Who will bell the cat? Who will address the elephant in the room? Who will break the illusion of progress?
We have developed a sort of pretentious attitude that every pessimistic view should be ignored, and we should focus on the development happening around us and celebrate that. I will not exclude from that paranoia because as we are so used to witnessing negative news around us, it is hard to stay calm.
I too sometimes try to put on my “steel sunglasses” and pretend that everything is fine.
But everything is not OK.
This hit me when I saw the debate about Pohela Boishakh resurface earlier this year, and it didn’t stay civil -- people are now trying to take legal action. Some intellect will come and gracefully criticize my claim because it is not about “Pohela Boishakh” but “Mangal Sabhajatra,” and I will gracefully tell them to read between the lines.
However, this article is not about just addressing “Pohela Boishakh vs religious views” -- it is beyond that.
Liberal ideology has been taking bullets for the past decade and not just in Bangladesh as the whole world is facing a rough shift that is not entirely anybody’s fault; there are countless problems within the structure as well. I do not consent to conservative views but at least they don’t tend to fill-flop their beliefs.
In the liberal scenario, the level of hypocrisy and the customized ideologies I sometimes witness is tiring and sometimes very shameful. Moderates are failing us.
Those who read what I write are used to reading my rants about gender and sexuality, so my concerns about mainstream politics can be easily thrown out by saying, “This person doesn’t know anything, ignore!”
However, the current structure is not binary; the intersectionality of politics is not limited to just one specific topic.
Speaking of binary, the villainization of people who talk about the diverse spectrum, dismissing their expertise and voices by taunting them with the “woke” title, is also getting out of hand. Sadly, the future is a massive chaotic breakup, and it is not as far as we think. The separation has started.
In Bangladesh, we celebrate the victory of each “progress” we are making, but aren’t we fooling ourselves? If we keep ignoring the backlashes and setbacks, the so-called ‘progress’ will look fantastic.
Banning and criminalizing sexual identities, attacking different spectrums of choices, and policing diverse ways of life -- this is our reality and we are far from progress. The little developments we have made throughout the years are being broken into pieces by lawmakers, legislators, extremists, and many everyday people as well.
The mirage of achievements in the movement is a capitalistic and broken version of the American dream. If you don’t want to wake yourself up from the chaos, one day you will find yourself burned in an in-house fire. The conversation is no longer about resistance; it has become about existing. They are coming after every progress made and we are here, foolishly celebrating.
Tanveer Anoy is an author and activist currently studying and teaching Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oregon State University.
