Inter-Community Suspicions and Occurrence of Disasters
At the bus terminal in downtown Olongapo City around 4pm, there was a massive line snaking out its front door and spilling onto the side streets. The line was for purchasing bus tickets to Manila. Dejected by the prospects of late arrival back home, the author nonetheless joined the end of the slow-moving line, hoping that his turn at the ticket window will come as quickly as possible. Rules, when they do seem to exist, should be followed. And with dozens of others anxiously inching forward in the still-hot afternoon sun, there was no reason the author should not.
And then, one of the conductors for the half a dozen Manila-bound buses (at least so marked on their front windows) started going out the ever-lengthening line in front of the ticket window, asking if anyone is going on the next bus to Manila. No one in the line made a peep or even looked at the conductor. The author, anxious to go as he always is, raised his hands. The conductor signaled him to join him at the parked bus. The author, looking around at the expressionless others in the same line, nervously replied, "No ticket yet, no problem?" The conductor still motioned the author to join him...
The author obliged. Within the next five minutes, he was in a seat on an air-conditioned bus leaving the terminal, still with the same lengthy, barely moving line snaking out the front door. The ticket checker did not look at all abnormal when the author bought a ticket on the spot. He just took the money and calmly handed a ticket. Other passengers did not look surprised either. The author cannot help be perplexed by this...Why didn't anyone else say something and join the bus when everyone there was lined up to buy Manila-bound ticket? Did the author steal someone else's seat on the crowded bus?
And the most urgent question of all was - did the author get special treatment just because he was foreign? Maybe thats why no one else said anything or act surprised/disgusted/confused when the author just left the long line and got on a bus ticketless. After all, today's world is a world of suspicion, where people seek out any minute differences between themselves and so-called "others." One accuses "others" of unfairness and efforts to undermine one's personal benefits based on any "otherness" ranging from looks and language to nationality and religion.
Every action that the so-called "others" commit add to that ever-increasing pool of suspicion. This is true whether the act is as small as ignoring unwritten rules to board a bus ticketless, or detonating a homemade bomb at the finish line of Boston Marathon. Some happen innocently, some maliciously, some harmless, others fateful, but their results, in terms of their long-term cumulative effects, are inherently similar: it builds up an emotional "wall" between separate communities and increase mistrust for members of the "others," even if the individuals being suspected are not involved in, well, anything.
In the aftermath of any such action, the characteristics of the "otherness" become exaggerated, stereotyped, and drilled into a collective consciousness, in ways that can't possibly be fleeting or positive no matter how much onlookers try to be objective. From "All of them Chinese don't follow public rules" to "All of them Chechens are heartless terrorists," it is often the other members of the same community, but not the instigators themselves, who are most damaged by the action. They are mercilessly victimized by the newly established "Don't trust the Chinese/Chechens" public sentiment.
Such suspicion will no doubt seep through to every subsequent interactions between the suspected community and other communities. No significant responsibilities will be entrusted to members of that community, they will be last on the list for available advantages, support, and promotions. When seemingly malicious actions or disasters, especially of the similar kind as previously committed, occurs again, they will undoubtedly be the first to be suspected of committing by the public at large. Hostility and social isolation will take years to shake off, even with other distractions or heroism on their part.
Nowhere is the harm of such suspicions more harmful than when natural disasters occur. When all are equally victimized, the public will still prioritize limited resources at hand. Impartiality will be questioned on all sides, but surely, the bad-doers from before, whether it be the Chinese or the Chechens in the previous examples, will have much room to successfully argue for their own lots. Such is the power of one small act to negatively affect a whole population, and is something that we should weigh upon before making any choices in public...
And then, one of the conductors for the half a dozen Manila-bound buses (at least so marked on their front windows) started going out the ever-lengthening line in front of the ticket window, asking if anyone is going on the next bus to Manila. No one in the line made a peep or even looked at the conductor. The author, anxious to go as he always is, raised his hands. The conductor signaled him to join him at the parked bus. The author, looking around at the expressionless others in the same line, nervously replied, "No ticket yet, no problem?" The conductor still motioned the author to join him...
The author obliged. Within the next five minutes, he was in a seat on an air-conditioned bus leaving the terminal, still with the same lengthy, barely moving line snaking out the front door. The ticket checker did not look at all abnormal when the author bought a ticket on the spot. He just took the money and calmly handed a ticket. Other passengers did not look surprised either. The author cannot help be perplexed by this...Why didn't anyone else say something and join the bus when everyone there was lined up to buy Manila-bound ticket? Did the author steal someone else's seat on the crowded bus?
And the most urgent question of all was - did the author get special treatment just because he was foreign? Maybe thats why no one else said anything or act surprised/disgusted/confused when the author just left the long line and got on a bus ticketless. After all, today's world is a world of suspicion, where people seek out any minute differences between themselves and so-called "others." One accuses "others" of unfairness and efforts to undermine one's personal benefits based on any "otherness" ranging from looks and language to nationality and religion.
Every action that the so-called "others" commit add to that ever-increasing pool of suspicion. This is true whether the act is as small as ignoring unwritten rules to board a bus ticketless, or detonating a homemade bomb at the finish line of Boston Marathon. Some happen innocently, some maliciously, some harmless, others fateful, but their results, in terms of their long-term cumulative effects, are inherently similar: it builds up an emotional "wall" between separate communities and increase mistrust for members of the "others," even if the individuals being suspected are not involved in, well, anything.
In the aftermath of any such action, the characteristics of the "otherness" become exaggerated, stereotyped, and drilled into a collective consciousness, in ways that can't possibly be fleeting or positive no matter how much onlookers try to be objective. From "All of them Chinese don't follow public rules" to "All of them Chechens are heartless terrorists," it is often the other members of the same community, but not the instigators themselves, who are most damaged by the action. They are mercilessly victimized by the newly established "Don't trust the Chinese/Chechens" public sentiment.
Such suspicion will no doubt seep through to every subsequent interactions between the suspected community and other communities. No significant responsibilities will be entrusted to members of that community, they will be last on the list for available advantages, support, and promotions. When seemingly malicious actions or disasters, especially of the similar kind as previously committed, occurs again, they will undoubtedly be the first to be suspected of committing by the public at large. Hostility and social isolation will take years to shake off, even with other distractions or heroism on their part.
Nowhere is the harm of such suspicions more harmful than when natural disasters occur. When all are equally victimized, the public will still prioritize limited resources at hand. Impartiality will be questioned on all sides, but surely, the bad-doers from before, whether it be the Chinese or the Chechens in the previous examples, will have much room to successfully argue for their own lots. Such is the power of one small act to negatively affect a whole population, and is something that we should weigh upon before making any choices in public...
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