Peasants' Life
My parents told me that a shop nearby my house (whose owner is their friend) was "visited" by an Indian "Kongsi Gelap" (I do not know what's the equivalent in English, maybe "the Mafia"? Except that they are much less stylish and classy compared to the Italians). The owner was requested to pay RM1,000/year per unit as a courtesy of being protected well all the time. She owns 4 units, so that's RM4,000/year.
Of course those are illegal. The "protection" is merely an official fiction by the mafia for extortion. They have done nothing economically deserving for money in return.
My parents did not know whether she pays at the end so I lack an ending to make judgment. But they did not describe the incident with anger. They were merely narrating it to me as a normal incident of the day. Then they further told me how common this situation is by citing all other past occurrence that happened to them and their friends, and how powerless they are and how useless it is even if we report to the police.
"We have to accept", they said.
Dilemma
If this happens a few years ago, I would have been disturbed heavily, entered into an (unnecessary) debate with them, or even talked to them with contempt. I would not understand how could a person accept such an obscene act and an outright crime.
Of course, a normal person with conscience would not tolerate the bastards. But a person's conscience also changes along with the situations and the environments that they are living in. I am still as angry as I would if I was told a few years ago, but this time I am angry (or actually feeling helpless) about my environment.
They tolerate because they think they are powerless. They think they are powerless because the environment render them so. If the country is powerful enough to sentence the criminals, the citizens would fight together with the country for seizure. Otherwise, it will degenerate into a real life Gotham, and if we are lucky, Batman will be there.
When I imagine the enforcers of our country, my stereotype of them comes in. They are lazy, inefficient and also as tolerant as my parents. I do not know whether it is true. Perhaps they are just my stupid assumptions.
Acquiescence?
For the first time in this kind of issue, I might have to stand at the side of tolerating (as that of my parents). Because I started feeling old, I started to feel the same might have happened to me, I started to imagine if I have kids, I might need to succumb to protect them, like what my parents did when I was young.
If you ask people hypothetically, most of them would say that they would not pay the Mafia, they would not succumb.
If every subject of the thought experiment is being tested in real life, I do not dare to imagine the actual statistics.
Hypothetical questions pose zero risks, real life do.
Real-life risks are largely not computable. I can't count the probability of the Mafia taking out a knife or burning my shop. So do the probability of the police ending their evilness. I can't decide whether this Mafia thing is a issue big enough for me to bother to eradicate it, or a issue small enough for me to just acquiesce by paying them.
Insolubleness
I still can't believe that the rule of law is just being broken just like that in front of me. It sounded that my country is still some barbarian place on Earth, a remnant of 10th century when the feudal landlords oppressed the peasants by collecting large fees.
Maybe it is just a location problem. My house is in a low-income neighbourhood. If I live in an affluent city it might be better.
Or maybe it is just a country problem. We can move. A developed country might be better.
Or, all the buzzing big "solutions" might work: tightening the enforcement, alleviating poverty, upholding rule of law etc.
Rebelling the Mafia might pose danger, but surrendering is stupid either. Attacking the problem in an oblique angle is better. But I find the angle quite blurry now.
Of course those are illegal. The "protection" is merely an official fiction by the mafia for extortion. They have done nothing economically deserving for money in return.
My parents did not know whether she pays at the end so I lack an ending to make judgment. But they did not describe the incident with anger. They were merely narrating it to me as a normal incident of the day. Then they further told me how common this situation is by citing all other past occurrence that happened to them and their friends, and how powerless they are and how useless it is even if we report to the police.
"We have to accept", they said.
Dilemma
If this happens a few years ago, I would have been disturbed heavily, entered into an (unnecessary) debate with them, or even talked to them with contempt. I would not understand how could a person accept such an obscene act and an outright crime.
Of course, a normal person with conscience would not tolerate the bastards. But a person's conscience also changes along with the situations and the environments that they are living in. I am still as angry as I would if I was told a few years ago, but this time I am angry (or actually feeling helpless) about my environment.
They tolerate because they think they are powerless. They think they are powerless because the environment render them so. If the country is powerful enough to sentence the criminals, the citizens would fight together with the country for seizure. Otherwise, it will degenerate into a real life Gotham, and if we are lucky, Batman will be there.
When I imagine the enforcers of our country, my stereotype of them comes in. They are lazy, inefficient and also as tolerant as my parents. I do not know whether it is true. Perhaps they are just my stupid assumptions.
Acquiescence?
For the first time in this kind of issue, I might have to stand at the side of tolerating (as that of my parents). Because I started feeling old, I started to feel the same might have happened to me, I started to imagine if I have kids, I might need to succumb to protect them, like what my parents did when I was young.
If you ask people hypothetically, most of them would say that they would not pay the Mafia, they would not succumb.
If every subject of the thought experiment is being tested in real life, I do not dare to imagine the actual statistics.
Hypothetical questions pose zero risks, real life do.
Real-life risks are largely not computable. I can't count the probability of the Mafia taking out a knife or burning my shop. So do the probability of the police ending their evilness. I can't decide whether this Mafia thing is a issue big enough for me to bother to eradicate it, or a issue small enough for me to just acquiesce by paying them.
Insolubleness
I still can't believe that the rule of law is just being broken just like that in front of me. It sounded that my country is still some barbarian place on Earth, a remnant of 10th century when the feudal landlords oppressed the peasants by collecting large fees.
Maybe it is just a location problem. My house is in a low-income neighbourhood. If I live in an affluent city it might be better.
Or maybe it is just a country problem. We can move. A developed country might be better.
Or, all the buzzing big "solutions" might work: tightening the enforcement, alleviating poverty, upholding rule of law etc.
Rebelling the Mafia might pose danger, but surrendering is stupid either. Attacking the problem in an oblique angle is better. But I find the angle quite blurry now.
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