Inter-Faith Marriage and Modern Day Tolerance.

Today, I turn my evidently "more serious than expected" mind to religion.

Earlier this week my parents had a talk with me and my sister about their thoughts on relationships and their preferences on who we marry. Those of you not from the subcontinent will be looking blankly at the screen right now, but the brown people out there will tell you this is when parents will formally say: they do not want me to marry a Muslim. Now, as controversial as this topic is I want to explore it and express my own personal thoughts on it as it encompasses a great deal of topics. The idea of racism, tolerance, fear and on a more positive note the progression of human attitudes. The way that a South-Asian grandparent would read that sentence and draw understanding; but a teenage South-Asian will read it and draw disgust.

To begin, I want to somehow portray how common this is to teenagers with South-Asian backgrounds. Racism is a topic that has fouled history. It has always been present and has been the reason for wars, for slavery, for unimaginable suffering. How great society is today that I can meet people from any corner of the world everywhere in London, and none of them feel feared or different. However, we cannot deny the ignorance of the past. My mother moved here when she was very young and experienced bullying on a daily basis. Pathetic white kids who would graffiti her books with "National Front" and spit on her purely because of her tanned complexion. Moreover, there were black children in her class as well, who in her words "had it much worse". Racism was never exclusive to any particular region or time, though some were more thoroughly documented in the history books. In the sub-continent religion was how "different" was defined. People were, and still are, incredibly religious and proud of their own religion so for the most part inter-religion marriage was not tolerated. Nowadays this glorious world-tolerance has almost forced all of our views to broaden. As a Sri Lankan Catholic, I am no longer restricted to my own religion and race. However, Muslims are still off limits because of the frightful work of extremists.

I find it very hard to agree with this belief. The Islamic faith is something I have always admired. The dedication required is awe-inspiring, from the many daily prayers, to the traditions such as washing before entering mosques and facing Mecca while praying. To be a Muslim is to whole-heartedly immerse yourself in a powerful set of beliefs and truly "submit yourself". But the unfortunate truth is the side of this religion we see in the media is told through the extremists eyes. We see those who wish to unspeakable harm to others in the name of a misguided view of the Qur'an. And thus, members of this beautiful religion carry a taboo along with them. Many of my asian friends have had to end what they believed was Love, purely because of religion.

That's about as much as I wish to say about why this irrational view exists. What is important about this view is how I react to it. One thing I want to stress is that I am only forbid marriage. My parents accept and encourage me having friends from all nations and creeds. Thus, I can respect their wishes without at all agreeing with them. However, I can't help but think that will taint my view of friendship. Is it possible to think of people as "perfectly acceptable friends, but not worthy of anything more". I don't believe that everyone is a little bit racist (pause to sing Avenue Q song), but of course people aren't colour-blind. It is much easier to find common ground with those who have had a similar upbringing, hence, those who share your faith or culture.

My apologies for that last paragraph and it's sporadic and non-fluid nature. I don't know how to express my thoughts on this one. I know that I will carry on with my life as if the conversation never happened. I will not avoid or attempt to marry those who are not Sri Lankan/British Catholics based on my parent's views. Not a problem for me as it's never affected my life, but for many people like me it has made a great deal of difference in their relationships. More recently in Sri Lanka, Sinhalese/Tamil interracial couples have been met with violence. A couple my parents knew in England had death threats and rocks thrown through their windows. So this has all been more about protection than anything else.

So here is where I plead for your thoughts. What do you think of this topic? Can you think of anything comparable to what is a predominantly south-asian view? Please don't hesitate to leave comments.

My next blog entry will be far less controversial and much better written - I Promise!!

Till then,

Thanks for Reading,

Yours,

XmasRights

VoteMatch, Online Dating for Political Parties.

I must preface this post by stating that me and politics don't go together very well. With politics I personally feel that I have no influence in it, hence I do not spend much time looking at it. I can't tell you what parties have what policies and to some degree I can't tell what certain parties stand for. Which is why I feel VoteMatch.co.uk is worth a mention.

Whatever your views voting and whether you feel it is a duty or a privilege, it is undeniable that voting is important. But that begs the question, who to vote for? Delving through manifestos and reading numerous newspapers to find out what scandal is linked to what party is, in my opinion, boring and time consuming. Is it fair to say that the only people qualified to vote are those who have read every manifesto?

