By: Argee
She referred to him as the ‘evil pope.’ I didn’t like it. Others didn’t either. She created a poem declaring ‘the evil pope has died.’ I told her she can remove herself from the group (a tribute site for the pope) but she didn’t. She prided herself in that she was an atheist and mankind was going downhill because they believed in God. She equated religion as ignorance. It seems her hatred for the pope was mainly due to his conservative stance regarding homosexuality and birth control. All this led to a mainly Theist versus Atheist argument with regards to God and religion. It didn’t get ugly (without swearing or personal insults), but you could feel the tension as you read along. Occasionally the discussion would stray, leading to some amusing side-topics like gnomes, fairy tales and Santa Claus. Eventually the discussion led her to create another discussion group: Does God exist? This started a whole new load of discussions and the responses were similar to that of the previous group. I myself got told off for giving my view: that God exists. It seems the group mind-set was already made up: that God doesn’t exist and it was up to us (the believers) to prove that God existed. Every inch of my statements got scrutinized, and I was challenged to show some paranormal proof that God existed and was even told that I probably watched too much Star Trek. I did, however, learn quite a few things about logic and argumentative approaches which was, in a way, a positive aspect.
What she and a few others lacked, myself included, was Respect. That’s how I understand Halfway. Halfway means respect. It tells me to be open minded and to understand that my views are not those of the rest of the world, and that I can’t impose my beliefs. We may disagree on concepts, but we don’t let that lead to violence. It was initially hard for me to take that some people feel very strongly that God doesn’t exist, and that Science was the answer to everything. I probably would have strangled people if those in the discussion group were speaking about it in a room. She and the rest had better thank God for the internet. Yeah, I myself get so stirred up by my own beliefs that it blinds me to the fact that others do not share the same views. Emotions take over respect. In the end I had to realize that people have different views and to keep things from getting out of hand or perhaps getting banned from the group. I had to respect their views and maintain proper decorum.
With the forces of globalization in place creating a smaller world, we are bound to be in contact with a more diverse population. We meet people who grew up with mixed heritages and have traveled widely on a daily basis. As a result, it’s important we do not keep things in black and white perspective. Not everything is as simple as that. Discussions are encouraged, but bashing people, whether online or on real life, is just not going to be productive.
Tensions have been warming up in the East, with China, Japan and Taiwan bickering among themselves. This could have a drastic effect on the region, socially and economically. If these nations don’t sit down, talk things over, and compromise over the issues of historical and territorial disputes, there could be very serious outcomes.
Sometimes nationalism takes center stage, forgetting that there are people out there who have different views and beliefs. We live in a fragile world where things get out of hand when emotions do the thinking. The results are possibly not pretty; from demonstrations to violent riots and, God forbid, military action. Racial prejudices also stem from the fact that people can’t accept that there are different people in the world. If we’re going to make the world a better place to live in, it’s not going to be about who’s right or who’s wrong. It will all come down to one question: Are we going to start respecting one another? 
A Filipino at heart, the Argee is currently halfway round the world towards to the end of a fascinating exchange program in the UK. His family resides in Singapore and soon he’ll be back in Malaysia for his final year. Argee is a contributing writer.