Slumdog Millionaire

I saw Slumdog Millionaire the other day and I must say I loved it. My friend who saw it with me couldnt stand the first half saying it was too depressing. Well, denying it to yourself doesn't make poverty and abuse non-existent.

I just realised something as I am writing this. This blog has helped me learn a lot personally. I get frustrated when somebody doesn't see something that is obvious to me but when I sit down at a later point and think/write about it, I can understand their point of view. In this case, now I can some reasons why some of us dont want to know about these things. Maybe we don't have the stomach for it, or maybe it makes us feel that life is even more unfair that we originally thought.

On a seperate note, I wonder how the story would have panned out if the Jamaal had entered Deal Or(Ya) No Deal instead.

Gossip

This is a rant, so some might not like it. Why do we feel the urge to talk about somebody to somebody else? Does talking them down make us feel better? It must be, since most of them appear to be smiling. I sure hope they realize that somebody is doing the same thing behind their back. I feel that only if our self-esteem is low will we need this crutch to carry on with their lives.

Gossip does help bond, but at what cost? Alienating yourself from some to be with others?

P.S: I just had a bad experience which was a result of gossip where the outcome was like a typical telephone game. Total misrepresentation of facts. Thanks for bearing through this with me.

House fire in Bethesda

Last Wednesday just before my shift started there was a house fire on Jamestown Road in Bethesda where 2 yr old triplets were trapped. Two fire-fighters from my squad went into the burning house and rescued 2 of them. The third triplet was rescued by another FF. Heres a Washington post article about this incident. I am glad to know that two of the kids are doing better. I hope they make a full recovery. I feel proud that the two FF's are from my squad and am happy to say they didn't suffer any serious burns.

Courage, is not a very hard quality in my opinion, and neither is it rare. Almost all of us have it, just that its dormant. All it takes is a moment of calling to awaken it. Most of us never get that opportunity, some of us do.

Update: heres a video of channel 9 interview.

Hate

It was the day before thanksgiving and I was happy I was going to get a 4 day weekend. I just about reached home when I learned about the attacks in Mumbai. My first thought was the safety of my sister and her husband. After a quick phone call checking that they were safe, I started reading more about what happened and what was happening.

Few days later I was talking to people about this and wasn't surprised to find that they blamed Muslims for the attack and that its obvious that all around the world terrorism is happening around "them". No amount of explanation would budge them from their stand. Its sad but true, some people who call themselves followers of Islam are setting a bad name for the majority.

Heres my take on terrorism:

Poor + Nothing to do + Answer(e.g. Religion) -> Hate -> Terrorism

We cant do much about the 3rd variable since religion will always be misinterpreted, but the other two are something that can be modulated. Create prosperity by involving the local population and you now have people who go to work, have families to care for and no longer are interested in hurting others. Well, for the most part. I understand that it is not as easy to do, but atleast is a start.

Its sad that these things happen but I see solidarity in the country this time. Its a good sign, but people, please please don't turn overly patriotic. Its not healthy for the world, as it will eventually lead to hate.