Of Sheep and Sheep Herders

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who like to tell others what to do and those who like (consciously or sub-consciously) to be told what to do and what not to do. Most of us, despite our illusions to the contrary, belong to the second category. I like to think of these categories as the sheep herders and their sheep. There is nothing wrong with being part of either category, but the truth is that as society advances, the number of sheep herders keeps going down. We become set in our ways, tied down by the norms of society, by relationships, and by laws. We learn to limit our capabilities, and as we move forward, we close all avenues that one might use to move away from the mainstream.

There are many examples of this self-limiting behavior strewn throughout human history. The ban on human cloning, the inability to choose one's own name or even religion. These are all testimonies to humanities sheep-like behavior. Once in a while though, a sheep will stray from the flock and discover a new path to the next level. But as societal controls tighten, we see less and less of that too. We play so many roles in our daily lives (software engineer at work, son/brother/husband at home) and have so many prerequisites for any task that we rarely find time to ponder the larger questions anymore.

A few thousand years ago, our ancestors could concieve moves as radical as new languages, new nations, or even new religions for themselves if they needed them. We on the other hand are hell-bent on fitting everything into pre-made moulds. Breaking the mould is out of fashion. We tell each other to think out of the box, where as very few of us are actually capable of doing it anymore. Instead, we satisfy our egos by thinking inside slightly larger boxes. And so continues the process of silently turning the human race into a anonymous mass of automatons.

Human society is a prison. Think about it.

On Contentment

A few days ago, me and a friend got to discussing what we'd do if we won/were given Rs. 5 crore (close to a million dollars). Him and me were of the opinion that we'd have the money deposited in a bank, give up our jobs, and live comfortably on the interest for the rest of our days doing whatever we liked, but we'd never work for money again. So no jobs. At the time, it seemed to me to be the only thing to do in such a situation, but we still thought it would be interesting to find out if others agreed with our plan.

So, throughout the day we asked whoever we met what they'd do with this much money (remember, 5 crore in India lasts a LOT longer than a million dollars in the US). The answers we got varied from people wanting to start their own business to others wanting to continue in their current jobs. This even included those who profess to hate their jobs or even working. That set me thinking upon the subject of contentment. How much money would be enough for somebody to give up selling themselves (or their services) commercially? And does it have to be money? In other words, what would it take for you to stop working for money? My answer's a million dollars, because thats enough for me. It would buy everything I need for me to live comfortably. What's yours?

The Right to be Obnoxious

I am not particularly proud of the fact that my country (India) tolerates, and in fact, sometimes actively encourages all sorts of corruption and free-loading. From the corrupt government servant milking the public for services that he gets paid to perform, to the beggar on the street asking for alms only because he'd rather not do an honest days work, things have now come to a head. A lot of this is the fault of the citizens of this country. We pay the beggers and turn it into a lucrative business, and instead of getting together and protesting (no point going to a snail-paced judiciary), we prefer paying up and becoming whores to system. Yet, despite all this, we harbour dreams of turning this country into a power of some reckoning.

Sometimes though, this whole charade will go so far that I will pull back in revulsion and suddenly be faced with what this country has come to. It is one of these revolting incidents that I wanted to bring to light here. Apparently, eunuchs, who've gotten used to getting money for free from the public have now begun considering it their right to harass people of all ages in all places. Now, they want to be able to enter public monuments with the express intent of collecting money!! You can read more about it here. All I can say is, at least they're honest in their dishonesty. I am so overwhelmed with disgust right now that I can't write anymore, so I'll end here.

What the hell does wonder-woman wonder about anyway?

The Nature of Prejudice

We all have our prejudices. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that people who say they have no prejudices are prejudiced against the truth. The flavor (and I daresay color) of our prejudices is determined by the geopolitical realities we must endure in our daily lives. It might be religion in one country, race in another, and language or tribe in a third one. Lately though, the constraints imposed by a global society and political correctness have meant that some people have become extremely adept at hiding their prejudices.

