COMMENT | For the first time, a lot of us find ourselves on the other side of the divide.

Reading all the anxiety about the Dec 8 rally, I suppose this must have been a little bit how BN and their supporters felt about the various Bersih rallies of the past.

No one is saying they are the same thing, but there are parallels.

One big non-parallel which we can proudly point to is that the government leaders are almost going out of their way to prove that they are not hypocrites, in that the stand seems to be: if your rally can remain peaceful and avoid hate-mongering, then go ahead by all means.

I imagine this doesn’t please everybody. Some probably want a harder line, and a few probably believe there shouldn’t be too many restrictions. On the whole, though, I think it is reasonable.

I suppose one of the important questions is: how much is the anxiety surrounding the Dec 8 rally is justified? ...