I've been thinking a lot lately about life...about how to live well and righteous. I don't have a connection to a religious affiliation, nor do I find any inspiration from my work. I've been a miserable failure at living with integrity. It is time to change. I've decided to list out what I believe to be important values to live by. The values are simple in theory, but to practice these on a daily basis is difficult.
Here they are:
- Treat others have you’d have them treat your loved ones
- Be patient.
- Be an eternal optimist.
- Be kind.
- Take others at face value.
- Live with empathy.
- Be decisive and confident in your decisions.
- Listen first. Speak after.
- Be honest with yourself and others.
- Inspire others.
- Live with discipline and restraint.
- Never stop learning.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Manila and Scum
It was 3:30 in the afternoon and after arriving at Terminal 1 at the Manila International Airport, I was ready to return to my life in Singapore. I had landed only 30 minutes earlier from Boracay, where I had spent another magical weekend in this absolute gem of the world.
Chaos is everywhere in the Philippines, and the airports are no exception. Hundreds of people wait in the hot sun outside the terminal, saying goodbye to family members that are coming and going as OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers). Lines are packed, security is a mess. People are everywhere.
As I stood in the security line, my thoughts were filled of the parties with friends in Boracay. The saturation of cultures and races in Boracay is beautiful, and I grinned as I also reminisced at the kindness of the workers at the hotel which I regularly stay.
A fat man stood in front of me in line and turned to speak. Before any words came out of his mouth, I already knew what this scum was going to say. It was common in the Philippines. Worthless and pathetic men, self-exiled from their own country, make routine trips to the Philippines to feast on the weak. This man was the epitome of everything in the world I hate.
He was easily 350 to 400 pounds, with greased blonde hair that did not cover most of his balding head. He lacked his four front upper teeth and the others were jagged and eroded. The man’s eyes were vacant; the kind of vacancy that is seen also in people that have severely abused drugs and alcohol and permanently ruined their brains.
“So, where are you coming from?” he asked.
“I was just in Boracay for the weekend,” I replied, attempting to be as polite as possible. I knew the path this conversation would lead to, but didn’t stop it in its infancy
“Why the hell would you go to Boracay?! What, to see fish? Who cares?! I don’t leave a 100 mile radius of Manila,” he emphatically stated, now eyes were on him from everywhere. He was clearly out of his mind.
After a few exchanges of the usual whats and whys, he decided to challenge the assumption that Singapore was a good place to live. And this, my friends is where murder should have happened.
Without provocation, he spilled out everything that I knew would be said. Once you live over here long enough, you can spot it a mile away. You can see it coming...
“Well, tell me if you can get this in Singapore. I want three girls in my bed, and the rest of the bitches groveling on the ground waiting for me.”
I’m now on the plane and remembering these words. They are echoing in my ears. The few Manilians working around him acted unaffected, likely desensitized to these types, who they regularly see flow through the airport.
My eyes well up as I think about this moment. They are not tears of fear or sadness though. They are of rage, frustration, and anger. I should have swung. Stood up. Done something. Instead, I ignored the comment to not further aggravate an obviously stupid person. I’m sure no one would have minded this man being beaten after seeing and hearing him. My anger spills into thoughts of fanatical grandeur with one desire...to murder...to eradicate these people. To have them beg for their pathetic lives.
Christian philosophy believes we must not judge each other and sins should be forgiven. I am not a Christian. Judgment should take place on Earth from the righteous to the unrighteous. God should not love them. There should be no salvation. Torture, murder, revenge, and above all, justice should be brought to these people.
The only true way to solve this is to remove the poverty. I’m not stupid and I know that. Education. Food. Economic development. The reality is that poverty and its many manifestations create opportunities for these types. It’s the weakest of the weak that lose to the most disgusting of people.
People move to Africa. They build water supplies and whatever else to help a small number of people in a major way. As Mother Teresa once said,
“What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
So, it’s time to practice the opposite. It’s time for us to take drops out of the ocean. Only in this case, it’s the ones that pollute it. Dark days are coming for this particular scum of Earth. Justice is coming...
Chaos is everywhere in the Philippines, and the airports are no exception. Hundreds of people wait in the hot sun outside the terminal, saying goodbye to family members that are coming and going as OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers). Lines are packed, security is a mess. People are everywhere.
As I stood in the security line, my thoughts were filled of the parties with friends in Boracay. The saturation of cultures and races in Boracay is beautiful, and I grinned as I also reminisced at the kindness of the workers at the hotel which I regularly stay.
A fat man stood in front of me in line and turned to speak. Before any words came out of his mouth, I already knew what this scum was going to say. It was common in the Philippines. Worthless and pathetic men, self-exiled from their own country, make routine trips to the Philippines to feast on the weak. This man was the epitome of everything in the world I hate.
He was easily 350 to 400 pounds, with greased blonde hair that did not cover most of his balding head. He lacked his four front upper teeth and the others were jagged and eroded. The man’s eyes were vacant; the kind of vacancy that is seen also in people that have severely abused drugs and alcohol and permanently ruined their brains.
“So, where are you coming from?” he asked.
“I was just in Boracay for the weekend,” I replied, attempting to be as polite as possible. I knew the path this conversation would lead to, but didn’t stop it in its infancy
“Why the hell would you go to Boracay?! What, to see fish? Who cares?! I don’t leave a 100 mile radius of Manila,” he emphatically stated, now eyes were on him from everywhere. He was clearly out of his mind.
After a few exchanges of the usual whats and whys, he decided to challenge the assumption that Singapore was a good place to live. And this, my friends is where murder should have happened.
Without provocation, he spilled out everything that I knew would be said. Once you live over here long enough, you can spot it a mile away. You can see it coming...
“Well, tell me if you can get this in Singapore. I want three girls in my bed, and the rest of the bitches groveling on the ground waiting for me.”
I’m now on the plane and remembering these words. They are echoing in my ears. The few Manilians working around him acted unaffected, likely desensitized to these types, who they regularly see flow through the airport.
My eyes well up as I think about this moment. They are not tears of fear or sadness though. They are of rage, frustration, and anger. I should have swung. Stood up. Done something. Instead, I ignored the comment to not further aggravate an obviously stupid person. I’m sure no one would have minded this man being beaten after seeing and hearing him. My anger spills into thoughts of fanatical grandeur with one desire...to murder...to eradicate these people. To have them beg for their pathetic lives.
Christian philosophy believes we must not judge each other and sins should be forgiven. I am not a Christian. Judgment should take place on Earth from the righteous to the unrighteous. God should not love them. There should be no salvation. Torture, murder, revenge, and above all, justice should be brought to these people.
The only true way to solve this is to remove the poverty. I’m not stupid and I know that. Education. Food. Economic development. The reality is that poverty and its many manifestations create opportunities for these types. It’s the weakest of the weak that lose to the most disgusting of people.
People move to Africa. They build water supplies and whatever else to help a small number of people in a major way. As Mother Teresa once said,
“What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
So, it’s time to practice the opposite. It’s time for us to take drops out of the ocean. Only in this case, it’s the ones that pollute it. Dark days are coming for this particular scum of Earth. Justice is coming...
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