A rare 59' Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie, in Melbourne.
The recent Minneapolis incident where an officer of the law was recorded to have pressed his knees on an alleged suspect, which then was alleged to have caused the suspects death, seems to have again highlighted the primal boundary of "Qualified Impunity."
Interestingly the so called qualified impunity seem to not only be applicable to officers of the law and national security but it transcends to many others, including politicians, members of the government as well and civil servants in many countries.
On one hand we have a prime minister of one country who was refused a table at a local cafe and advised to wait her turn to be seated, because it was full. On the other hand there was a state legislative assemblyman of another country conduct a full scale marriage of his son whilst the country was going through a lockdown owing to Covid-19 pandemic.
The disparity is hugely diverse. Nevertheless, the unspecified rule of Qualified Impunity can be read in which ever way that pleases the beholder and whosoever the beholder is.
However from the case, Pearson vs Callahan (US), qualified immunity is boundered as, "Qualified immunity balances two important interests-the need to hold public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably."
In another case, Zadeh vs Robinson (US), the boundaries of the definition becomes even more blurred where the presiding judge stated that, "Doctrine of qualified immunity ought not be immune to thoughtful reprisal. The current manner in which it is judicially applied leaves victims violated but not vindicated; wrongs are not righted, wrong doers are not reproached, and those wronged are not redressed. It is indeed curious how qualified immunity excuses constitutional violations by limiting the statute Congress passed to redress constitutional violations.
So the law speaks much about immunity ie. which in layman's terms, makes reference to a person who is granted freedom from being prosecuted. So what is impunity then? Well this means a person can act without facing any negative consequences. In a way impunity is a subset of immunity. Well based on the above cases, one thing is very clear, and that this whole concept fundamentally lacks clarity, leaving a very grey area for an eventual prosecution, in the event a violation can be proven.
If by law, it has so much of grey area, what more if the impunity is an implied version, which is in the possession of people in power or position.
The George Floyd incident catapulted a phenomenal reaction so quickly which many did not anticipate. But the reality is that this incident could have been the tipping point for an already enraged society, and in the case of US, the frustrations are multifaceted.
Similarly in Malaysia, May 9th 2018 was the exact tipping point which led to the formation of a new government, over throwing a 62 year old governance that ruled supreme with implied impunity. The only difference was in Malaysia, the people used the ballot box to show their frustrations, and in the case of US, they went out on the streets.
I can't make any judgement whether one was a right action over the other, because I believe, to each its own, only the beholders knows what's best for them.
Like Sharukh Khan said in the movie Chennai Express, "never underestimate the power of the common man," I believe there is always a threshold of acceptance, beyond that even a timid person can become the David that defeated Goliath.
There is a saying in Tamil, "Saadhu Mirandaal Kaadu Kollathu", which translated in English, means, "If The Calm One Is Angered, Even The Forest May Not Withstand Its Fury." The saying is self explanatory.
Implied Immunity has transgressed human dignity around the world from time immemorial, but the pace and its influence seems not to fade. Is it because of ignorance or apathy? Either way it lets down humanity and human intelligence.
The ongoing civil unrest in the US is the latest of the struggles that people all over the world have endured owing to the tyranny of implied impunity.
If implied immunity is not addressed, it can snowball into becoming the right of the beholder, and eventually leading to establishment of a skewed social construct. Many countries and its citizens have become prey to the predatory actions owing to implied impunity. In modern times, sadly, from Shah Redza Pahlavi to Robert Mugabe, and many others today, the usurped right of citizens have caused much socio-political calamities, that became the precursor for the destruction of nations.
We know it, but we never learn from history. The adage, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely", is more a norm than an exception.
Thus whether it is a matter of applied impunity or immunity, both are evils that man can be without. We can't go wrong if we adhere to the principles of social justice, for sometimes, even a law can be deemed unjust.
Only if more people appreciate the value of life for lives sake, the world will be a better place to live.
Ravi Varmman
0722
Subang Jaya
17062020
The George Floyd incident catapulted a phenomenal reaction so quickly which many did not anticipate. But the reality is that this incident could have been the tipping point for an already enraged society, and in the case of US, the frustrations are multifaceted.
Similarly in Malaysia, May 9th 2018 was the exact tipping point which led to the formation of a new government, over throwing a 62 year old governance that ruled supreme with implied impunity. The only difference was in Malaysia, the people used the ballot box to show their frustrations, and in the case of US, they went out on the streets.
I can't make any judgement whether one was a right action over the other, because I believe, to each its own, only the beholders knows what's best for them.
Like Sharukh Khan said in the movie Chennai Express, "never underestimate the power of the common man," I believe there is always a threshold of acceptance, beyond that even a timid person can become the David that defeated Goliath.
There is a saying in Tamil, "Saadhu Mirandaal Kaadu Kollathu", which translated in English, means, "If The Calm One Is Angered, Even The Forest May Not Withstand Its Fury." The saying is self explanatory.
Implied Immunity has transgressed human dignity around the world from time immemorial, but the pace and its influence seems not to fade. Is it because of ignorance or apathy? Either way it lets down humanity and human intelligence.
The ongoing civil unrest in the US is the latest of the struggles that people all over the world have endured owing to the tyranny of implied impunity.
If implied immunity is not addressed, it can snowball into becoming the right of the beholder, and eventually leading to establishment of a skewed social construct. Many countries and its citizens have become prey to the predatory actions owing to implied impunity. In modern times, sadly, from Shah Redza Pahlavi to Robert Mugabe, and many others today, the usurped right of citizens have caused much socio-political calamities, that became the precursor for the destruction of nations.
We know it, but we never learn from history. The adage, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely", is more a norm than an exception.
Thus whether it is a matter of applied impunity or immunity, both are evils that man can be without. We can't go wrong if we adhere to the principles of social justice, for sometimes, even a law can be deemed unjust.
Only if more people appreciate the value of life for lives sake, the world will be a better place to live.
Ravi Varmman
0722
Subang Jaya
17062020
