Where are we headed?

This whole us-vs-them scene is turning into a fucking pain in the arse. There's a long way for yours truly to go in the way of general awareness. However, there are some bits that stick out more than the thumb you managed to squish between the door hinges. Don't worry, the nail will grow back. Meanwhile...

What's with the pineapple laced with fire-crackers that some folks fed the poor elephant in Kerala? Mothefuckers, those motherfuckers who did this, get hold of them, slice them in half right through the middle of their fucking skulls. Where the fuck are the mob-lynchers when you really need them?

Speaking of mobs, the Black Lives Matter movement around George Floyd's murder proved that humanity still exists in us. From what little one can gather, the general sense you get is that instead of putting up a front, law-enforcement finally is getting to what it ought to do. Defend what's right. Hopefully, no marginalised community ever gets discriminated (anywhere on the planet).

That's wishful thinking, especially in a country such as India which is no stranger to discrimination. How is it that our intellectuals call out bullshit from abroad, but stay mute when our own country is in jeopardy? Rehman Khan, the critic-comedian, had some choice words on the subject of our own folks showing concern. Stop trying to sound smart.

A close friend put up one of her posts which made sense but sounded a wee bit pretentious. It was a list that went this way...

- Didn't pay the maid

- Kashmir = Internal matter

- Men's rights activists

- Supports Modi + CAA + NRC

- #BlackLivesMatter

- Doesn't believe in feminism

- LGBTQ What??

- Boys will be boys

- Want fair bride

The house-helps have been behind-the-scene heroes of sorts. You and I realise that when our mums and grandmoms complain about the workload at home. We owe them a little kindness so they can get through these tough times.

About Kashmir, we owe it to ourselves to know more before commenting. There are parts to the story that remain unknown to many. As usual, our reactions are knee-jerk. I hope, wish, and pray that we read-up more before turning into keyboard warriors sitting in the comfort of our homes.

Here's hoping that our men grow up. Here's hoping that we turn more patient, grow stronger (both physically, and mentally), and stop thinking with our dick. The sort of shit-storm out there is real, you cannot afford slip-ups, and both the sexes are being led away from our instincts.

Be it race, gender, or skin-colour, it was never supposed to be us-vs-them. Remember the stupid chanting from childhood "Girls are the best... Boys are the best??" Fucking idiots, especially the ones from the movies. Little did we know that we're being fucked in the backside by those who wanted a cheaper labour force.

There's an upcoming contradiction in my own argument, and I must admit, it isn't pleasant. Men and women aren't equal. We're complementary and due to paucity of space and time, I count on the reader's better judgement to accept/debate over this point. There's no Yin without Yang, and the other way around, a key's useless without a lock. A lock by itself serves no purpose. Heck, even the USB port has male and female ends. It's not VERSUS. It's WITH, lads and lasses! And as Admiral Ackbar said... "It's a fucking trap!"

Hmmm... about our dear Prime Minister... This is tricky. The man has plans, seemingly grander than most predecessors. The critics will call him out, and what's a democracy without mistakes being called out? However, callouts are hollow without backing. In fact, it's incumbent on the opposition to emerge as a worthy alternative, but again, they seem to be wanting in competence and vision. The rulers, on the other hand, seem to have balls of titanium and two iron fists.

What's with our collective obsession with fair skin? Yours truly cannot comment on the LGBTQ movement out of sheer lack of awareness. However, dusky is sexy. However, what is absolutely intolerable is this 'body-positive' hogwash. Someone, please get to the bottom of this. Here's simple logic. Our sugar and fast-food companies, think McDonalds, Starbucks, Cadbury, stuffed us till we got nice and jiggly. We got hooked to the lethal sugar-oil-flour combo, and our companies need us to stay that way for business to flourish. Meanwhile, fitness products have built themselves into a business of their own. Both require you to consume... consume... consume, and then some. Some smart Alec must have thought of getting #bodypositive to trend with our mindless millennials. It worked, of course!

Body-positive, my arse. Eat less, move more, and stop being a wuss. That holds true for both, men and women. Treat yourself, absolutely. But don't survive on treats. And chaps... stop with the 'protein powder' nonsense. Do 50 push-ups in one set first. Wonder why few advocate controlling food-intake. What's this obsession with six-meals-a-day, "eat in short intervals to keep your metabolism up", yada, yada? Dear cavemen ancestors, kindly deliver us. We've lost our way amidst the fads.

