Dignity
The latest news on how a 23 years old Indonesian domestic helper was suspected to have been severely ill-treated by her ex-employer in Hong Kong to such dilapidated form beyond recognition were, to say the very least, disheartening and repugnant. Our fragrant harbour was even shamefully indicted as a hell for "modern-day slaves". The headlines could well be just the tip of an ice-berg, as domestic exploitation and torture could indeed be more commonplace than are readily imaginable by anyone.
For the sake of humanity, it is worth anyone who feel disturbed to ponder on the psychic of the perpetrators, to pinpoint the source of cruelty and, hopefully, exercise self-audit and control against any possible vicious pitfalls in our otherwise daily routine life.
I suspect the misdeeds of abusing domestic helpers can be traced to the following psychopathic faults:
1) A false sense of superiority
This is as old as ancient history since the master and servant relationship emerged. In dynasty, feudalism, aristocracy and any other forms of social system where such relationship existed, the master had always been hallucinated with his commanding status as being conferred by birth, destiny or even Heaven.
2) An extreme sense of righteousness
As such, consciously or subconsciously, the master holds the absolute view in front of the servant that whatever, and only, what he says - and even does not say but expects to be understood - is true and right. Nothing being short of total compliance is expected. As an addictive behaviour, some may even take pride in finding faults to satisfy his false sense of superiority.
3) Crude egoism
The master cares only about his own well-being, or that of those whom he cares about, but usually never including the servant.
4) Being recklessly presumptuous
Given all the above preconception and bias which occupy the master's mind, he out-rightly assumes that the servant should naturally understand what he wants and not wants in all circumstances, even though he may not have spelled out his requirements clearly in the first place. Failure to do so is an unforgivable sin.
All in all, the master is basically incapable of showing any empathy to the servant. Getting to the bottom of the aggressor's psychology, there is a complete lack of understanding of the idea of dignity, which perhaps is the only thing which should be truly equal among human beings. So it is also fundamentally a vice of ignorance.
Of course, for such severely inhuman torment as sadly suffered by the poor girl making the latest headlines to be inflicted, there must also be some serious sickness in the culprit's head.
Am I being judgmental to the extreme? There must be kind masters in the world. But no truly kind person will think of himself as being master to anyone else.
For the sake of humanity, it is worth anyone who feel disturbed to ponder on the psychic of the perpetrators, to pinpoint the source of cruelty and, hopefully, exercise self-audit and control against any possible vicious pitfalls in our otherwise daily routine life.
I suspect the misdeeds of abusing domestic helpers can be traced to the following psychopathic faults:
1) A false sense of superiority
This is as old as ancient history since the master and servant relationship emerged. In dynasty, feudalism, aristocracy and any other forms of social system where such relationship existed, the master had always been hallucinated with his commanding status as being conferred by birth, destiny or even Heaven.
2) An extreme sense of righteousness
As such, consciously or subconsciously, the master holds the absolute view in front of the servant that whatever, and only, what he says - and even does not say but expects to be understood - is true and right. Nothing being short of total compliance is expected. As an addictive behaviour, some may even take pride in finding faults to satisfy his false sense of superiority.
3) Crude egoism
The master cares only about his own well-being, or that of those whom he cares about, but usually never including the servant.
4) Being recklessly presumptuous
Given all the above preconception and bias which occupy the master's mind, he out-rightly assumes that the servant should naturally understand what he wants and not wants in all circumstances, even though he may not have spelled out his requirements clearly in the first place. Failure to do so is an unforgivable sin.
All in all, the master is basically incapable of showing any empathy to the servant. Getting to the bottom of the aggressor's psychology, there is a complete lack of understanding of the idea of dignity, which perhaps is the only thing which should be truly equal among human beings. So it is also fundamentally a vice of ignorance.
Of course, for such severely inhuman torment as sadly suffered by the poor girl making the latest headlines to be inflicted, there must also be some serious sickness in the culprit's head.
Am I being judgmental to the extreme? There must be kind masters in the world. But no truly kind person will think of himself as being master to anyone else.
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