Votematch.co.uk is a website that Stephen Fry brilliant described as a "dating site". It gives you 30 question all about your own opinion on what the EU should do with certain issues and then shows you how similar you are to the views of certain party views. It doesn't force you to vote or try and sway your opinion; it simply says, in detail, how compatible you are with each party.

This is a hugely useful tool in my opinion. If nothing else it strips me of my disillusionment with politics and sparks some curiosity. Based on the broad stereotypes of Labour and the Conservatives I knew I didn't share too many of there views, but now I can see exactly how distant I am to the popular kids in this political school. Moreover, I had no idea how much the Lib Dems and even Libitas shared my views on the subjects I find important, and I may do some research into their parties. When the general election finally rears it's formal head I can vote for a party that really connects with me, and it is VoteMatch.co.uk that I owe this to.

Try it for yourself and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear some opinions on political issues because it's something I have a blank canvas for in my mind.

Yours,

XmasRights

Stephen Fry's speech at the VoteMatch launch

Google's effect on Netbooks

A week ago, Google announced they will be developing a lightweight operating system designed to run on netbooks (Permalink) called Chrome OS. I have been a huge fan of netbooks since their launch, and have neared an impulse buy of one on numerous occasions. However, Google's announcement finally ended this wide-eyed window shopping and I have decided to wait. In this blogpost I will be explaining why.

Looking back at the history of consumer technology, the immense value of software is prominent throughout all devices. Without the right software a perfectly adequate piece of hardware will fail. Microsoft knew this and prospered, Xerox did not and wasted it's potential. When the Apple II was released consumers finally saw the value of desktop computers and why they would want a machine like this in their own home. Microsoft's Windows platform then made computers more ubiquitous and drove prices down through competition and so began the age of computers. Later on we see mobile phones and MP3 players, areas hugely dominated by Apple at the moment. Looking at the infamous iPhone on paper, we see a device no different to hundreds of other phones in production. It has a big screen, an ARM processor, a speaker, a camera, some memory, a headphone jack. What makes this device more appealing that the others is software. The way in which any technophile or technophobe can instantly pick up the handset and use it.

This is my main problem with netbooks and why I have yet to purchase one. Windows was tailor made for desktops, the iPhone OS was made for the iPhone and yet, netbooks have no dedicated operating system. It's easy to bundle laptop software to netbooks because they are hugely similar, but my argument is that the are different enough to require their own new method of usability. With their smaller screens Windows looks horrific and tasks like web browsing require a great deal of scrolling. The advantages such as portability and price are negated by the loss in usability. Retro-fitting Windows and Ubuntu Linux to run on these devices is like altering a large suit to fit on a smaller framed person.

This is why I believe Google will be a boost for netbooks. This is the first major software provider that has stated intentions like this for an operating system. Everyone who is aware of the internet and how to get to and read this blog is familiar with Google and the applications they produce. Very simple and very intuitive. One can only imagine what they have in store for these lovely little devices. Though it is still very early days, I do believe Google's first operating system will do to the netbook market what Microsoft and Apple did to the desktop market. So until that release date I intend to keep my "netbook fund" firmly tucked away.

Time to Start

It's one in the morning on what is now a Friday. A small Macbook on my lap as I rest against two pillow softly pressed against the bedpost. The room is silent besides a soft warbling from the fan and lit only by the warm glow of the screen in front of me.

It makes sense for me to use a time like now to begin my blog. My mind wanders like a disorientated shark, always moving erratically in a random direction, engulfed with the thought that stopping may mean grinding to a halt. My interest are broad and I may write to cheer, to review, to shamefully plug, to insult, to rant, to boast, to praise, to reminisce, to gossip, to cry and to draw strength.

My blog will not be of one specific flavour or direction: it may interest you one week and bore you to death the next. But remember that one thing will be consistent. When the sun sets outside the window and the warm of the day fades away. When the soft sheets and springy mattress calls us all to lie down and drift off. This is when I think. This is when the influences of the day have settled in, where the harsh emotions have cooled off and the irrational are absent. When all is peaceful, all worries seem to fade and we can rest. At this time my last thoughts of the day will flow to the dark, plastic keys and make it's way here.

I have no intentions, no targets for this work. I see it more as an artwork of my life. One in which I hope to be proud of one day. If it ceases in a month, a year or a decade all I wish is that I have gained from it and that whoever stumbles across this random, sporadic blog will have gained a little from it too.

Thanks for Reading

@XmasRights