What is a "Karpal Singh Bandwagon Motherfucker"?

I’m scrolling through my Facebook wall feed and trying to pick my way through the countless Karpal Singh posts. I’ve already seen the pictures, been briefed of his demise, did my mourning and now want to know what other things are going on in the world around me. That’s okay. And so is handling the death of a publicly known and loved figure in your own way and time.

And so, I leapfrog my attention over the changed display pictures, lengthy memorial posts and side-line bickering, trying to get to the meat of the day when I see this post:

“Switched on fb to see many Karpal Singh bandwagon motherfuckers. Many of you probably didn't know much about him till only after he died, even me. But there's no need to suddenly post so much shit about him, acting as though you followed all his acts and fights. Stop having the need to want to impress other on fb by pretending to be something you're not or know something you don't. What do you achieve by proving to all these people through social media? It's the real world we live in, so impress those around you in real life. I guess maturity just takes longer for some people. All you bandwagon fuckers, you know who you are, and I couldn't give a flying two fucks about your butt hurt.”

And he isn’t the only one, judging by the 51* Likes the post received and some of the comments below.

"This had to be said though. Word!"

“This post made my day”

First things first: is this sort of hate new? Hell to the no. Remember when Michael Jackson passed away in 2009 and the internet blew up in everyone’s faces with posts, statuses, and pictures commemorating the King of Pop?

Radio stations started playing his songs non-stop. His albums skyrocketed through the roof and broke charts down into whimpering, weeping messes. 13 year old girls heard those songs and rushed to buy them off iTunes. Suddenly it seemed like everyone had been best friends with Michael Jackson their whole life.

Like, how dare they? How dare they realise that they liked his songs? How dare they feel a connection to his work or resonate with the things he said? How dare those assholes pass those messages along to their friends or people they knew would appreciate his work?

But back to Mr Angry Facebook Guy and the countless others out there who agree with him. I think that sort of reaction is less in response to people supporting Karpal Singh, and more to the fact that people are supporting him now.

This reaction to the extra support is very on-par with Geek Gatekeeping, where people (a majority of which are girls) are held under the most scrutinizing light, quizzed, and prodded and, if they fail the test, harassed, ridiculed, and insulted for being a “fake geek”.

Is this making your skin crawl? Mine is. And no one should feel that way about their culture.

People like Angry Facebook Man may have a ready audience, primed to mark those “fake Khairy supporters” with an F to maintain the sanctity of their congregation, but it is not an audience one should cultivate.

Sure, people will like things for a variety of reasons, some of those reasons being popularity, or to fit in, or to appear a certain way towards others, or to attract someone of the opposite sex. Whatever. It could be because they genuinely do not care, or because they have just discovered Karpal Singh and do not have someone to explain things to them.

And instead of pointing them in the right direction, people like Angry Facebook Man feel more accomplished tearing them down for not knowing the right things, right quotes, at the right time. This is not a love for the man or respect for the things he has to say. This is a misguided, shock-and-anger-filled reaction to having someone you look up to taken away from you and having so many strangers coming in and claiming his memory as their own. I get that. In a twisted way, I get that. 

But I personally have no patience to people who respond with hate and judgement and venom. So, as Khairy so eloquently puts it - Shut up. Just, shut up.**

** Author’s note: Those last words may have been a little EXTREMELY harsh. As much as people try to make it, the internet should NEVER be about shutting others up. The internet (his Facebook post, this article, all of it) should be about having a nuanced and intellectual discussion, and I’m glad to see that that did happen. I was in an upset state of mind and thought the words made me sound edgy and cool, but this only serves to elucidate my point:

Angry Facebook Man isn’t someone you are; it’s someone you become. Sometimes, he is Angry Facebook Man, sometimes you’re Angry Facebook man, and sometimes I’m Angry Facebook man. The problem isn’t just with individuals, but with our attitude as a whole.

*51 Likes during the time of screen-shotting. Now it's 70. Hurrah for kind and gentle spirits.

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A letter to all the over-opinionated people online: STOP HATING

 SOME time ago, I posted a Facebook status about how describing ex. girlfriends as “Crazy” is both lazy and detrimental.

