There are all sorts of stories – good stories…bad stories…moral stories…immoral stories…absurd stories…meaningless stories…& stories that shouldn’t have been written down at all, but you write them & thereby, insult yourself! Oh that’s just my humble opinion, not a universal fact, & as I always say, opinions, by all means, do not alter facts. You know when I was young & stupid, it was a different story, but this is not that story.
Actually I came across some print outs lately. There was a time when I was obsessed with laws, & yeah I still believe that inhuman laws ought to be blotted out from the statute book. We all know that bad laws in our part of the world are implemented quite religiously. Of course I wrote & wrote in the newspaper for 3 years, & then it occurred to me that I could not actually make a difference. Oh I see you didn’t read my letters…although they were published in a prestigious newspaper, which is a bit too rigid my taste. I don’t like boundaries. But how can you know? You need to use your brain cells for that.
One doesn’t have to experience each & every calamity to know that it exists. Different people suffer in different ways in different places. Different people inflict pain in different & creative ways. However, you choose to stay mum. You let the system walk all over you. And you create hurdles for people like me who are vocal. In fact, you create hurdles for anyone who is remotely different from the different that I mentioned earlier on.
Anyway, Henrik Ibsen once said, “I think that we are sailing with a corpse in the cargo.” What he meant was that we, humans, are outwardly progressing, but our minds are not advancing at the same pace. This is the case now…this was the case then…& this shall be so forever, if you do not wake up from your slumber. You’re making a mistake here. Let me rectify you. I don’t think it. I bloody well know it. And I’m telling you there’s a difference but shallow, illiterate, backward, typical minds cannot grasp the concept. They just presume very conveniently, & they go on presuming.
While I was doing my post-graduation, I came across students who were invariably bragging that our department was the best. Nobody seemed that impressive though (I know how I sound). Yeah the professors were indeed cool minds beyond any doubt. What I liked about them is that they didn’t have to say they were cool…one could see that, so to speak. That’s one charm of knowledgeable people.
Honestly speaking, I do not like the idea of jeering at others, but when I come across assholes & bitches, I tell them they are assholes & bitches. And these individuals aren’t innocent – they have been handing shit to others who don’t retaliate, cause they are not so ill-mannered. There is also this weird specie that only tries to outdo others. That is some kind of oxygen or drug for them to fight their complexes. Yeah it’s kind of complicated.
I have never been able to understand why people underestimate their enemies. Maybe it’s a state of self-delusion or something. Did I tell you that self-delusion is the keyword? Well I’m telling you now. Isn’t it strange - you worship yourself & you presume that others could not even like themselves in spite of their faults & short-comings? Self-delusion is a funny thing. Here I would quote Demosthenes. “Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” And I’m more like Voltaire when it comes to sharing quotes. “I like only what may be of use to me.”
Alright. Let’s move ahead. I’ve also met a couple of victims suffering from self-delusion & these self-deluded individuals were audacious enough to tell me how bad I am. It’s amusing. It really is. People who are painted all black by people who think they are judges of others aren’t aware of something. When you depict someone as the symbol of badness – that person could either be a monster or really some sort of individual that you can’t ever be. Now the question arises when I retaliate, does that make me an ugly person or does it give people the right to judge me when they don’t judge themselves? You know I’ve never been able to forget what Sophocles taught us long time ago: “Dirges & canticles are no prescription for ills that need the knife.” Oh yes I am that sort of person. Get the picture!
I’m sure everyone must have heard this lousy phenomenon – respect must be earned. I believe when you respect yourself, you also respect others unless someone begs you that he’s not worth it. Since mediocrity is so much obsessed with this concept of earning respecting that I couldn’t help mentioning it. It’s okay, if it besmears my write-up. Who gives a flying fuck to it now! Since I’m only mentioning shitty people & shitty concepts.
Mediocrity loves the word “judgmental.” They also like using the word “desperate.” There are more such words. For instance, losers, gays & sluts, which are being used with so much immunity that it seems as if people are talking about themselves. Usually…no, mostly when brainless folks have nothing left to say, they utter the word “whatever.” I’m awfully sorry, if it hurts your sentiments & you use this word. One can write an essay how they rape words on a daily basis. Surprisingly, they never see their own reflection anywhere. I often wonder when such a being is all alone by himself…who does he meet? Does, by any chance, this person meet himself/herself? And last but not least, do you meet yourself every day? Or do you prefer to keep yourself so busy that you don’t have to look life in the eye?
When you should & you don’t…you don’t get the right picture.
Now go back & read the 1st paragraph. This is the story.
“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now & then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”
- Bertrand Russell
I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed scribbling it.
Nadira Rahman
