an enigmatic presence

it has long struck me as not a little too convenient that everyone has been overly skeptical about our neighbors. that the foreign skepticism is rife in many (truly) asian countries is true, but skepticism comes in different shades, but as far as the specific issue of discrimination is concerned, it doesn't necessarily mean that when people are skeptical, they are highly in favor of discrimination.

or, for that matter, im against that ideology. one has to learn from experience, i suppose. the relatively modern tweak - i would call it - to this archaic concept is that of communication: communication is a very different kettle of fish from discrimination. the latter is somewhat political, and related to a quest for ideological domination in a way the former is not. a simple experience will put the matter into context.

on one occasion, i had to get from one location back to the hotel on a foreign land. somewhat astonishingly, i was brought to a deep dark lane along with 3 other accomplices on board, a far expectation from the usual ride back to safety. the last, but certainly not least, legendary wonder of this royal kingdom crossed our minds far too early before the finale came near, thanks to contributory misinterpreted precautions from a friend on board. thoughts of an escape via a damaging leap seem inevitable (literally), before it turned to appear necessary. i shit u not on this. there was one hand on the vehicle door, and the other on getting the no longer safe belt off my chest. before giving the final cue for the jump, i decided i'd bet my last dollar on the fact that the man might just be as lost as we were. i spoke, in a universal yet foreign language, to check again.

but of course, the twist of fate took place to ease some tension. albeit not as lost as we were, the man was lost. we lost more than a dollar on that ride though, we lost our cool. pardon me folks, for the drama, it was indeed quite a trauma.

the key of the ride was with speaking, or simply put it this way, the transferrence of thoughts. likewise for discrimination. rather than let it be the culpable activity that objectifies and dehumanises the Other, it may in fact be no more than a catalyst that brings primal fears of subjugation to the fore. let communication be the key towards eliminating the thought of power differentials. for one fateful day, we might be the one ignored in the plight of being on the altar of expediency (again).

no thai-girls, or even tigers, for a certain special matter, by that special someone. but an euphemistic term for a good 5-day trip would be "awe-some".