Everyday Politics and Alliance-Forming
VERY LONG POST AHEAD!!!
Believe it. Politics exist in our everyday lives and forming alliances with people is already part and parcel of our lives. To those out there who still believes that the world is rosy and life is like a bed of roses, think again. Just because you have not been pricked by the thorns of the roses when you toss and turn on your bed made of roses does that mean that the roses are de-thorned.
If you are already uncomfortable with me painting such a realistic (not necessarily pessimistic) picture of the world, you should read no further. Same applies if you are one of those who are emotionally and mentally undeveloped (i.e. immature, juvenile, childish). Stop reading whenever you feel like life is like some shitty hell, because it is not, just that it is not as cheery and bubbly as you would have imagined.
Another disclaimer: The following examples that I am going to use are some observations of mine. As entertainment critic Roger Ebert once said, "If you disagree with something I write, tell me so, argue with me, correct me--but don't tell me to shut up. That's not the American way." (I guess with the invasion of Americanisation and MacDonaldisation into Singapore, we also ought to follow the American way of doing things.) The examples that I am going to state are not meant to cause any further segregation or deepen the divide between groups of people. I will try to be implicit as possible, and as politically-correct and emtionally-sensitive as possible, but if that hinders my expression of ideas, I will not hesistate to be a little more explicit.
As inspired by last night's episode of "Survivor: Fiji", I am going to discuss about alliance-forming.
Initially at the Moto tribe, Alex, Boo, Edgardo, Lisi and Stacy formed a majority alliance. However, during a shuffle of tribe members in last night's episode, the alliance is broken when Alex and Edgardo had to switch to the opposing Ravu tribe while Boo and Lisi remained in their old tribe.
And Boo became worried. "This switch threw a couple of roadblocks into my million. My plan was tight," sighs Boo. "It's changed. It might come full circle, if things work out like I want; we'll see."
And Cassandra who was excluded in the alliance and who once felt vulnerable, decided to "swing" over and joined the newly-arrived three members: Yao Man, Michelle and Earl to form the new majority alliance of the Moto tribe.
Which brings me to my thesis: Never form an alliance too early. If you have to, make sure that your alliance is an OVERWHELMING majority. Not a 52% or 55% majority, but an overwhelming 80% majority at least.
Take Council as an example. There were people, guys from a particular school to be exact, who already friends before they even joined council, and hence an alliance among them is natural. This alliance soon grow bigger when each of the guys bring in their new friends they've made within 4 months in the new schooling environment or include new friends they've discovered after then have joined council. For simplicity sake, let's name this alliance Alliance A.
Alliance A was powerful. Initially, those excluded from the alliance can feel their presence. They easily consolidated their votes and put people from their alliance into position of powers and leadership. They were powerful and influential. People tried to enter the bloc, but was refused of access to it.
Soon, the individuals who were left out felt vulnerable under the strong influence of Alliance A. They yearned for a companion, someone whom they can talk to. They began to empathise with each other's situation because all of them are in each other's shoes. This group of left-out individuals soon realise that all of them have something in common -- they are all the "negelcted" and the "forgotten". They soon, subconsciously, tapped on this common identity and united themselves, forming a new alliance, Alliance B. Such formation of alliance, I would say, is a circumstantial consequence. They only form an alliance because the others formed an alliance, which makes them feel left-out. Hence, in order to feel "included", they were "forced" by the situation that they were in to form an alliance.
Not long later, the tables have turned and Alliance A began to lose its influence. Perhaps it was a result of their self-destruction. Cracks appeared in Alliance A but was quickly mended, though the scars are still visible to the naked eye. People began to do things (or did not do things) that made the council lose her trust on them. Eventually, Alliance A collapsed after peaking in their influence in council and Alliance B began to receive some recognition from the ones up there, though Alliance B did not gain much control and influence from the breakdown of Alliance A.
Alliance A did attempt to salvage the situation through rationalisation by opening her doors to welcome those whom they have excluded for quite some time. However, those once left-behind are now comfortable with their own alliance that the offer for entrance to Alliance A was turned down, rather decisively I would reckon. Or perhaps those in Alliance B no longer see Alliance A as influential and powerful as before, so they concluded that it is not of their best interests to be mutinous and change their stand.
Alliance A then collapsed even further when some of their members were subjected to much scrutiny because of some of their acts. Alliance A defended their members and claimed that the ones up there were bias against them. This has caused quite a few of their members to mutined and joined the other alliance, making Alliance B now arguably the majority of council. As the saying goes, "power is nothing without control." It was all along an act of self-destruction, rather than the ones up there being subjective. As the Chinese saying goes, “人怕出名猪怕肥”, which roughly translates to one should fear of getting noticed, just like how a pig would fear of getting fat and eventually being slaughtered when people noticed how tasty such a fat pig would be. When Alliance A was formed, it was pretty much "on-the-radar". The ones up there noticed their existence and their influence. Due to its initial overwhelming influence, the ones up there had high expectations of them, only to be disappointed when they did not meet up to their standards and when members of the alliance did some things which are considered uncalled for.
