Saturday, September 22, 2007

Shut up!

That is what I need to learn to do. Shut up. Give a rat's ass to moral indignation, principles over people, standing up, fighting... It won't take me too far in my life especially if I need a healthy social life. Shut up no matter what. How does it affect me anyway? I'll talk if it affects me, not otherwise. Certainly think about my friends' interests alone no matter even if their actions spare no thought for mine or anyone else's interests. How could I be such a hypocrite? Being a friend and a fighter at the same time... ? How dare I dare!

But no! I don't ever learn, do I? My voice is uncontrollable. It makes itself heard at every occasion my conscience demands it. Take for instance the case of the poor chicken which was all set to be part of " a game for entertainment to rid the campus of boredom and get some action in". Teams of five members each were given five minutes to chase the little bird all around the quadrangle vying for the coveted "I-hunted-chicken-fastest" prize. Yeah, that is what our idea of entertainment has come down to. The "chasers" "hunting" for the chicken while ensuring to "handle it with care"....

Alright alright, my voice says to the person (?) who came up with the idea of organising this "sporting event", don't give me that "What? Animal Rights, eh?" look of disdain cuz i haven't even gone into that issue yet. I am talking to you like you are a civilised person and that is my mistake, alright. I assumed you are not from some godforsaken archaic village where cockfights are relished with glee even to this day, I'm sorry. I was careless enough to miss out on how you postponed your coveted "game" to make way for an international law firm to conduct job interviews, you are sensible alright. What if they saw you chasing a chicken around campus? Would you be offered a job next year if they remembered your attractive mug? You do have a brain, albeit pea-sized. Congratulations!

And then, I should have shut up. But no, I didn't. I let my voice do all the dirty work. I got disdainful and menacing looks from people, "oh-it-would-have-been-good-fun-this-animal-activist-spoilt-it-all" jeers from creatures I would best describe as sub-humans. Never mind if they didn't realise it wasn't about animal rights - not yet. It was not about being humane yet - they hadn't gone past the even the "human" stage. It was about being civilised. It was about being dignified. More pragmatically, it was about following the law and not getting the University into trouble for lending its premises for "sports" involving cruelty to animals. It wasn't about animal rights yet. It was just about abiding by the law. Human law and Statute law.

My voice did its work well and there was no chicken hunt in college. Thank God for small mercies. But I should have shut up. Who cares about the enormous sense of victory welling up inside my heart? Who cares about the enormous self-satisfaction? Who cares about the chicken - they are not chasing me around!

Why should I talk when its about others? I'll talk when its me. Never mind, if everybody else shuts up then - it isn't about themselves, is it?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I am proud of you PB. Always speak your mind and never shut those right thoughts..

Phenomenal Thinker said...

i second shubha's thots just tht use a lil audience discretion..."indian audience after all needs cuts for the best scenes" if you ask me!! :-D