My Take | Why the yellows and blues can’t talk to each other
- Dialogue and negotiation are possible only if there is at least some common ground; right now, there is none
Many people have called for more dialogue to end the political impasse in Hong Kong. But I wonder how that’s possible when people on opposing sides are talking past each other; worse, they are busy shutting up each other.
To talk and negotiate, there needs to be at least some common ground and shared values. At the moment, it’s hard to see a resolution through dialogue.
This is what deep divisions within a society mean. People look at the same things but can’t agree on what they see and mean. That’s because there are no shared sympathies and assumptions any more.
The rules and conventions we all used to follow and take for granted no longer hold. That’s how violence on both sides is tolerated and justified, so long as it’s committed by their own side.
Protesters and their supporters see only police committing brutality and crimes against the public. Police and their sympathisers see terrorists hard at work with their bombs and weapons, and wonder why so many Hong Kong people aren’t outraged.
A yellow-ribbon supporter may excuse his side beating up bystanders, yet is outraged when he sees police assault one of their own.