Tuesday, November 12, 2002

I just watched Bend It Like Beckham. I loved it! It was a very cool. I think the movie managed to capture the conflict that many of us face today. I am speaking for the Indian community of course, but I think the situation is similar in other cultures as well. In the movie, the whole contradiction of the Indian society in England is well portrayed. It is difficult to live in a society that is totally alien to you. The natural reaction of people who are in this situation is to cling to the familiar instead of embracing the differences. It alienates them further from those around them and creates tension and mistrust that is difficult to alieviate. The movie really presented the facts like they are. It's difficult to be a part of society if you spend all the time closeted with a certain group of people. The Indian community has been in England for ages now and they still barely get along with the rest of the society. They don't trust the whites and they think they're mistreated and the whites feel the same way.
I mean I know what it's like to be an Indian in a community like that. It's alright to mix around with them but it's not okay to get too close. How can you be somone's friend if you don't look beneath the surface? How can you have an honest relationship if you don't allow your true self to shine through? The problem is, most of them think that they're better then everyone else. That's not the way to make any friendship. Many still carry a grudge from 50 years ago and we all know how well that works. This generation is still being blamed for the mistakes of the last generation and in blaming them we're ensuring that the next generation will never be different.
Just Me.

Monday, November 11, 2002

I have a grievance. I hate rude people. People who are bad mannered just rub me the wrong way. The worst thing, it's a culture. We have made it a culture to be rude to our peers. We see it as a sign of closeness. It isn't. It's just plain rude. The more time I spend with my friends, the more I see their bad manners. I am not talking about cussing and swearing. That happens often enough and I am not about to tell someone how they should express themselves. I mean instances where people take you for granted. Where you are 'ordered' to do a favour without so much as a 'please'. I think it's only fair that if you're asking someone for a favour, you have the courtesy to ask them nicely. How difficult can it be? How much effort would it take to be nice to someone? Would it be too much to ask for some pleasantness? They say familiarity breeds contempt, and the things I've seen among friends and family certainly prove that. Does it have to be that way, though? Surely it doesn't take that much effort to be civil does it? Taking someone for granted should be outlawed!
Just Me