Am I wrong in my approach in to holding an North Korea admirer to account?
This just happened: Fish n' chip shop in Horsham, West Sussex, UK.
Man eating (possibly of Chinese heritage?) chips wearing various communist badges on his jacket - including one of the first and second North Korean leaders.
I check I am seeing what I am seeing - he confirms it.
I ask him how he can defend wearing these badges whilst living in a free and open democratic society. I promise to not get angry with him, but just ask questions
He hesitates "not everyone will agree with me" but goes into some spiel about European colonialism. I agree that that was an abominable action on our part hundreds of years ago. But that we now live in an enlightened period of human rights, democracy, dignity and freedom speech. He lives in a society where this is all practised, yet promotes systems where the extreme opposite is practised.
Ultimately, we can question each other and disagree and speak out against the government of the day, and not expect to be tortured and murdered as a result, I state. Does he not realise any of this?
He doesn't give any real answer or defence. I tell him of the article I have read this morning of Timothy Cho, a North Korean defector now living in the UK. I have read many articles about him. He refuses to take this on board or engage further. This agitated me a bit, and I come out with the remarks of "Shame. Shame on you!"
This is genuine: I am aghast that anyone can walk around displaying open admiration for such brutal, murderous regimes and the irony of him doing so in our society, and not being expected to be questioned or challenged on it. Surely, we should all be confronting hate and calling to out when we see it. I don't cause a commotion as such, I am not loud or not aggressive.
Then, one of the workers of the shop says "We should all be expected to eat our lunch in peace?" I mean, I ultimately agree - but surely this is an exception in the sense that I am simply holding someone who displays hateful and horrified crowd to account. Would the chap be morally correct in saying the same to me if I was asking the same questions to someone wearing Nazi insignia? There is no difference.
The sweet man thanks the staff and asks them to thank the boss, and he goes on his merry way. In comparison, I feel as if I have been some sort of bully by just challenging someone in sunny Sussex who openly supports a murderous regime.
Was I wrong in my approach? Am I the baddie here?
I am genuine in seeking answers to this.