DP

The term above will evoke all sorts of mixed responses from people. For those schooled in the arts of digitized gratification, it might elicit some response via symptoms of palpitations, slight difficulty in breathing, decreased concentration and difficulty in maintaining a straight sitting position. The political historians might recall a certain DP Vijandran, aka 'Dexter' for his proven dexterity.

I hate to be the one throwing in the wet blanket, but unfortunately, both are far from what we are referring to here.

The term was actually coined at the end of World War ll and initially applied to and mentioned specifically as a European problem. Obviously problems of this proportion tends to take a life of it's own and eventually, what started as a European phenomena managed to spill across the globe, tainting with it local political perspective and injecting a totally mixed cultural response wherever it landed. Some of these responses, whilst passive, still teems with strong undercurrents of disapproval whilst in other instances, it erupts into full scale violence.

The term DP stands for Displaced Person and was largely used to refer to the refugees, Jews being a sizable portion of the figure, made homeless after the war. Whilst we knew what happens to the Jews (somehow they managed to find their way back to the promised land, after a few thousand years, that is). Suffice to say, the handling of this problem back then leaves a lot to be desired and as a result, new problems were created. This new condition still persist till this day with the original DPs becoming the local and the locals reduced to being the newly minted DPs.

Years later, a similar but much more manageable situation was created with the tearing down of the iron curtain. Overnight, people found themselves to be suddenly without a country. In desperation, some turned to the oldest profession in the world and due to the unavailability of a local paying market, they repositioned themselves for export.

Overnight, an old industry was transformed with the injection of new technology and talents. This phenomena allows the industry to garner fresh interest and open new market from sectors previously bored with past services offered.

However, all good things must come to an end and via some political arrangements made halfway across the globe, these DPs were eventually provided with a legitimate place they can call home.

Fortunately for those merry men, the eventual resettlement of these DPs does not in any way effect the the vigor of the industry, in fact, with the added drive from newly found capitalism, there seems to be an upmarket trend in the said industry which is still reporting record growth at the time of writing.

Some years back, DPs were paid a special tribute when their plight were brought to the attention of the world by Tom Hanks in the movie, The Terminal.

Being a DP is really not fun at all. You have no bank account, no passport, no way to get married, not permitted to have children (just go through the process but don't produce!) and many other things that we took for granted in our normal life.

Anyway, enough background material! What I want to say is that nowadays, DPs still exist. Though small in number, they can be found at all corners of the globe, even in this beloved country of ours (I mean Malaysia here).

Whilst the DPs of the past were political in nature, these new breed of DPs are all cultural in nature.

Actually, it happens because of the imbalances in progress and change. The DPs of today do not have any of the traditional DP problems such as passport, marriage, giving birth, banking (alright, some may have serious issues to sort out with their banks) or others but it is more of exercising their cultural rights in society at large. In other words, they are simply people that just doesn't fit into society.

I am not referring to people who is a menace to society. Nor am I talking about those whose deeds makes them subjects of embarrassment.

I am talking about supposedly 'normal' people. The only problem they have is that they are at a totally different intellectual wavelength from society at large. Let's just refer to them as Cultural DPs.

With their different cultural outlook, beliefs, perception and other characteristics, they are generally relegated to a different strata in society, consciously or otherwise. It has to happen this way as both parties (Cultural DPs and mainstream society) really have difficulty finding common grounds. Even if a common ground can be found, most often than not, the relationship will be grounded merely on tolerance, rather than acceptance.

As we all know, that is really not a good foundation for any relationship. Someone once said that for any relationship to work, it must be based on the fundamentals of mutual trust, respect and acceptance. When the ingredients are not there, it just won't work.

These Cultural DPs may even be considered as a pariah of society, irrespective of their financial status, but herein lies the difference. For all intent and purposes, these Cultural DPs actually considers the general society as pariahs. With quiet accusations of pariahs flying around between these two camps, it is no wonder that a solution for integrating the two will never be within reach. As the English are so fond of saying, Never The Twain Shall Meet!

Thus these Cultural DPs actually ostracize themselves from society though according to the other side of the camp, they were ostracized by society. A matter of perspective, really, depending on which side of the fence you're on.

In spite of all these, these Cultural DPs not only survived, but actually thrives. Like wolves in the wild, they begin to form packs. Others may prefer the solitary route. Whichever way they choose to operate, these Cultural DPs somehow or rather manages to make an impact in their surrounding, actively or passively. Whilst society at large would go down the well trodden path, these Cultural DPs will open new ones, building roads where there's none. Discovering innovations, spurring growth. They become agents of change.

This comes as no surprise as by and large these Cultural DPs are actually in possession of high intellect. With their unbridled view of life and it's surroundings, they are able to break new grounds in their chosen fields, be it the arts, business, engineering, teaching and whatever field they jumped into.

For want of a better word, they are usually referred to as mavericks. However, if they are successful or influential, they would then be labeled as someone with a unique approach in handling matters.

Alas, they know better. They realize that they are merely being tolerated. So it goes when the day ends, they will go back to their private enclave, lost in their own thoughts, most of which, would not be understood by the general society. A lonely world to be in.

For the lucky ones though, they manage to form packs of like minded peoples. In some instances, these packs would also be converted into pacts, whether transitory or even permanent. The are also the most fortunate amongst them who managed to find their soul mate and settled down to a life of joy and bliss, disrupted momentarily when he inadvertently forgets to take out the garbage. However, by the time they wake up in each others arm the next morning, all quarrels were forgotten and life is blissful again. For these lucky ones, some evenings were found in company of good standing where dinner chatter can last the whole night and peals of laughter is as unabated as water down the falls.

Some unlucky souls though, in order to integrate themselves into society with the fantasy of their being normal, would be stuck into relationships or even marriage where things are not as rosy as it may seem. For some, it will be totally untrue to say that there's no love involved. However, due to the disparity in intellect and culture, there will be this uneasy undercurrent always threatening to surface. In spite of the love, a partner in the relationship may spend sleepless nights staring into the heavens to fill the emptiness in their heart not understood by their partners. Those with less self control would eventually start cruising the nights to fill their time with activities to either enrich their minds, or totally numb it! A wretched state of existence to be in but in life, we reap what we sow.

Whichever way we want to look at it, accept the fact. If you're different, you're different. Period. Having crossed that bridge, we should then start to deal with the reality. Never make the mistake of assuming a level of 'normalcy' for it is purely a fantasy. Instead, carve a niche in the world around us! Nurture it well and let it grow.

A song by Sting, An Englishman In New York comes to mind. It starts by pointing out how different he is from others and ends with the words....be yourself, no matter what they say'....

So, by now you'd be asking yourself this question, 'Am I a DP?' Well, if you can read these writings and actually appreciate it, chances are you're one.

Me? I dunno. Can't understand any of the above . . .