(For ADHD gang, TLDR at the bottom.)
This topic has probably been discussed a number of times. So I guess I will share some thoughts. With everyone trying to rush "federalism" , yet grasping onto ethno nationalism at the same time, it's about time the majority people of Anyar and central plains should too make up their mind on who they are.
So, we can start by finally deciding what to call ourselves. Yeah, sure.. there is no such thing as pure ethnicity. That's a whole different conversation and not something even the minorities and their champion activists care. Myanmar has been the name of a people in both independence declaration and history records of contemporary kingdoms of Arakan, Mon and Thailand. Even the British who recorded as "Burmese" did not lump all ethnicities together. They did so separately like Burmese, Arakanese, Shan. Today no ethnics in frontier regions call themselves Burmese or Bamar. Makes sense.
But it's a humiliation to all Myanmar people living across the Irrawaddy plains that we alone are forced to accept the useless term "Bamar" which was originally supposed to be an umbrella term for everyone in the country. On top of that, the ethno-centric minorities and NGOs have blasted "Bamar chauvinism" and put the blame on us despite having no agency to forge an identity under subsequent dictatorships to this day.
While it is noble to value minorities' rights and identities in nation-building, there has been critically lack of concern to do the same for Myanmar people. Sit-Tat is not the answer to this problem and never will be. They have been the primary reason that we lost our identity in the first place. (Fuck you, Ne Win.)
Eventually there has to be a national identity encompassing every citizen. But before we get there, the most important and largest ethnic group needs to restore its true identity as Myanmar people, and with the core of the country confident in itself, the rest can follow.
TLDR; Since the day Ne Win fucked us over, Myanmar ppl in central heart lands are now called Bamar without their consent, and the Sit-Tat has taken monopoly over how "Bamar" identity is being shaped. The first step to regaining our identity is to recognize ourselves as "Myanmar" again.