Myanmar Cyan Car
Cyan is really a badass shade of teal. I don’t have a favorite color per se, but this is top three, and in addition I like contrast. Picture this, a cyan-colored Mustang Saleen S7. Just under a half mil, fast af, mad aesthetically-pleasing, and yet not meant for everyone to drive. I’m not saying democracies and republics are this beautiful hot-rod, but some people would get their needs met more with a Volkswagen Pasat TDI circa 2012-2016. The people’s car.
I came upon Cambodia from my international relations courses and self-research, and even advocated for Bopha’s release in 2013. I learned of Bangladesh from my cousin spending a Summer there and hearing a Beats for Bangladesh hip-hop tape that covered some of the politics. I learned of Laos from the Laotian homie into Wing-Chun Gung-Fu, whilst I was in North Dakota. The Nepalese I have encountered in North Dakota and South Los Angeles. Very kind people, great yak. In studying the Hmong, in the context of cross-cultural navigation and dispute resolution, an indelible mark was left on my heart for all Zomians across 8-9 Southeast Asian nation-states. Thailand and Myanmar I know best from Muay Thai and Lethwei, the two most-effective striking sciences.
Myanmar is in flux. She has played with Communism and Liberalism, and now the military is in charge again. What’s next in the wheel of fortune for soldiers of fortune? Al Jazeera and their media company kinfolk use codewords like the ‘international community’ when presenting information about this change in governance as if they are presenting independently verifiable facts from a neutral perspective. I don’t mind bias. But I mind bias that pretends to be without bias. Which is of course a nigh impossibility. Myanmar is blocking BBC and CNN. Wonder why?
As you read and hear about Myanmar over the next few days, weeks, months etc. I will encourage you to do a thought-experiment. Pretend there is something we are missing when we dig our noses into the affairs of sovereign nation-states. Pretend that sanctions are war dressed up in a pretty red bow-tie. Scratch that. Cyan bow-tie. Pretend that when organizations speak of Myanmar and Ethiopia, they don’t always have the best interests of those places in mind. Pretend that sometimes they have dastardly intentions, and other times just straight forward self-serving ones.
Wyclef Jean immaculately pontificated regarding what a world with him as president would look like. It captivated me as a youth. His despondency about what they would do to him was disheartening. But his policy prescriptions were powerful. God bless the goat Dave Chappelle for putting me on. His 2005 Block Party doc stands up well. Anyhoo, what would you do, if you were king of the Konbaung?