Something's been on my mind for a bit. There's been an almost-linear progression between the cost of fuel in India vs the USD/INR exchange rate. Why the Indian Rupee has consistently slipped against the US dollar and other global currencies is a discussion in itself. However, with the "Ditch Chinese goods" movement gathering steam, there's never been a better time to up our export game. Finshots had a lovely piece on the subject with a simple message. Instead of ditch Chinese goods, why not build our own stuff and sell to the world? Time to learn from our pharma folks, people!

Life goals

This one's a simple post. You'll see pointers/facts listed below that are in plain sight, but a massive chunk of our fellow earthlings do not see them. I wish we could broadcast these so everyone could live a wee bit less fearfully. There's ample to keep you afraid, the economy, the terrorists, the right-wingers, the left-wingers, the newspapers, the layoffs, pay cuts, the works. So, here goes.

Take care of yourself. Not in the way of a parting message, but take care of your body and mind. You only get one of each in your lifetime, unless you figured out how to transfer your lousy brain into a healthier body, or steal someone's soul. Hi there, the devil? Work out. Squat, jump, jump-squat, lunge, push up, pull yourself up (perhaps, along with another human, if you can). Sweat it out. Your company won't take care of you. The world's witnessing that during a pandemic. 

Earn to the point where you feel proud of answering "How much do you earn?" Yours truly has issues here. During every call, my grandmom asks "How much do you make?" Ideally, it's none of her business. Strangely, I haven't met a single mutual acquaintance who has been spared this question. Perhaps, it's her thing. If a girl asks you this question during the first date, never invite her to the second. It's an unnecessary statistic for her as long as you can pay for the meal, none of her concern. It's also a red flag that she has a penchant for irrelevant information. Bail out, immediately. That said, figure out a way to earn enough that you're at peace with the number in your bank account. You owe that to yourself. 

Keep your tolerance levels low. It saves energy and keeps the truly important people by your side. They'll respect your standards. This isn't gender-specific, mind you. Be it men, be it women, keep standards high, and tolerance levels low. If you let them get away once, they'll take that as your standard. So, keep it simple. Don't let them get away with rubbish. Hone your bullshit-sensors. Again, you owe it to yourself. 

Do not give excuses, and crucially, don't argue. Never argue. If you have to fight to make a point, you're not making a point at all. In fact, you're lending credence to your opposition's point when you put up a fight. You may think that you're trying to show them the right way by dishing out logical bullet-points. Seldom will their puny intelligence (hoping that you actually have a valid argument) grasp your gift of sensibility. Walk away. Save your voice, energy, and sanity. Don't get embroiled in a battle with the mucked-up pigs. The pigs will have their fun, and you'll get dirty. Thanks, Dadaji. 

About excuses, again, they are just that, excuses. If you're right, walk away. If you're wrong, apologise. If you let your ego come in the way, you're going straight back to the pigs. Energy, folks, energy is pristine. Save it, use it for better stuff than fighting over trivialities. There's this movie called 'A Bronx tale' starring Robert De Niro. and Chazz Palminteri. In it, Palminteri, a local mobster, befriends De Niro's son and becomes a genuine well-wisher to the boy, almost a father-figure. Think Rich Dad to Robert Kiyosaki. 

The boy once lends some money to an acquaintance. As it often happens with lent money, the acquaintance evades De Niro's boy each time that it's time to repay. The boy grows impatient with the borrower and threatens him to return the money. Palminteri notices the whole situation and is well-aware that the money's not coming back (come on, he's not been a notorious mob-boss for nothing). He tells the boy something to the tune of (and I paraphrase here) "The money that bum owes you is the small price you pay to get rid of such characters. Don't sweat it." 

Two things here. From two paragraphs ago, don't waste energy over trivialities and arguments. Second, when you lend, make sure that it's an amount that won't hurt you if not returned. Third, if you feel particularly generous and still want to cover your bases/mean business, ask for collateral. Why do you think banks are here to stay? Yours truly can't reiterate the fact enough that these are all a message to oneself. Pick what you like, ditch what you don't. Until next time...