Moral of the story: Never formed an alliance unless you are forced into one by circumstances. Alliance-forming would only attract unnecessary attention, which can eventually (directly or indirectly)cause the breakdown of your alliance and puts a black mark on your name. If you need/want to form an alliance, do ensure that it is of OVERWHELMING majority so that even with mutiny, your aliance can still be influential.
Next, take my class as an example. Initially, it was a class with majority of her students reading Chinese Literature. Only 9 read Physics. Despite only having one difference in the subject we are taking, the Physics student constantly feel left out. The Chinese Lit students often hang around together and although the class mingles well with each other, it was clear that the Chinese Lit people formed a group and got along better with each other than that with the Physics people.
Once again, the tables have turned when many of the Chinese Lit people are transferred out of the class due to various reasons. Substituting them are an influx of Physics people, and the demographics of the class just changed overnight. From a Chinese Lit-majority, my class is now a Physics-majority.
Many of them are uncomfortable with this drastic change in the class demographics and environment, and they eventually distant themselves from the class and choose to replicate the old envrionment and live in isolation within it, although some who were initially unhappy or not used to the change now accepts it and have gotten used to the change.
Some Chinese Lit students, turned off by the "isolationist policy" adopted by many Chinese Lit students, eventually broke off and became closer with the Physics people.
Although this divide in my class is covert and latent and has yet to caused much displeasure, it is still unhealthy for divides to exist in a system.
Moral of the Story: Never formed a clique or a group too early. You enver know when the tables will turn on you and never resume to its original state. If you need to form a group or a clique, make sure that it is of an OVERWHELMING majority, so that your clique can still function despite with mutiny or being hit by any other unforeseen circumstances.
In conclusion, never ever form an alliance unless under desperate situations or when the situation you are trapped in dictates you to form one or join one. If you ever need to form an alliance or a clique, do ensure that it is made up of an OVERWHELMING majority of the system you are in, so that any disruptions in your alliance can still ensure a smooth function of your alliance.
Believe it. Politics exist in our everyday lives and forming alliances with people is already part and parcel of our lives. To those out there who still believes that the world is rosy and life is like a bed of roses, think again. Just because you have not been pricked by the thorns of the roses when you toss and turn on your bed made of roses does that mean that the roses are de-thorned.
If you are already uncomfortable with me painting such a realistic (not necessarily pessimistic) picture of the world, you should read no further. Same applies if you are one of those who are emotionally and mentally undeveloped (i.e. immature, juvenile, childish). Stop reading whenever you feel like life is like some shitty hell, because it is not, just that it is not as cheery and bubbly as you would have imagined.
Another disclaimer: The following examples that I am going to use are some observations of mine. As entertainment critic Roger Ebert once said, "If you disagree with something I write, tell me so, argue with me, correct me--but don't tell me to shut up. That's not the American way." (I guess with the invasion of Americanisation and MacDonaldisation into Singapore, we also ought to follow the American way of doing things.) The examples that I am going to state are not meant to cause any further segregation or deepen the divide between groups of people. I will try to be implicit as possible, and as politically-correct and emtionally-sensitive as possible, but if that hinders my expression of ideas, I will not hesistate to be a little more explicit.
As inspired by last night's episode of "Survivor: Fiji", I am going to discuss about alliance-forming.
Initially at the Moto tribe, Alex, Boo, Edgardo, Lisi and Stacy formed a majority alliance. However, during a shuffle of tribe members in last night's episode, the alliance is broken when Alex and Edgardo had to switch to the opposing Ravu tribe while Boo and Lisi remained in their old tribe.
And Boo became worried. "This switch threw a couple of roadblocks into my million. My plan was tight," sighs Boo. "It's changed. It might come full circle, if things work out like I want; we'll see."
And Cassandra who was excluded in the alliance and who once felt vulnerable, decided to "swing" over and joined the newly-arrived three members: Yao Man, Michelle and Earl to form the new majority alliance of the Moto tribe.
Which brings me to my thesis: Never form an alliance too early. If you have to, make sure that your alliance is an OVERWHELMING majority. Not a 52% or 55% majority, but an overwhelming 80% majority at least.
Take Council as an example. There were people, guys from a particular school to be exact, who already friends before they even joined council, and hence an alliance among them is natural. This alliance soon grow bigger when each of the guys bring in their new friends they've made within 4 months in the new schooling environment or include new friends they've discovered after then have joined council. For simplicity sake, let's name this alliance Alliance A.
