I Am Very Biased
I have been told by a fellow colleague of mine in psychology, who happens to be Korean, that I suffer from “a bias of equality”. The concept being that I have a preferential concept in my mind that everyone, regardless of race and culture, is entitled to – by the simple fact that they are a sentient being – an equal opportunity to speak on, make decisions about, and live according to, their own individual needs and beliefs. Essentially, she suggests that it is biased to try and promote a generalized idea of human rights into some societies that already have established systems of hierarchy based on age, gender, and social status.
I have struggled with how I feel about this “bias of equality” for a while now, especially when I think about how I watch Asian drama and interpret any concepts from it. I don’t think it’s wrong to believe that there are inherent rights that should be granted to human beings. I think that this idea of equality is generally positive. It allows me to recognize both sides of a situation and push the possibility of both people (or groups) having their ideas and feelings understood by each other. This encourages empathy and sympathy rather than encouraging indifference or even equanimity. Equanimity, while being something I strongly believe is a fundamental aspect of healthy living, does not always lend itself to being helpful in problem-solving types of COMSITs.
In studies of communication, one of the first things you are taught, is the idea that 99% of the problems in communication stem from parties being unable (or unwilling) to empathize with, or understand the position of, the other. My “bias of equality” comes from a strong desire to see everyone being heard fairly. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with this idea, nor do I feel it is a true bias or prejudice. If it is, then it’s a tendency to presuppose that there is always going to be a miscommunication going on between people that is creating more problems then it is solving. This idea is at the heart of what Monster Parent is addressing. Teachers are talking to parents who refuse to listen and parents are talking to teachers who refuse to understand (and vice versa). If there were equal levels of empathy, respect, and understanding, then it’s possible everyone could be heard and a solution crafted from mutual understanding. In Monster Parent, however, there is nothing but endless, looping compromises and forced deference. There is no possible solution that can be found when selfishness and subjugation is at the core of the communication.
Let’s use the fansubbing/streaming issue going on the community right now as a good demonstration of this.
Fansubbing For Ego
The parents depicted in Monster Parent come from selfish positions where all they care about is exercising their new power. They claim it’s about their child’s best interest but how is a parent standing in the back of a classroom every day harassing the teacher, interrupting lessons, and, in some cases, psychologically torturing an adult, helping any child? It only serves the parents’ need to be in charge, to take charge, and to be heard, where they previously weren’t allow to before. It further serves a need to be recognized as an authority that has power, like the teacher, over how their child should be educated.
In the same vein, fansubbers who prefer to punish the fan community at large through withholding actions, especially on something they have already completed, exercise the same kind of power play.
Who benefits from these selfish actions?
The parents depicted in Monster Parent say things like, “It’s a parent’s duty to protect their child!” and while that is absolutely true, the bottom line is what are you teaching your child through actions that border on criminal and sociopathic in the name of said protection? Similarly, what kind of message does selfishly punishing fandom send to the streaming sites that threaten the entire community through their actions?
Parents are angry. Fansubbers are angry. Children are suffering. Fandom is suffering.
Teachers and fansubbers have the same goals: To educate, to help people grow, to contribute something additional to society. They both sometimes have thankless jobs. They both are under appreciated and undervalued. They both are often seen as a threat by other people in positions of authority. Fans and fansubbers alike are threatened by the greed and idiocy of streaming sites, but how are things being handled in a way that is truly helpful? I can sympathize AND empathize because I have experienced those same things years ago when anime was a niche community, similar to how Asian drama is now.
I have worked on fansub teams in the ancient past and I know how it feels to work your ass off on something, present it to the community, just to have some greedy schmuck come along and take credit for your work. I have also had web based businesses that depended on advertising revenue to survive and pay for bandwidth and server fees. However, the fact remains that the true problem cannot be addressed, by either party, with attitudes that cater to the “self” instead of “the greater good”.
