just minishorts.

When I saw a familiar name linked to a community-blog-site last Friday, the first thing I thought was, 'Hey this is my kindy-classmate.' As you know, the rest is history, I was shocked to bits, and I seriously didn't know how to respond.

I'm glad and thankful to supporters around the sphere and close friends who rose up in my defence. Kris, I didn't know I'd recognize you too, but I wish I didn't know you personally.

Not knowing you personally would been have made it so much easier to blog about you in the signature 'fuck 'em all' way.

I am not sinless because there could have been other ways that for me to approach the situation. Blogging about it, even in a 'I don't know what to say' manner, doesn't count as guilt-free.

The case is now closed, and I believe it was a lesson to learn by us all. Where bygones have to be bygones, you need to let them be and head on with life, that's for sure. Returning to point A to keep on banging on the same issue just doesn't become a person, I suppose, and this is an important lesson that I've learnt as well. I like that attitude of yours, messaging me as if nothing happened, and I can take it off from that point too.

Life should go on.

Life is made up of many many consequences that we're forced to live with, courtesy of our actions in the past.

Seeing past the allegorical nature of my stories, perhaps the message that I am trying to put forth is this, 'It is my country… and while I can go all out to defend her in my very own way, there's nothing much I can do to discount the fact that it is not perfect. Nothing I can do to fend off criticisms, constructive or destructive.'

As bloggershuman beings, we all live with responsibilities. Having the blessings of a thinking mind, and the living medium that allows us to express that thinking mind also means that we should practise discretion when to say things, when to do things, and when to stand up in our own defence.

This is the very essence of 'speech freedom', which is often misinterpreted as the right to say 'anything I want to say'.

I am guilty of this too, although I try to remind myself as much as possible that I should regard freedom of speech as the right to exercise the freedom with intellect and thought, because no disclaimer can come to my rescue if I misuse that freedom.

The problem is we don't always know when we're right, and sometimes, the urge to defend our actions can be so overwhelming, it becomes terribly difficult to keep a sorry as just that.

Haven't you ever noticed that when you couple up a 'sorry' with the word 'but', the words that come after that 'but' can make your apologies seem insincere… and the more you defend yourself, the more you feel you're right and not otherwise?

I'm sorry.

That's about it, the way it should be. A period after the 'sorry'. Full stop.

And shut up after that.

I don't like to blame human character on a country.

Neither do I like to blame personality traits on God, nor do I want to attribute the not-so-nice parts about a person on his/her parents.

While the environment does do its part in shaping a person's character (and taste in clothes ahaha), I'd like to think it's just the way that person chooses to act… and talk… and blog… and etc etc… that seriously can't be blamed.

It's just human nature, and it's just not fair blaming another person or another country for what setitik nila can do to sebelanga santan.

No country is perfect, aye, no parents are perfect, aye, and you know what? No blogger person is perfect either.

Let herthem be, will ya?

Even the copycat(s). Let them be.

Take them as, the other ornaments on a Christmas tree… actually if you look at things in another way, they can be pretty too. After all, if you have the same kind of people all around, life will be very, terribly boring I say.

While we are here screaming out loud and jumping up in defence of ourselves all the same, why can't we just leave it as it be, and do what we usually do on someone's birthday?

Remember the time when your nemesis celebrated his/her birthday? Did you go up to that person to tell him/her how much he really sucked? And then go back to your own house and told your parents and friends that 'that's just the way I talk'?

Well, you don't have to wish Malaysia a happy birthday, it doesn't matter, your opinions don't matter to us because you are insignificant.

As for us, you know, we're not acting any more decent than these irrelevant individuals. Hey, it's our birthday, plus we have tonnes of other guests that matter more to us than the uninvited ones who turn up telling us, 'Oi you suck!'

Hey dudes, its a party. Come on. Enough with it already.

We've got more important things to do.

For instance, some people would have noticed my two-page story in The Star, yesterday. If you did, you would have learnt about Impianku and the Merdeka Blogger project.

So while we get worked up over people who do not belong here, saying horrid things about us, why not do something more meaningful. I say we embrace and support those who are doing what they can in their own capacity and talents for, the rest of us. These are the ones who deserve the real attention.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.