Zayn Malik: Representative Of The Third World Leaves One Direction
Zayn Malik has told the Sun (a Brit tabloid) how he feels after having left One Direction: “I feel like I’ve let the fans down but I can’t do this anymore. It is crazy and wild and a bit mad but, at the same time, I’ve never felt more in control in my life. And I feel like I’m doing what’s right – right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good.
“You know, I did try to do something that I wasn’t happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people’s happiness. And that was mainly the fans. And I only ever tried to do it for the fans, and it was only ever for them.”
Youth is absolutely wasted on the young, Malik’s choice seem simple enough: bank his money and disappear and then what? Or continue as a solo (he was seen coming out of a recording studio a day after he quit the boy band) and then what?
The thing about Zayn Malik is that unlike the rest of One Direction, the half Pakistani man represents ethnic minority UK. The “Pakis” are somewhat despised in the UK -as are the Indians. Without wishing to be obvious, when the Brits lost India, the country split into two, half Hindu (India) and half Muslim (Pakistan), the result is in the UK, the Pakistanis are disliked in some quarters for being both former colonies and being Muslim. What Zayn represented was the normalcy of being an ethnic minority. Though my friend Mark Pringle has corrected me to an extent, “Immigrants to this country may be disliked, by a minority, but mostly because of the colour of their skin, their “foreign-ness”, or because they are seen as an economic threat. Or a combination of the three. Their national background, in terms of being from former colonies, really has no bearing on the matter” Very different from when I lived in England where “Paki-bashing” was a popular sport.
Meanwhile, Muslims have been arguing about how real a Muslim Zayn is, surely the last thing on earth the young man needs. Oddly for such a musical religion, they frown on music… and yet again Zayn is set to a higher standard than the other four members of the band.
Really, in the world of racism?
1 – From a former colony (well, his dad is)
2 – Dark Skinned
3 – Muslim
4 – Low income household.
If you saw that 1D movie, where he buys his family a house, it is almost heartbreaking, as the young guy tries to see his way through to the end game. Sad stuff, really.
Being in a very popular pop band is one thing, being in a very popular pop band and representing half the world is a little more difficult and on some level, while I think Malik is a fool who will live to regret it, I understand his decision.
