments in the world are gone. No more taxes, police, and parliaments.

Next thing you know there will be widespread looting and violence. By the time gangsters start demanding exorbitant fees in return for protection, people will (grudgingly) welcome the protection because it’s better than being out there on your own. It’s better than losing your life, property and loved ones to the violence of all against all.

Eventually the gangsters become governments, the taikors become kings, the foot soldiers become armies and polices, and the protection fees become taxes. Kingdoms and empires rise and fall.

As people start demanding more and more from their rulers, sometimes through violent uprisings, the ruling gangs are often replaced with rival gangs, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Some of the people even get to have the option of choosing between rival gangs as their rulers.

While plenty are not exactly happy with this arrangement, with the monopolization of violence by the state, people are able to live life without fearing violence from their neighbors. While the rulers’ primary concern is to protect the lives and properties of themselves and their friends, eventually the protection spread down to everyone; after all, stability is good for their pockets. Businesses flourish, people enjoy better material comfort.

Of course, there’s plenty rotten with this brave new world – injustices still happen every day, wealth disparity is huge. So one day, those who had no memories of the past will look at the injustices, feel (rightfully) angry and dream of a world with no governments. See, we didn’t need anyone to tell us what to do, they say. Well, they only need to look at war zones and places where governments collapsed to see the alternative. It’s not pretty at all.

The reality is, we do need politics and governments and polices and soldiers. Without them the world is a less peaceful place. Violent conflicts are turned into arguments in parliaments instead – by treacherous monkeys, sure, but it’s better than violence on the streets. Wars are increasingly replaced with diplomacy because the rulers know that wars are costly to their pockets.

See, there is still violence and injustices and the peace is only relative. But that relative peace matters.

And so we march on, not exactly reaching for the stars, but at least making the world a little bit more tolerable to live in.

Some people make great friends and terrible colleagues.

Others are great colleagues but terrible as friends.

And then there are those who are great at being lovers, children, parents, bosses, employees, politicians, teachers

… while being absolute failures at their other roles in life.

That terrible person writing horrible stuff on Facebook? He might be the best dad ever. And maybe your wonderful friend is hated by everyone at work for being an asshole.

It’s ok. Nobody can be good at everything.

You don’t have to be everything to everyone.

We just do our best as being ourselves and the rest will follow.