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NOTHING is ever black or white. Which is why people disagree with each other all the time.

From whether the latest sequel to Sex and the City is anti-Islam to whether it's within the rights of 2-year-old Ardi Rizal in Indonesia to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, everything seems to be fodder for argument and debate.

People are divided on a myriad of issues, apparently more so of late. There's been a gamut of developments within the country and abroad that have provoked starkly different reactions -- they are poles apart, dangerously divisive and completely irreconcilable.

The recent Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) rally not only brought about a spate of imaginative headlines and choice quotes, it provoked opposing sentiments from the Indian community and beyond. One observer noted that the strong-willed Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was like Marmite, either loved or loathed.

The rally organised to push for his exit from MIC was roundly lauded by some, lambasted by others, and a distracting sideshow for all. The histrionics have not abated and are unlikely to for a few months more, at least.

For a while, there were also exchanges over whether the Chinese were ungrateful. But really, it is difficult to comprehend how the Chinese are not grateful when they not only have vernacular schools but Wah Lai Toi on satellite television.

Now, there are fiery discussions over the New Economic Model and also on whether subsidies should be reduced.

Indeed, the sociopolitical front has been, and continues to be, fuel to many longstanding debates.

The recent shooting of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah also saw the people weighing in on opposite sides. The case stirred up a maelstrom of furious debate: do the police deserve the brickbats? Should the mother be charged for parental negligence? Is it acceptable to shoot now and ask questions later? Isn't a certain degree of high-handedness justifiable?

Do we expect the police to serve suspects Darjeeling tea, scones and apple souffle, and then ask them sweetly where their accomplices are hiding?

Would the same people who protest against police brutality be equally riled with the force if they failed to solve violent crimes or apprehend rapists and child molesters?

That private office spaces with central air-conditioning were designated no-smoking zones from Tuesday has also been a topic of frenzied debate.

Health-conscious Malaysians are in full support of the move as it may mean they are less likely to contract dreaded chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and cancer, get an asthma attack, or have gangrene and premature babies.

No more carcinogenic molecules in the air. No need to put their hands up to their mouths in disgust when passing through a flock of persistent puffers. No more dirty looks exchanged or attempts to flush smokers out of toilet cubicles.

Smokers are adamant, however, that they are as entitled to noxious fumes as tigers are to not being sedated. Their creativity will be as limp as day-old sushi, they argue, and productivity likely to plummet if they are deprived a convenient location for a nicotine fix.

This debate will likely smoulder on, coming aflame again when yet another place is gazetted a no-smoking zone.

And then there's the debate over the establishment of the nation's first baby hatch in Petaling Jaya. Since the news report was published on Sunday, this newspaper has received a deluge of email from readers with widely divergent views.

Some were sickened and disgusted, claiming this would promote premarital sex among youth and encourage reckless behaviour.

Others described the baby hatch as the best invention since colour TV, dismissing the holier-than-thou attitude of those in the other camp, and urging unwed couples everywhere to consider this option rather than the dumpsite or rubbish bin should there be a compelling need for baby disposal.

Elsewhere, debates are raging over whether there should another season of Akademi Fantasia, and whether sultry actress Rozita Che Wan's skirt exposed too much thigh at a recent event.

It can be difficult, even impossible, to reconcile such divergent views. The best thing either party can do in such circumstances is agree to disagree -- and prevent these debates degenerating into street demonstrations, fisticuffs or royal commissions of inquiry.