They Asked For It

"Orang asli fights off tiger with rock" - The Star, 7 Feb '10

Every time i read the papers and come across such headline, the first thought that comes to mind is, "Why did the animal attack the person in the first place?". I am one who always believe that animals, unlike humans, do not cause harm without a reason. Nine out of 10 times, they are probably threatened into doing so. It annoys me too that most media often report such stories by either playing up the injuries or taking a victim's-courageous-fight-for-life angle. What about the cause?

So this recent incident talks about a man who went into the forest to collect petai, got attacked by a lurking tiger and escaped by fighting off the mammal. He even played the pity card: "Asked whether the attack would deter him from going back into the forest, Yok Meneh said he had no choice but to continue as his family’s survival depended on the produce he collected."

Then, yesterday, i came upon this headline which made me happy:

"Orang asli was trying to kill tiger, not collect petai" - The Star, 9 Feb '10

Finally! After so many reports that paint a horrible and false image of animals, the truth is highlighted. The idiot caught the tiger in a snare and when he returned to kill it a few days later, he was attacked. Unfortunately, the tiger did not survive. They found his body few meters away and his detached limb still in the snare. And, authorities reveal that there are no petai in that forest so his whole collect-petai-need-money shebang is bullshit. He's lucky he walked away with just a 15.2cm deep wound on his back for all the torture that he has done on the poor mammal who is merely trying to survive in a world of selfish humans.

I remember Steve Irwin once said something along these lines:

"We teach you how to watch out for crocodiles because we want to keep you safe. By keeping you safe, we keep the animals safe because more often than not, every time after an attack (regardless if it's the human's fault), the animal ends up being killed."

So fucking true. We are the beasts. Not them.

Lord, Have Mercy On You

I came to work on the 8th wearing a crucifix and a pendant of Mother Mary.

I knew this was the day that the fools who were supposedly 'fighting for God' would gather to protest the usage of the word Allah by non-Muslims. I knew there was going to be drama (these sore losers seem to be very good at it). But i also knew that come rain or shine, i am proud of being a Catholic and would not let these fools force me into thinking otherwise.

What i didn't expect though, was to read about the burning of a church first thing in the morning. And then three more by the time i leave for the weekend.

What religion would condone such acts? No Allah or Buddha or Lord Shiva or Jesus would say that it's okay to perform harmful acts towards others or their place of worship. I was disgusted at the state that some rotten apples in this country have become.

About 4pm, i heard that the fools have begun to smash windows of cars with rosaries or crucifix in it. Turned out though, that this was just a rumour because the cops couldn't find any such car. People started pointing fingers at the government, saying that this whole issue is a part of their big plan to misuse power and gain more control over the country. Political drama or no, it is wrong.

Someone then told me that we should save all our money and leave this country for good because it is eventually going to the dogs. I then passed this on to another person and this person said something which made sense. "No, we shouldn't leave. We should stay and fight."

While i don't think anyone should retaliate by burning mosques (we don't need to stoop so low to prove a point), we should join forces and prove that even in these testing times, we as Christians have the faith and willpower to remain strong and survive this uncalled-for war.

Apparently, the total damage is now up to 10 churches. Well fools, do all the damage you want because a church is at the end of the day, a building. The real church lives within our hearts and no amount of molotov cocktails or whatsoever would be able to burn that down.

And in the middle of the day, i stumbled upon a beautiful message on Twitter courtesy of @Beckerzville regarding this hoohah:

"You came into our church, desecrated our Holy Host and lived to write about it and all we did was feel sorry for your ass. Why? That's faith."

Fools, i wish you good luck when your time comes to leave this world. Trust me, you're going to need lots of it in that final destination of yours.