Just before Daniel and I went to bed for the night at the end of his 29th birthday, we read about the Boeing 777 that crashed at SFO. I admit that the most vital information that I instinctually sought first were: Where was the plane from? Oh, from Seoul? Any Taiwan citizens on board that were taking the flight as a transfer?
Basically, I cared first and foremost whether any Taiwanese people/family were affected. Once my fears were assuaged, my net of concern widened to general casualty, cause of crash, history of mechanical defect, etc.
I do not admit the above without some shame. This is worth remembering by actually writing down because it touches upon something that's been bothering my mind at its periphery even more acutely since I started studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from ground zero (so to speak). Namely, the question of whether or not group identification, of which nationalism is one, is a good or bad thing. The report filed by a Taiwanese news source that I subscribe to via FB was followed by numerous comments roughly translated (sanitized) to: "Why should we care?"..."Those dead Chinese had it coming."... "Guess you can't rely on Korean products!"
What in the world? I'm so glad for the comments that rebuked such sentiments, that reminded all of us that we should care because they're PEOPLE. That we need to have more empathy because their families are grieving as we are taking it all in. At the same time, I can't believe we have to be reminded. Yes, I understand the prejudice and animosity Taiwanese people have towards mainland Chinese people. I am aware of the racial tension towards Koreans. But we are all just people in the end, and why can't we get past the cultural vendettas to this basic truth?
It would be foolish to dismiss nationalism as a necessary force for good just yet. It is the only thing holding some groups of people together and preventing civil wars. It is still in some ways a compelling force for community excellence that aims to bring honest-to-goodness and well-deserved acclaim for one's heritage. Perhaps it's one of those seemingly paradoxical forces of life, like predestination vs. free will, state vs. federal power, true freedom through abstention of hedonism, etc. I've come upon the preachings of self-proclaimed Christs and Buddhas who say that any identification or loyalty for one's particular country, ethnicity, gender, spouse... is limiting to one's true capacity to love everyone and everything. I think that's stupid. But I find myself examining the details of their logic in between the smugness.
This is a ginormous topic for one blog entry, and there're so many things I'm still reflecting on regarding this matter. Just want to jot this down to remind myself to curb my inner racist, and study why I am this way. May God heal the seriously injured passengers as they recover in the hospital, and bring comfort to the loved ones of the two people who died. I read that there's also an infant on board. I hope she or he is spared any permanent harm.
No comments:
Post a Comment