Twt_Malaysia's Social Experiment

This week in the Twitter-verse, the curator of twt_malaysia posted up a particular topic discussion the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) lifestyles. An innocent enough question, but the furore that exploded was spectacular. 

Things very quickly turned personal, with tweets that was personally insulting to the curator, among other things. 

It was interesting to see how many took so much offence at the topic being discussed at all.

From what I understood, it was acceptable to discuss any topic that didn’t include partisan politics on twt_malaysia. It was a choice of the moderator to pick and choose the topics that should have been brought up. 

However, it almost seemed as if the discussion of the LGBT community issue was equivalent to the support of such rights, as if by bringing up the issue, one was actively sending a message that they were active supporters of the community, from the reaction of certain individuals on Twitter. 

While I have my own thoughts about LGBT, it is an active issue that exists and needs acknowledgement, like any other community that we live with. Despite the wealth of information, there are still many who shy away from admitting that these individuals exist, much less a community. 

Is it a lifestyle choice? I don’t know. There is too much to contemplate, from the core of nature versus nurture, with scientific acknowledgement of XY females and other issues for me to make my own judgement on that.

Do people deserve persecution because they choose to live life a certain way? 

If they do not cause harm to others or themselves, I do not see why there should be so much hatred against them. 

The social experiment that the curator of twt_malaysia chose to run with the LGBT issue as an example was nothing short of disturbing. It showed the stigma and horror that this particular community has to face. It showed how quickly an open discussion degenerated into mud-slinging and personal attacks. It showed how much hatred that was generated just from a simple discussion. 

At no point during this whole experiment did anyone step out to admit that they were members of this community, and from the reaction, I cannot blame them. 

Everyone deserves a right to live the way they choose, bound by religion or otherwise. We live in a community which is multi-racial with different religions. Every religion preaches tolerance at its very core, and I cannot believe how easily religion is twisted to one’s own means. 

It disturbs me.