Exposing civil disobedience

Again I am forced to comment on the dastardly politics of my homeland and the blatant disrespect for authority that the politicians are tacitly encouraging as a legitimate means of protest.

A police officer, no less, has been subject to an attack by opposition activists where the perpetrators have forcibly removed his trousers, leaving him parading on the streets of Dhaka, surrounded by his colleagues, in in his unmentionables.

I do not wish to discuss whether or not this was a good thing or if he (as a representative of the police) had it coming – bottom line is that the core intention was to humiliate. These hyenas were set loose to have some fun by deriding the 'administration.'

What is lost is that the police really are only following orders to beat down the protesters on the streets; these same officers had been sent against the current powers-that-be when the present opposition was in power.

What is also lost is that when you teach people that it is okay to defy authority figures (and there should be no argument that this policeman was an authority figure) that defiance will eventually not be conditional; when people have learnt that they can get away with defying an authority figure they will extend that privilege to areas that go beyond political protest during strikes and into areas of everyday civil society life.

When you lose respect for authority, you lose respect for order. While it is true that government is in charge of ensuring order, it is also true that government is not a political party. Civil disobedience left unpunished will only encourage its continuation. If ever the present opposition finds itself back in power, it then will be responsible for similar forms of civil disobedience.

Had the politicians in the opposition party any maturity and sense of decorum they would be the loudest to distance themselves from the action and the first to criticise their own people for going to such extreme measures; legitimate protest cannot be advanced through forms of humiliation but only through structured action (lest one day the very opposition leaders who are slapping each other on the back for 'giving it' to the administration find themselves exposed to a very similar predicament).

Meanwhile, the police will wait anxiously for the moment when they can mete their revenge with the blessing of the government. This may lead to further hartals, but will conclusively provide more opportunities to the law enforcers on duty.

And the cycle continues when the present government is out of power and the opposition (then in power) will order the police to mete out the same treatment.

True to self-worth

I was listening to the radio yesterday and caught a portion of a competition where the listener was given a first name and had to come up with the corresponding last name.

These were obviously famous people who were in the news recently, and while this might seem fairly easy its actually difficult to remember six last names in 30 seconds.

But this isn't about getting the names right as much as it is about confessing up to the fact that one might not know the names or what the person is famous for. The name clue was an innocuous “Lee” the correct answer was Lee Westwood, the UK man who ended the reign of golfing great Tiger Woods to take the number one slot last November. Currently he is number two.

Frankly I didn't know the correct answer.

But then this isn't about my not knowing, its about how the woman on the phone reacted. She did not know 'Lee Westwood,' and when the presenter tried to tell her he was a local rugby star – instead of pretending to know with a “oh, right”, she just shrugged it off and said that she didn't know.

She admitted on a public broadcast that she did not know rather than pretend that she did – something that I am sure a lot of people are guilty off doing to save face.

The punchline is that the presenter than admitted to her that he was kidding and that Lee Westwood was in fact a UK golfer. Imagine what kind of a fool she would have looked had she pretended to know and agreed that Lee Westwood was indeed a local rugby hero! Suddenly all the people listening in would know that she was a fool and she'd have lost face to save face.

I confess that I have fallen to pretend to know what I didn't... I am guilty of saying “Oh, right now I remember” when introduced to someone who I don't remember at all. A lot of us have done it in politeness... but when has it been polite to lie?

The woman on the radio won my respect because she was true to herself and wasn't worried about cheap face saves. One can hope to remember this lesson when put to the test.

In the living years...

Man (and woman) is a creature more prone to regret than to make the best of circumstances and grab an opportunity. It's almost like we prefer to lament about the 'what could have been' then rejoice taking the proverbial bull by the horns.

Countless times I have seen people regretting not patching things up with someone who had just passed away, or perhaps wishing they had treated the person better, or not exchanged harsh words so often. Somehow none of these sentiments ever arose when the person was alive or when there was time to correct the circumstances.

Most times, I think, people regret NOT doing something more than they do actually DOING it – discounting for murder and other heinous crimes of course. Yet when an opportunity comes up we more often than not find justification for not doing it because it seems the time is not right (in the inane logic that there is ALWAYS a better time in the future).

On occasion though, time is not always on our side. Granted the best time is always now – but sadly that particular truth is lost in ironic procrastination.

Ever hear “The Living Years” by Mike and the Mechanics? Click here for the lyrics, or simply below to hear the song.



I fear when someone close to us dies we regret the lost opportunities than we do the actual passing. The memories are lost to painful concerns of what we ‘should have’ or ‘could have.’ Yet the very next day we pile on another laundry load of regrets for next time and the next passing.

Loud and proud

Ever notice the boisterous person in a group? The person who naturally assumes control of a group and tries to bolster authority (albeit all in good humour; at least until someone else in the group tries to assume control as well and then the tempers begin to soar).

I never understood the need to take on such control over a group – in what is guaranteed to be a thankless job, plagued with ego clashes and undue headaches. But then I would be relegated to the shameful (as far as those doing the relegation are concerned) title of 'not a born leader' or, worse still, 'follower.'

Unashamedly, however, I have been known to be good leader (even if I am the only person who knows it), it's just that I do not feel a compulsion to have to take the lead in every single encounter – my ego is not frail like that to only be able to give orders but not take it.

The problem is that when you have too many 'leaders' you have a winning formula... to ultimately lose. Leaders in my mind, look, listen, understand,and then act – most people think that leadership starts with acting first. This sprouts from an unhealthy prostate of the mind – too much ego and too frail a self-worth, where 'taking control' is all too often mistaken to also mean 'getting respect.'