Resist Hatred

Some masked and helmeted black-cladded people set a fire in the middle of the road.  Other masked and helmeted black-cladded throw stones and occasionally firebombs.  Suddenly, some more heavily armed (carrying big guns), masked and helmeted people pull down and drag an apparently unarmed masked person towards a police wagon.  Are these police making an arrest?  It makes one wonder about those similarly dressed people setting fires, throwing stones and fire bombs.  Are those protesters?  Or actually police or other provocateurs masquerading as protesters?  Of course, the police say the police, even when undercover, would not do anything that violates the law.  But who can tell?  Nowadays, many people have lost their trust of the government and the police.  Herein lies the cruz of the matter. 

My wife and I went to Bangkok for a break from Hong Kong.  Partly hoping to come back with a fresh perspective.  I am more convinced than ever that both the establishment and the protesters have to resist the urge to hate each other.   First of all, not all police are bad - we have to believe in that and there is some evidence that it is the case.  On the other hand, not all protesters are violent - this is obvious - the millions of people who come to peaceful marches outnumber the violent protesters by a huge ratio.

Most protesters are not violent.  Yet they feel they cannot abandon those violent ones because they are comrades with the same goal.  But are they?  Venom-filled violence will not win us freedom and democracy, assuming it is what all protesters want.  History has proven that the result is only more hatred and oppression.  Worse, hatred degrade and hurt the person who hate, who become more like the enemy.   Even if one seems to win with hatred and violence, ultimately one loses one’s humanity.   

As, as pointed out by many, who can tell who these masked, helmeted, black-cladded people really are?  Are we sure we want to be associated with them?  Assuming they are genuinely overly-excited protesters using an ill-fated strategy, isn’t it better to persuade them it is not a good strategy?  Rather than bringing everybody down a doomed path.  

The venom is also patently obvious from the facial expressions, body language, and explicit language used by the police and establishment: cockroaches, people with no stake in society, …   Is this the kind of attitude that we have to expect from people who enforce the law and run our government?    Given such hostility towards the people, how can the people expect the police to be impartial, and the government to truly serve the people, instead of lording over us? 

If the protesters truly want to win over the majority of the citizens, resist the hatred and the physical violence.  

If the establishment and the police truly want to win our respect, resist the hatred and the physical as well as institutional violence.  

Of course, it is not easy.  To respond to injustice with kindness is extremely hard.  It takes a very strong person  and superhuman strength to do that.  Just ask Jesus Christ.  But this is the only way out.  The only way to win, for everyone.  Just ask Jesus Christ.