Alliance A was powerful. Initially, those excluded from the alliance can feel their presence. They easily consolidated their votes and put people from their alliance into position of powers and leadership. They were powerful and influential. People tried to enter the bloc, but was refused of access to it.
Soon, the individuals who were left out felt vulnerable under the strong influence of Alliance A. They yearned for a companion, someone whom they can talk to. They began to empathise with each other's situation because all of them are in each other's shoes. This group of left-out individuals soon realise that all of them have something in common -- they are all the "negelcted" and the "forgotten". They soon, subconsciously, tapped on this common identity and united themselves, forming a new alliance, Alliance B. Such formation of alliance, I would say, is a circumstantial consequence. They only form an alliance because the others formed an alliance, which makes them feel left-out. Hence, in order to feel "included", they were "forced" by the situation that they were in to form an alliance.
Not long later, the tables have turned and Alliance A began to lose its influence. Perhaps it was a result of their self-destruction. Cracks appeared in Alliance A but was quickly mended, though the scars are still visible to the naked eye. People began to do things (or did not do things) that made the council lose her trust on them. Eventually, Alliance A collapsed after peaking in their influence in council and Alliance B began to receive some recognition from the ones up there, though Alliance B did not gain much control and influence from the breakdown of Alliance A.
Alliance A did attempt to salvage the situation through rationalisation by opening her doors to welcome those whom they have excluded for quite some time. However, those once left-behind are now comfortable with their own alliance that the offer for entrance to Alliance A was turned down, rather decisively I would reckon. Or perhaps those in Alliance B no longer see Alliance A as influential and powerful as before, so they concluded that it is not of their best interests to be mutinous and change their stand.
Alliance A then collapsed even further when some of their members were subjected to much scrutiny because of some of their acts. Alliance A defended their members and claimed that the ones up there were bias against them. This has caused quite a few of their members to mutined and joined the other alliance, making Alliance B now arguably the majority of council. As the saying goes, "power is nothing without control." It was all along an act of self-destruction, rather than the ones up there being subjective. As the Chinese saying goes, “人怕出名猪怕肥”, which roughly translates to one should fear of getting noticed, just like how a pig would fear of getting fat and eventually being slaughtered when people noticed how tasty such a fat pig would be. When Alliance A was formed, it was pretty much "on-the-radar". The ones up there noticed their existence and their influence. Due to its initial overwhelming influence, the ones up there had high expectations of them, only to be disappointed when they did not meet up to their standards and when members of the alliance did some things which are considered uncalled for.
Moral of the story: Never formed an alliance unless you are forced into one by circumstances. Alliance-forming would only attract unnecessary attention, which can eventually (directly or indirectly)cause the breakdown of your alliance and puts a black mark on your name. If you need/want to form an alliance, do ensure that it is of OVERWHELMING majority so that even with mutiny, your aliance can still be influential.
Next, take my class as an example. Initially, it was a class with majority of her students reading Chinese Literature. Only 9 read Physics. Despite only having one difference in the subject we are taking, the Physics student constantly feel left out. The Chinese Lit students often hang around together and although the class mingles well with each other, it was clear that the Chinese Lit people formed a group and got along better with each other than that with the Physics people.
Once again, the tables have turned when many of the Chinese Lit people are transferred out of the class due to various reasons. Substituting them are an influx of Physics people, and the demographics of the class just changed overnight. From a Chinese Lit-majority, my class is now a Physics-majority.
Many of them are uncomfortable with this drastic change in the class demographics and environment, and they eventually distant themselves from the class and choose to replicate the old envrionment and live in isolation within it, although some who were initially unhappy or not used to the change now accepts it and have gotten used to the change.
Some Chinese Lit students, turned off by the "isolationist policy" adopted by many Chinese Lit students, eventually broke off and became closer with the Physics people.
Although this divide in my class is covert and latent and has yet to caused much displeasure, it is still unhealthy for divides to exist in a system.
Moral of the Story: Never formed a clique or a group too early. You enver know when the tables will turn on you and never resume to its original state. If you need to form a group or a clique, make sure that it is of an OVERWHELMING majority, so that your clique can still function despite with mutiny or being hit by any other unforeseen circumstances.
In conclusion, never ever form an alliance unless under desperate situations or when the situation you are trapped in dictates you to form one or join one. If you ever need to form an alliance or a clique, do ensure that it is made up of an OVERWHELMING majority of the system you are in, so that any disruptions in your alliance can still ensure a smooth function of your alliance.
小权纯裕郎 自作自秀@at
4:03 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home