The Art Of Giving And Taking

Imagine if everybody in the world is exactly like you—they think like you; they behave like you; and they agree with all your opinions about everything. Words like "disagreement", "dispute" and "quarrel" can't be found in the dictionary. There is never any conflict of any kind; there is perpetual peace. Imagine...

Unfortunately the world is not like that at all. We are made up of so many people from different backgrounds and ideologies. By a random toss of the stone, we are bound to hit someone we detest—because that someone wears a disgusting dress made of meat; because that someone is well over 80 years old, but has a wife young enough to be his granddaughter; and yes, because that someone has a weird fetish to display to the whole world his sexual adventures through his blog.

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with "trying too hard to be different". Or maybe the uncontrollable craving for attention. Certainly it has something to do with defective grey cells. But for the most part, we try to tolerate with all these antics.

Nevertheless, there is only so much we can tolerate. And unfortunately, there is the forsaken laws of the land. I really don't know what Alvin Tan a.k.a The Sex Blogger is trying to achieve. So far, he has successfully made the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but apparently he's not done yet. He thinks he's achieving greatness, and it seems like he has quite a fair number of supporters too.

So he doesn't like a whole lot of things about Malaysia. He escapes to a foreign land, but he refuses to go quietly. He has a score to settle, you see. If I were the government of that foreign land, I would kick his butt out of the country in a heartbeat. If this sick pervert can cause havoc in Malaysia, it's just a matter of time before he causes havoc in that foreign land too. This boy desperately needs help from a shrink, there is no question about that.

I have to admit that I haven't read even a single one of his complaints about Malaysia and its leaders. I'm not planning to waste my time reading that sort of stuff. Apparently, he has offended some of our leaders; and the police are now hot on his heels.

See, the trouble with people like Alvin is that they expect people to understand them, to tolerate their weird behavior, even if they inherently offend some people or break the law in the process. Yet on the other hand, they are unwilling to understand others, to tolerate the opposing views, especially those that are offensive to them. 

I don't expect everybody to agree with all of my views because there is just no such thing in this world. It is just impossible for me to please everybody. I try to be mindful with what I say or do, but I realise that some people will still find it unpleasant or offensive anyway. All I hope to achieve is for people to tolerate me as much as I try to tolerate them in return.

If Alvin thinks he is safe and apt to have a better life in a foreign country, I think he's up for a big surprise. For it's just a matter of time before somebody else there will find him to be a pain in the neck; and he, too, will find that there are other people or things there that are disagreeable to him. The only way is for him to change his mindset. He must learn to give and take; not just take all the way. Who knows, maybe this boy will grow up one of these days and start behaving like an adult. Of course it doesn't seem like it's gonna happen anytime soon, but for his sake, I hope it will.