Ever since, former Coke Studio producer, Rohail Hyatt defended Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks about rape, he has been receiving a lot of backlash from fans and celebrities. The former took to Twitter to explain meaning of ‘liberalism’.
Previously, the founding member of Vital Sings even got into an argument with singer Jawad Ahmad and then filmmaker Jami.
Hyatt has now given his last explanation about his tweets that supported PM Imran and left many confused.
Hyatt tweeted, “Ever since my Tweets about liberals, I’ve been asked by a lot of people to provide clarity. Obviously family and friends who know me, know that I’m 'liberal' in my viewpoint so they are curious about why I might oppose the idea.”
He went on, “I’m posting this clarification one last time so that I don’t have to respond to everyone again and again. The word liberalism means: ‘willingness to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; openness to new ideas.’”
Hyatt added, “Either one practices this POV or they don’t. I don't care if you do or not. Nobody should. But by calling oneself liberal and then behaving the exact opposite to it gives the word the wrong meaning. That’s what I observe on Twitter. Some ‘so-called’ liberals display zero tolerance for any opinion other than their own while real liberals, just to distance themselves from this wrong version of liberalism, are left to coin terms like 'centrist' or 'neutral' to define themselves.”
He further added, “That’s exactly what extreme right-groups have done to religion. Because of them, to say one’s religious almost seems to suggest one might have extremist, radical tendencies. So from a 'true liberal' perspective, everyone has a right to be who they are and express themselves as they like (even the extremists) but a few shouldn't hijack the terms that the majority of us need to use for ourselves.”
Hyatt concluded, “Especially when they’re not going to practice what these terms really mean. I actually don't appreciate the need for such labels as it's divisive but sadly that's just the world we live in. I hope this helps clear any confusion. Peace!”
