Enemy of my enemy...

I was once labelled a hypocrite by my neighbor... but he said it in Malay/Arabic, making it sound really bad... He called me a Munafiq. I was angered of course, at first, but then, upon reflection, he may have a case.

It all started a few thousand years ago when God created man, and gave him this instinct to become communal. And, being human, even in the smallest of societies, there would be differences in opinion, creating a divide between those who would become loyal followers to one side or another. Although, God has made the universe colorful, our minds (or, perhaps, more appropriately, our hearts) want to see only black or white, good or bad, innocent or guilty.... man or woman (that topic will be for another day).

There are less than 200 houses in my neighborhood. And, I for one, feel that we do not belong here. But, here we are, and as much as I like to not be partisan to one side or another, I cannot help but feel aggrieved by those who are reluctant to contribute their time and/or money for the common good of the residence.

And on the other hand, I do have a bias for those who seem to take upon themselves to ensure the security of our neighborhood. This neighbor arranged for the construction of the parameter fencing and our security check point and the appointed the security guard to man the check point and patrol our neighbor hood. There was rife accusation that this neighbor takes a cut from the contributions made by the residence for the work done, but, my argument is, if you can do a better job... then you do it, and go ahead take some compensation for yourself... I am just glad that someone else is doing it.... I am a lazy bum.

The person who called me a hypocrite, let's call him Mr. X, began connecting with me when one day, I told the person who was managing the fencing construction (lets call him, Mr. Y), that I do not agree to increase the number of guards, which will result in the increase of our monthly security fees. We are already fenced in, and we have only one entry and exit point, I argued that perhaps we, due to the many reports of break-ins at other precincts, have become paranoid. Mr. X, out of the blue sent a personal message to me saying that he's so glad that I did not agree with Mr. Y, with whom, I later learned, he is not on good terms with.

Mr. X even asked me out for a teh tarik, and we sat as he talked about his problems with his immediate neighbor, and also a few others, including Mr. Y.

A few days after that, he must have seen me going into his immediate neighbor's house, for a meeting to organize a get-together. My wife and I was tasked to organize the event, and we reluctantly agreed so as not to be accused of not doing anything for the neighborhood.

To add to that, somebody copied Mr. X a text I wrote which said that I hate dealing with idiots, referring to those freeloaders who ride on the generosities of others, those who did not pay for the fences and the security guards, but shamelessly stay in this neighborhood....

That was when I got an email, in capital letters that telling me that I am a "talam dua muka", a munafiq.

So, now, I am no longer accepted by this left wing group of my neighborhood. Even the nice lady who would stop by our house regularly have totally stopped greeting my wife and I. Where once I was seen as an enemy of his enemy, I am now a friend of his enemy. And, thus, his friends decided I am no longer their friend.

A neutral person is a hypocrite. Loyalty to one side, matters more than actual facts. You are either with us or against us. There is nothing in between. That's just the way it is...