While I don't believe it is possible to completely remove a prejudice (it is after all a result of a lifetime of social conditioning), I do think rational people can stand up against their prejudice and use their intellect to override their conditioning. But there are those who simply choose to mask their inward leanings with fake niceties. These are the people we should be looking out for. For it is these people who will be willing participants in tomorrow race or communal riots.

Of all the forms in which prejudice is expressed, I believe stereotyping to be the most dangerous. While race riots may result in great physical carnage, stereotyping is the kind of practice that goes on under society's civil facade every single day. As a result, it can have wreak far more havoc on a people's psyche than any one violent event. I saw a good example the other day. A good friend of mine, exasperated by my momentary stupidity, chose to bring up my religion while sneering at me. Of course, what he implied was that I was being stupid solely because I belong to a certain religious persuasion.

I'm not sure he even realised that in his rage, he had allowed his hidden prejudice to surface as a countermeasure. But it did leave me fuming, and that is the sort of thing people need to be made aware of. So the next time you choose to abuse somebody's religion/race/language/ethnicity, please put yourself in their place for a moment. Let your intellect take over your social instincts. I know this sounds like a cliche, but its worth a try.

Of course, there is something to be said about the many forms of prejudice. The question that really puzzles me is: Are some forms of prejudice justified? Are we right in using prejudice as a punishment to challenge unwanted behavior? Take the example of the growing prejudice against cigarette smokers around the world. Or even prejudice against people who are prejudiced. How does it work? And who decides where the line gets drawn between common sense and political correctness?

Comments as usual are welcome.

Who is this?? This, my friends, is George Bush. You put your hand up his ass and press a couple of levers to make him punch people!! Yeah, I know, thats what Dick Cheney's doing these days. 

Entertainment for the demented

In one of his books Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) said that we're all stupid some of the time. But I have to question that, because I know some people who are probably stupid all of the time. You encounter these people on the street, in everyday life, and sometimes on the Internet. The reason I'm writing this is because I discovered this while browsing for free audio books on the web. Apparently, the only way the creaters of AudioBooksForFree.com ("the No1 UK online mp3 audio book publishers") can think of making peace with terrorists is by selling an MP3 player that looks like (and fits into the slot of) an AK47 magazine!! Way to go Einstein!

Incidentally, the guy promoting this hair-brained piece of crap is a "ex-rock-star". What the hell does that mean anyway?? I mean, did he get bored of being a rock star? Did he just get up one day and decide that he was bored with rock n roll, groupies, and drugs? Or maybe the reason he gave it up was because he decided it was time he made a contribution to world piece by selling a shitty gun magazine shaped MP3 player. Seriously, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. On the plus side though, they advertise the product just like most American companies (even though this one, presumably, is Brit) do, by showing you a half naked woman who's got nothing to do with the product.

Right now, I can half imagine some stupid urban yuppies actually buying this player, and then buying a kalashnikov to put it into. Believe me, there are people like that out there! The next version of the damn thing will probably even have the capability to hold bullets. So that the user can kill people on the street while listening to a Megadeath MP3! Go shitheads!

How Fat is too Fat

Throughout my life, I've been what people here (in North India) politely refer to as healthy. What that basically means is someone who's definitely fat beyond fit, but not quite obese. Up until a month ago, I was okay being the bulky one among my set of friends and didn't even mind the occasional fib on my weight. Recently though, I discovered to my surprise that I now weigh close to 77kgs. Now that might not seem like a big problem, but when you're 5'8'' tall and the spare tyre begins to show, it becomes a problem.

I have since decided to take up some sort of excercise regimen to cut down on my flab. The way I saw it, I had two choices, give up beer, or start excercising. If you know me, you know that giving up beer is definitely not a possibility. So there. I now go out walking every evening (actually I only started two days ago) for about 40 minutes. I figure I cover about 2.5 kms in that time judging by the size of the park. I intend to turn my walking into jogging by the end of next week. Let's see how this goes. Any advice of course is appreciated. Keep in mind though that this is the first time in my life that I am doing excercise for the sake of keeping fit, and other than roller skating, I've never really taken an active interest in any sport.

Now this is what I call inspired! Programming in nightclubs, who says geeks don't get out :)