A friend (by proxy) of mine then saw the status and commented 

"Yeah! Tell them like it is. Us women are DONE being oppressed by men."

At first, I had two thoughts. The first being “Oh wow I keep forgetting that actual people are actually seeing my posts” which got me a bit weirded out like, hey, I won’t talk to people if I’ve got a book in my hand, but I’m perfectly okay with sharing intimate thoughts online where hundreds of random people are privy to viewing them. Go, priorities!

My second thought was:

“Holy cow titties, this is one of those girls those anti-feminist 9gag memes are based off of.” Because whilst not being entirely informed about said girl's lifestyle, I do know enough about her to know that a part-time model from an affluent family with top-notch private education couldn’t in all seriousness call herself “oppressed”, using the generally accepted definition of the word.

Now, I’m a self-identified third wave feminist. And before you puke blood, I need to make one thing clear.

1. A feminist does not mean someone who fights for female supremacy - that’s misandry (Consider yourself educated, go you) - but instead someone who fights for equal rights.

Rights like the right to marry/and/or/not marry, the right to bear/and/or/abort children, the right to shave and/or/not shave.  Super simple stuff, also known as the right to be treated like another human being and not another NPC*, made to substantiate your backstory, character development and to make your gameplay feel a little less soul-crushingly alone. Yes, it’s a horribly ineffective name. Yes, there are some crazy people who believe that the male universe is out to get them. Every point has its exceptions but let’s try to keep with the program, people.

Anyway, I consider myself a feminist, along with a couple other things – reader, procrastinator, intern – and I don’t get all the hate. Why is it that some people believe that supporting one cause means you have to, by default, be against the other?

Feminist? You must hate men. Pro-choice? You must hate life.  Atheist? Enjoy everlasting damnation, infidel.

Like, dude, just because I like bacon doesn’t mean I can’t love my broccoli.

There was this other occasion where, if you recall, FMFA got cancelled because of some kids overdosing on a bad batch and dying. Khairy then came out and said that by banning future music festivals (pun unintended), authorities were basically just bandaging a bullet hole, or something along those lines, which I thought was a pretty stand-up thing to say, seeing as he was a party member and politician and all that.

A friend of mine disagreed. He was dead-set to disagree with anything Khairy said, and this is why: Khairy’s in Barisan Nasional.

This is what I’m afraid of. Not just that people would accuse others of opposing some things because they supported another, but that people would actually internalize that mind-set and think that the only way to support A was by opposing B.

My friend earnestly thought that by being against everything BN, he was supporting the Opposition. Mathematically, this makes sense – by refusing one party’s vote, you are in a way, contributing to the opposing side. But if you’ve made it this far down my post, then I know that you know (because you’re just that clever) that things aren’t that simple. To keep things short, a party is only as good as the people in it and the causes it stands for. By supporting a party through their dumbest decisions, we’re only telling them that they can get away with anything. Now, I’ve been awake long enough through my History classes to know that that can’t end well.

Gentle computer girl is getting real tired of your anger-filled shit

So here’s what’s happening: It has become fashionable to hate. Instead of promoting modesty and self-respect, our politicians want to wage a war against women in shorts and pink underwear on Valentine’s Day. Instead of launching racial equality and love throughout the country, they point fingers at the other side and accuse them of stirring up trouble. Instead of wanting women to be just as capable, resourceful and respected as their Y-chromosomed counterparts, some people prefer to accuse men for the issues present when really, it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.

Why? Because it’s just easier to.

Because politicians need a more direct way to say “We’re on your side”. Because hate generates a more passionate response than quiet tenacity. Because we ourselves get swept up in the heated hulabuloo that ensues. Take your pick.

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to try to be a little more informed than I am opinionated. I’m going to apologize to every single person I’ve had a pointless tirade against. I’m going remember that enemies aren’t always people but ideas, thoughts and emotions.

Also, if you’re still with me at this point, try and keep in mind that your judgemental attitude against another person’s judgemental attitude doesn’t make you a better person; you’re just contributing to the problem. 

*Non-playable character. Like that guy who keeps telling you about the arrow in his knee.

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