Hong Kong protests: View point of a random neighbour
DISCLAIMER: The thoughts below are personal of the author. They does not represent the view point of @Team LocalHood. Despite this article being related to a sensitive topic, we decided to write it. We express no views be it for or against the protests, simply a view point of a neighbour!
We need love, not hatred.
It has been over five months already since the protest has started The whole thing has gone in circles— more violence, more tear gas, more arrest, more hatred and nothing really changes.
Our society has been very much polarized. Our neighbours are split into two sides, people in the grey area are being forced to pick a side, people who stand a different view are "unfriending" each other. Things have been a total chaos. We create our own echo chamber, only see things we want to see (things from the side we stand), hear things we want to hear and we end up only seeing one side of the story, of the truth.
"The police hit the kids", "the protestor set a man on fire", it upsets me to see these happenings. And it angers me and breaks my heart to see people re-posting other things when they didn't actually happen. Just like putting oil on a fire which is already out of hand. So difficult for a common mortal to differentiate real news from fake news!!
We are heavily influenced by the media and since we only live in voices we want to hear, we don't get to hear voices from the other side. We become less critical about things happening around us and our connection between each other are becoming weaker. We become more diverted.
In this very situation, I believe everyone, regardless of the side they stands, does care about Hong Kong.
As we all are individuals, with different background and culture, all what we need is less judging and more understanding. People may not think the way we do and it's important that we respect them for it. After all, it's just an opinion.
We can't change the way others act or think, but we do have the control of how we react to them.
So I really hope no more hatred will be amplified, cause a neighbourhood is where people are connected.
It's never a place, it's a feeling— a sense of belonging.