Society of Majorities

Watching X-men set me thinking.

Many have viewed the X-men series and the "mutant gene" as a gay metaphor. Consider one day when we have a "cure" for homosexuality. I think like the mutants, a lot of gays and lesbians would opt to become "normal". But what would the implications be? Is homosexuality a disease in the first place? Or are homosexuals, like minority races in certain countries, ostracised and condemned because they are different from the majority?

What if (it's a big IF) we turn the situation around, and this world is made up of many more homosexuals (i.e. norm) than heterosexuals (i.e. minority). Would the heterosexuals be the ones being discriminated against instead? Of course, this can never happen from an evolutionary standpoint because procreation becomes impossible, but if homosexuals were the majority, I guess they would regard male-female sex as a tool of reproduction, and take a pragmatic approach towards it, instead of illegalising it altogether. Or artificial insemination could become the default means of having a baby!

Or what if we change America such that Afro-Americans outnumber white Americans? Or Singapore such that the Indians are the majority instead of the Chinese? How would the lives of the people change?

Drastically, I would say. Maybe "white ass" might become more derogatory than "nigger", and we would be looking at having the first White President instead of the first Black.

And in Singapore, people might not realise, but the Chinese have certain privileges. Not because of unfair government policies, but simply by virtue of our larger population. We have 2 TV channels - U & 8, vs 1 for the Malays(Suria) and 1/3 for the Indians(Vasantham Central, which has to share time with Arts Central and Kids Central). We have many more eateries selling Chinese food and catering to our various needs, and greater job opportunities because the ability to speak Mandarin is more often than not valued over Malay or Tamil. As people tend to be more comfortable mixing with their own race, the Chinese also usually have wider social circles, and hence more contacts and connections which could prove invaluable in business and the climb up the corporate ladder.

Can we, then, when we are no longer the majority, empathise with those who are in the minority and subject to disadvantages because of the mere fact that they are fewer in number and hence have no grounds (and no power) to protest?

The only thing I can say is that we are a society of majorities.